Great Answers to Tough Questions at Work

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CMI MANAGEMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD

The essential guide to turning tough questions into positive opportunities

Difficult questions can be thrown at you from your first job interview through to challenges you get when you’ve made it to the top. If you find yourself on the firing line on a regular or occasional basis this is the perfect go-to guide to help you turn tough questions into positive opportunities.

Great Answers to Tough Questions at Work promotes a confident 'win-win-win' mindset for questioner, answerer and wider audiences beyond. Author Michael Dodd provides golden formulae and proven strategies for constructing inspirational answers—however challenging, vicious, tricky or stupid the question. He outlines simple but successful techniques for dealing with the kind of nightmare questions which all ambitious people in the workplace have to face along their journey, whatever stage of their career.

• Contains critical communication skills for executives, managers, leaders and those aspiring to fill these roles
• Covers a wide range of work place scenarios such as job interviews, performance reviews, negotiations, customer relations, parliamentary inquiries and cross-examination
• Discusses how to see the issues underlying tough questions that you face in a different, more positive, solution-oriented way
• Includes case study examinations of key moments where people in the public spotlight have done something particularly well or particularly badly while answering questions and draws out the lessons for readers.

Introduction: Helping You Thrive On “Blowtorch-On-The-Belly” Questioning 1

Part One: The Tools You Need 13

1. Winning Answers Every Time 15

2. Crafting the Right Message to Underpin Every Answer 33

3. Harnessing the Power of Stories 55

4. Finding Out in Advance – Then Planning for It 75

5. The First Golden Formula – Simple as ABCDE 85

6. The Second Golden Formula – What to Say When Something Goes Seriously Wrong 107

7. Maximizing the Impact of Your Examples and Stories 123

8. Getting Your Performance Right 137

9. Conveying Your Answers to Different Personality Types 157

Part Two: Using Your New Tools 171

10. Great Answers for Prospects 173

11. Great Answers During Price Negotiations 191

12. Great Answers for Clients 209

13. Great Answers in Those Nerve-Wracking Job Interviews 223

14. Great Answers for Your Boss 239

15. Great Answers in Presentations, at Events and in Meetings 253

16. Shining Out Through the Media and at Public Grillings 269

Ongoing Enhancement: Great Answers for Your Inspirational Future 287

About the Author 291

Acknowledgements 293

Index 297

"... a great page turner." (Project, September 2016)

"This really should be your summer holiday reading." (PQ Magazine, August 2016)

"Great Answers To Tough Questions is a great book for leaders and anyone ambitious in the workplace and 'task -orientated introverts' such as accountants or IT specialists who need to improve their conversation skills. Every briefcase and bookshelf should have a copy." (Daily Express, July 2016)

Michael Dodd (Midlands, UK) is a speaker and international media and presentation trainer, working with businesses of all sizes. Michael speaks weekly (schedule attached in appendix below) and his targeted newsletter is distributed to 2000 people each month. His clients include representatives of UK Trade and Investment, in embassies, high commissions and consulates around the world. He speaks with audiences of United Nations officials on answering questions from the media in global trouble spots.
Michael also teaches as a Senior Lecturer in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Westminster and does media training for university clients, professors and business students. He also delivers guest lectures in other universities around the world.
Trained as a broadcast journalist, Michael has worked at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on the AM programme, and then as the foreign correspondent travelling the world covering politics and revolutions.

"Keep this book close at all times. Simply vital reading for all who need to answer tough questions and enhance their reputation as a result"
—Roger Harrop, Award-Winning International Business Speaker and Past President of the Professional Speaking Association

ALWAYS KNOW THE RIGHT THING TO SAY

We've all been in that situation where we're asked a tough question by the boss, interviewer or client – and end up saying something really stupid, wrong or self-defeating. When caught in these challenging situations, how do you work out what to say and how best to say it?

WINNING ANSWERS EVERY TIME

Global communications speaker Michael Dodd gives you the golden formulae and proven tactics for coming up with the best possible answers to the worst possible questions.

You will learn how to:

• Give consistently great answers – for the benefit of yourself and your questioners
• Work out what to say when you don't know the answers
• Become more influential by having more controlled and positive conversations
• Handle challenging questions in all kinds of situations, including meetings, presentations, negotiations and more

By boosting your answers, life in the workplace will become more enjoyable, effective and successful. It will help you to become a game-changing, inspirational communicator!

"A compelling read which builds on Michael Dodd's wealth of experience as a journalist, speaker and someone who works regularly with business leaders on developing their communication skills. I recommend it to anyone who needs to provide winning answers to really tough questions no matter what the circumstances"
—Ian Price, Chief Executive, Academy for Chief Executives