Page 114 - Bussiness English

 Sorry, that’s not my field but I’m sure Mr. ....... from ...... can answer

your question.
 I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to your question, but I’ll try to find

out for you.

 I’m afraid I’m not in a position to answer that question. Perhaps ......
can help.

 I’m afraid that’s outside the scope of my talk. If I were you I’d discuss
with .....

2. If the question is irrelevant
You may prefer not to answer irrelevant question. Say politely about it. If

you prefer to answer it, do it politely but briefly.
 Can we talk about it on another occasion?

 That’s interesting but I prefer not to answer that today.

3. If the question is impossible to be answered in time available

You may postpone your answer if there is not enough time to answer the

question. Suggest to discuss the answer after the speech. You may say:
 I’ll have to come to that later, perhaps during the break since we are

running out of time
 Perhaps we could deal with that later.

2. Dealing With Interruption

Sometimes people ask question during the presentation, even if you asked
them to wait until the Q&A session. Whereas some questions can and should

be answered quickly (for example, when a participant hasn’t understood what
you’ve said), you might prefer to postpone unwelcome questions or
comments.

 If you don’t mind, I’ll deal with this question later in my presentation.
 Can we get back to that a bit later?
 Would you mind waiting with your question until the question and answer

session at the end?

After answering questions, especially those that require a long answer, it is
sometime necessary to remind the audience what you were talking about
before the interruption.

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