Does anyone have any questions? Do you have any questions? If there are no questions…

You gave a great presentation. But as you wrap up and ask for questions, crickets. No one has a question about your presentation? Somehow it feels…flat.

What can you do next time to encourage people to ask questions? Here are five strategies that may lead you to a more robust Q&A.

Don’t wait until the end. Engage your audience right away by asking them questions; “how many of you would like an easier way to fill out daily reports?” “how does this content sit with you so far?” “What do you think our next step should be?” Once they are comfortable answering your questions, you can start asking for their questions. And when you do, be specific.

“What questions do you have about the new employee engagement survey that I just described?”

“What questions do you have so far about how we built the survey?”

And by the way, this approach encourages questions that relate to the content you are sharing, rather than random ones that can pull you off course.

Save enough time. So many presentations go right up to, or past, the scheduled time. Everyone is beginning to worry they will be late for their next meeting. Prepare your presentation so that you have a realistic amount of time for questions and discussion.

Ask proactively. Assume there will be questions, maybe by saying, “what questions do you have so far?” or “what questions can I answer?” Or even, “who has the first question for me?” A well known politician was reputed to say, “who has questions for my answers?” at the start of press conferences. It’s a little flippant, but catchy.

Pause and wait for it… Yes, it might seem like a long, awkward pause, but sometimes no one wants to ask the first question. So wait. Count to ten in your head. Take a breath or two, or three. Look around at faces and see if you can find someone who looks like they have a question. People who are ready to speak usually show strong eye contact, and sometimes lean forward a bit, even on video calls.

Plant a question. Plan for someone you trust to ask the first question if no one else does. Or, you could pose it yourself, and then answer. Something like this: “most people are curious to know how we implemented the engagement survey, so I’ll answer that for you.”

Try one or all of these, and we think you will end up with an engaged audience who is willing to ask more questions.