How do you show appreciation for audience questions?

When acknowledging the question, also get the name of the person who asked the question and include their name in your acknowledgement. Personalizing your response is another way to show appreciation and that you are invested in not only speaking, giving advice and a call to action, but also invested in answering questions.

Always make sure that you have answered the question. As you finish your response to the question, ask “did that answer the question or is there anything that I need to clarify or add more detail?” Be sure to leave the audience with answers, solutions and actionable next steps.

If the event space lends itself to it, walk into the audience while you are answering questions. Especially in intimate settings, as the moderator is passing the mic to those asking questions, walk to the the person asking the question, shake their hand or give a fist bump, and stand with them while you are answering the question. If time permits, invite them for a selfie with you after the speech.

I smile, give eye contact and nod to the audience member asking the question as they're doing so, to show I'm interested and care about their input.

Another way to follow up is to use social media. Even if you don’t have the social media account of the person who asked the question, as an after speech post, you can share the name of the person who asked the question, the question and your answer. This is another way to follow up and to show that you are open to questions. I love handwritten thank you notes as well.

Many audience members might be hesitant to ask questions on their minds, assuming they might sound cliche or stupid. To ensure such feelings fade, you need to do more than just answer the question. This is done by thanking the asker and connecting the answer to new points as if the question allowed you to share new angle of the topic while maintaining eye contact 50% with the person who asked the question and 50% with the rest of the audience. This will keep the rest of the audience engaged and will give the asker the impression that the question must be shared with everyone. Answering questions is also your way to open doors to people who struggle to speak their minds, and with your support, they could gain the confidence to do this often.