It is difficult to ask good, concise questions. And, quite frankly it’s something most us need to prepare for and practice to do well. Don’t forget: those well-crafted questions from many television anchors are based on years of practice.

To prepare to ask quick and effective questions, you need to take the strategic route. That means you figure out what you want to accomplish before asking the first question.

Do you want to gather information? To get honest or sincere responses? To advance a relationship?

Once you know where you’re going with your questions, you can start to craft them. If you want to gather information, for example, you’ll start by asking open-ended questions and then narrow their scope as you proceed.

On the other hand, if you’re trying to find out why something went wrong and your customers are mad, you’ll probably ask a series of closed-end questions. You don’t want wide-ranging responses in these circumstances; you want specifics.

For relationship building, whether professional or personal, you’ll use open-ended questions that allow the other person to offer opinions and preferences. Check out the questioning techniques used by skilled salespeople next time you go shopping.

Whatever your aim, you’ll find you’re more effective if you take these simple steps before asking questions.

Mark Twain once famously said that if he’d had more time, he’d have written a shorter letter.

In saying that, he captured a truth that most professional writers and speakers recognize: that being brief is more difficult than going on at length.

The same holds true for asking questions. As a former radio news reporter and announcer, I’ve had lots of opportunities to ask unscripted questions. And, quite frankly, I know that it’s as hard to ask a concise question as it is to write a concise document.

So, what happens when we ask unscripted questions, which are obviously the most common kinds of questions? How do they get long or wordy?

First, we try to provide context that guides the answer. For example, consider the reporter who asks this kind of question: “Given that we only have another two months before the end of the season, and that you’re having trouble meeting your budget as it is, do you expect the expansion to proceed?” The simple question, of course, would simply be, “Do you expect the expansion to proceed?”

To avoid this kind of preamble and to make your question more concise, ask yourself who needs the context. In most cases, the person being interviewed doesn’t need it. He or she likely knows the background issues more thoroughly than you do.

We also use long, drawn out questions to give ourselves time to think of a new question. Or, we may ramble as we try to figure out exactly how to word a question. For example, a reporter interviewing a politician might go on at length, while trying to figure out how to word a question so the politician can’t evade it.

Or, a questioner wants to impress the person being questioned, or others. Watch reporters at a news conference and you’ll often see them try to steal the show, in effect, with their questions.

Having looked at several reasons for unnecessarily lengthy questions, let’s make a few recommendations:

First, know why you’re asking the questions, and what kind of information you want to gather. If it’s social chatter, then you’re probably just looking for connections between yourself and the other person. If you’re interviewing a potential employee, then you’ll want to find out about the other person’s character, experience, and expertise.

Stay focused on one issue: If you try to gather information about several subjects at the same time, you probably won’t get useful responses to any of them.

Ask follow-up questions. The first answer usually provides a springboard for the next question, and so on. Probe more deeply or widen the circle with follow-up questions.

Listen. Probably no other aspect of interviewing or asking questions is as frequently ignored as this one. Over and over, I hear questioners ask something, then ignore the answer as they mentally work on the next question. What we should do instead is look at the other person and listen to the whole message, which includes the words, the way the words are expressed, and the body language. Only then will we grasp the answer well enough to ask a good follow-up question. And, a concise question at that!

Let’s address this issue of acclimatizing through several specific questions that will help you prepare yourself:

* Where will you stand? I find it helpful to know where the lectern will be, so I can mentally picture myself standing there and speaking. In some cases, that’s simply mental preparation. But, I can also recall a recent speech from a packed table, when I had to use my elbows (so to speak) to make my speaking materials accessible.

* Where will you sit before going to the lectern? If you have to walk down or across the room to get to it, it’s helpful to know what hurdles might be in the way. Will you have to step over an extension cord, for example, or squeeze between members of the audience? With a little planning, you might shorten your route, and make it easier to navigate gracefully.

* Through which door will late-comers arrive? If you have a choice, ask to speak from the end opposite where the latecomers will arrive — you want as few distractions for the audience as possible. If you have to speak from the late arrivals end, then minimize disruptions by saying to the latecomers as they come in (and look lost), “Welcome to XYZ meeting — you’ll be able to find a seat over there.” as you point out the direction.

* How big is the room? Another way of asking, “How loudly will I have to speak?” or perhaps finding out whether or not you’ll need to use a microphone. By arriving early, you’ll have a chance to make that decision calmly, and mentally adjust your speaking volume in advance.

* How many people? This raises another couple of issues. For example, if it turns out I’m speaking to a very small group, I’ll be more informal and interactive than I would be with a larger group. Again, arriving early gives me a chance to decide that calmly, and to prepare myself for whichever style I choose.

All simple, and seemingly Speaking 101 questions. But, it’s surprising how often we can prepare ourselves for the big problems, yet get tripped up by the little ones. That’s why I like to arrive in time to acclimatize my mind to the room.

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An executive summary comes at the beginning of a long document, or a document that contains a lot of information or complex information. It’s designed to help decision-makers quickly grasp the issue being raised, and more. Normally, we expect it to be no more than one page, since the decision maker can go into the attached report or docket to get details and specific information.

Executive summaries tend to be structured in such a way that they help decision makers made decisions. So a summary of the executive summary might look like this:
1.  The problem or opportunity that needs to be addressed
2.  The options (with pros and cons very concisely listed)
3.  External factors that might affect a decision
4.  Deadlines or other time issues.

Now, this is just one example of a summary. In practice, you will probably let the structure reflect the function. In other words, let the content of the full report or docket drive the structure. If your report (complete with executive summary) is not being delivered in person, you might add a cover letter to it. The cover letter need not address any of the information in the executive summary, but it could act as an introduction or to set the context for your summary and report.

Here’s another situation: You have to make a report to a client about a series of developments that have taken place since the client came on board two months ago. Not only should the report help the client understand what’s been done, but should also show the sequence in which the tasks were done.

In a situation like this, you’ll find a formal timeline helpful. A timeline refers to a chronological list of events or developments. It can show hours, days, months, or years, according to your needs, and might look something like this:

• October 1: initial meeting to discuss objectives
• October 9: preliminary list of objectives presented
• October 17: meeting to prepare short-list
• October 24: final ranking of top three objectives
• October 26: work started on Objective #1

What we’ve done here is to make the dates (or times) the focus of the report. Alternatively, you might create a report that lists your accomplishments, that focuses on the people involved, or some other relevant factor.

Timelines, when appropriate, have a number of benefits. They allow us to show that, as this example does, that one thing has to follow another. Looking at the example above, we could show why we didn’t start work on Objective #1 for almost a month after the initial meeting.

We can also use them to suggest we took a logical and methodical approach to a project. Without saying so explicitly, a timeline implies that we’ve considered the work that needs to be done, that prerequisites have been considered, and that we’re aware of deadlines.

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Now generally speaking, I’m not about to judge an amateur speaker at a wedding reception in the same way that I’d judge a professional. Still, I was struck by the way one speaker kept his arms crossed over his chest as he spoke.

Whether you’re speaking, or the person being spoken to, avoid that posture. It projects the wrong image and makes you appear to be closed to what’s going on around you.

If you’re speaking, it appears you’re holding something back or you’re not sincere about what you’re saying. If you’re being spoken to, it appears you’re closed to the message, and not accepting what’s being said.

Crossed arms fall into the same general category of unconscious gestures as hands tightly clasped in front of the lower body (commonly done by women) or standing with hands in pockets (commonly done by men).

Of course, there are times when you might strategically cross your arms. For example, in a debate or argument, you might cross your arms to signify to others that you don’t accept what’s being said by the other side.

But, those exceptions are rare, and at all other times you should try to keep your arms at your sides unless moving them in purposeful gestures.

Here are a few tips to consider if you need to make a logical case:

1. Explain the structure of the speech before you start. For example, you might say, “Today I’ll be explaining how the new service works. After an overview, we’ll focus on the three most important issues; and then I would be pleased to take your questions.” And, to wrap up your presentation, you would reiterate the overview you began with, and touch again on each of the three points.

2. You’ll notice I said “three” points. Almost all experts recommend that your speech have no more than three points. You could cut back to two points, but don’t use four or more. In a verbal presentation, it seems our minds won’t easily handle any more than three points. If for some reason you need to make more than three points, perhaps you can group all of the individual points into three categories.

3. In setting out those three points, start with the one that’s most important. Most listeners will remember the first one best. Your second most important point should come last; that’s third, of course, if you stay with the three-points rule of thumb. And, your other points would go in the middle.

4. As you start each point, hold up the appropriate number of fingers: So, for example, when you start your second point, you would hold up two fingers (on the same hand), and say something like, “Moving to our second point…” Holding up fingers provides a visual, as well as oral, reference point.

5. Change your position after each section or point. After you finish the introduction, for example, pause and walk a few feet to one side or the other. If you started behind a lectern, move away to one side of it after the introduction and before you start on the first point. When you finish the first point, pause and walk to the other side of the lectern before starting on the second point, and so on.

6. Finally, you’ll find your logical case is better accepted if you do everything in moderation. Use pretty much the same pitch and volume throughout the presentation, for example. Similarly, mute your gestures, so that you do nothing too dramatically or too quickly.

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I’m sure you’ve seen television news stories in which the beleaguered head of some organization faces unhappy consumers, constituents, or other group. And, the results are telling. A speaker who uses empathy effectively can soothe the audience, without necessarily conceding or giving up any ground.

A number of techniques can be employed to get the audience onside. They include an apology (if appropriate) or repeated use of the phrase, “I understand.” But those are just a few of the techniques available; and for those who like to compare, speakers have a bigger empathy toolbox than writers, so let’s look at a few of those tools.

First, make eye contact with audience members. Not aggressively, of course, but respectfully and openly. Each person with whom you make one-on-one eye contact is now more likely to see you as a person doing a difficult job, rather than a bad guy representing a bad organization.

Keep your arms and hands open at all times. Spread your arms wide whenever possible, and keep your hands open, with your palms facing the audience. Avoid folding your arms across your chest (denotes being closed to other opinions) or holding them in front while you clutch your hands (denotes fear).

You can also get onside with the audience by starting behind a lectern, and then moving away from it once you get started. Standing behind a lectern (in a hostile situation) suggests you’re hiding in a fortress, while standing in front of it or to the side suggests you have nothing to hide and that you’re not afraid.

You may have other public speaking techniques to project empathy, of course, but these five will make a big difference in getting and gaining the understanding of your audience.