🙋🏼♂️ Hands up if this sounds familiar:
You’ve just delivered your content.
You pause, look at the camera, and ask:
“Any questions?”
Cue: awkward silence… 👀
A couple of cameras turn off.
You wait a few beats. Nothing.
So you move on. Fast.
Here’s why that doesn’t work👇
I was participating in a live workshop last week where this happened again and again.
After racing through a bunch of slides the workshop leader would pause, say “Any questions?”… silence… and then quickly move on.
But I needed time to formulate my question.
Plus I felt a little nervous launching a question—especially in a room full of strangers. (and yes, they were still strangers because we had done zero connecting 🤦🏼).
That moment got me thinking: why does Q&A so often fall flat in live online sessions?
We’ve all been there—leading a great session… only to fumble the Q&A. I know I have!
Here’s the truth: most session leaders wing it when it comes to Q&A.
Maybe you:
- Breeze past it because no one’s biting
- Feel off-balance answering curveball questions
- Forget to prepare for it altogether 😅
We spend hours perfecting our content, slides, and activities…
And zero time planning how we’ll guide the group through their questions.
And yet Q&A is where some of the juciest learning happens—but only if you set it up right.
Here’s the good news👇
Q&A doesn’t have to be awkward or nerve-wracking.
I’ve been diving into this lately (shoutout to Stanford prof Matt Abrahams’ Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast).
His advice? You need to prepare for Q&A and then guide your group through it.
His tips are brilliant for speakers and presenters—
But online workshops need a different approach.
So… how can you run an online Q&A that actually works?
Here are a 7 simple strategies that can help you avoid awkward silence and get questions flowing:
✍️ Before the session
👉 Anticipate questions: What are people likely to ask? What might they be too shy to say out loud?
Once you have a list you can practice responding to come prepared.
👉 Ask your group. Online event tools like Luma let you collect your participants’ questions in advance like this:
That gives you a starter list that you can use to get the Q&A going.
👉 Design for questions: When will you field questions? And how can people ask questions?
Thinking it through in advance means you can build Q&A into your design.
🖥 During the session
👉Share expectations: At the start let people know when and how you will field questions – ideally giving them options.
A heads up ensures that people don’t feel put on the spot.
👉 Give it time: Don’t expect instant responses. Ask, pause, and breathe.
You can even give people a minute to write down their questions before opening it up.
👉 Have a ‘starter’ Q ready: If no one jumps in right away you can start with “One question I often get is…” (h/t Matt Abrahams)
This helps you bridge initial silence and gives people time to collect their thoughts.
👉 Use tech or a co-host: Tools like StreamAlive use AI to track and compile chat questions, Mentimeter allows you to upvote questions. Or ask a colleague to flag them.
Over to you 🎤
How could you rework your Q&A to get questions flowing?
Hit reply and let me know—I’d love to hear what you’re trying!
This Week’s Facilitator Finds 💪
In this section, you’ll find curated events, resources, tips, and tools that I’ve found super valuable — and I think you will too!
🎬How to Ask Questions that Build Trust. A podcast conversation and masterclass on asking powerful questions with facilitators Mehdi En-Naizi and Chad Littlefield.
✍️ Zoom’s CEO Thinks Your Meetings Could be Better. h/t Lux Narayan for sharing this NYT article that will give you a glimpse into the future of meetings.
🛠️ “Four Corners” Activity. A LinkedIn Post by Trainer Katrina Kennedy with a simple and brilliant way to structure reflection.
💌 Thanks for reading The Quest
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Creatively yours,
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