I gave a presentation. In the Q&A, someone asked me a question I didn’t know the answer to. What should I say?
What do you want to say? Do you want to say something like this?
“I don’t know the answer right now. I can find out and tell you later.”
Now switch places. You just asked a question and they answered you like that. Are you satisfied?
If so, why are you satisfied?
When someone says “I don’t know” in a situation like this, it’s probably the most honest answer they can give you.
Maybe it’s “I hadn’t thought of that, but based on what I know about -----, the answer might be -----”
Example: “Thank you for asking. I hadn’t thought of how long it will take to put rubber pants on salmon. Based on the coefficient of friction of fish scales, I think it will take 5 minutes for a 30-inch salmon. Those are my thoughts for now without knowing other details. Does that make sense?”
In going one of these routes, they preserve trust between them and you. That trust could be shattered if they made up an answer. Hopefully, you’ve already learned a lot from their presentation, and you’re not heavily disappointed that they didn’t know the answer to your question. Of course, it all this depends on context and personalities involved, but there’s good reason to expect this positive outcome, especially in a research discussion.
Why might this be hard? Some of us are trained – by education, culture, and/or other influences – to show what we know in front of a live audience (even an audience of one) who ask questions for the purpose of testing us. That might nurture insecurity and an anxiety-inducing mindset imprinted onto our emotional bodies that we carry into new situations.
To start training this out of us, remember the main purpose of the presentation. Usually, it’s to contribute insight that people are interested in, not to show your ability relative to others or to gain their approval. We bring to the table our own perspective shaped by what material we’ve been exposed to and what we’ve experienced. We’re experts of our contribution. Our listeners have faith in us and we honor their faith when we give the most trustworthy answers, including “I don’t know”.