This is how the speaking experts handle a heckler

These are the questions that are difficult to answer because you know the audience member is not going to like the answer. It’s a fair question, but unfortunately they will not like what you have to say. These are tough because we expect it will lead to an unpleasant situation.

• Can we get a better price?   No.
• Do you have an international office to support our operations in Singapore?  No.
• Why can’t you deliver on all these services within 3 weeks?

There are some questions I would classify as aggressive. These types of questions have a strong motive behind them. They are also laced with some type of emotion. The aggressive questions need to be handled in a way it doesn’t promote an escalation between the two of you. To prevent the escalation, we’ve found it is most helpful if the aggressor knows you’ve heard him/her.  You don’t have to agree with him/her, but you need to show you have heard and understood him/her.

• “Why should we consider another data center when you can’t even support us in one?”
• “That would never sell in my stores. My customers would never buy something like that.”
• “If your project managers can’t handle a pilot project, why should we trust you with this project?”
   

In this video Kevin teaches our process to handle the aggressive questions. We call it Responsive Acknowledgement. After you’ve expressed responsive acknowledgement, you can express your differing opinion without inviting further escalation.

It’s never fun handling the tough and aggressive questions, but with the right tools and some practice, it becomes much more controlled and successful.