Summary
This downloadable PDF lesson plan for English teachers helps students handle questions professionally. This ESL class material is perfect for teaching communication skills for presentations and meetings, equipping learners with practical strategies and language.
Based on a short video about managing audience questions, this lesson provides a full communication skills workout. Activities include a video comprehension task, a vocabulary gap-fill, and practical exercises on polite language. The lesson culminates in a dynamic role-play where students must use the new techniques to field difficult questions from a "tough crowd," building confidence for real-world business scenarios.
Activities
- Students watch a video explaining four key techniques for handling questions and match each technique to the situation it is best suited for, such as dealing with irrelevant or unanswerable queries.
- Learners analyze and categorize useful phrases for politely deferring answers, redirecting questions to the audience, or asking for follow-up, building their professional communication toolkit.
- A grammar exercise focuses on using conditional structures and polite phrases like "Do you mind if..." to transform direct or blunt statements into tactful, professional requests and deflections.
- The lesson concludes with a role-play where students give a short presentation while classmates interrupt with challenging questions, applying all the strategies learned in a real-time simulation.
Vocabulary focus
This lesson introduces key vocabulary for professional communication. It includes verbs like to anticipate (predict questions), to acknowledge (show you've heard), to rehearse (practice), and to stump (ask a question someone can't answer), plus the important business noun onus (responsibility).
Grammar focus
The grammar section focuses on polite language for deflecting and deferring questions. Students practice using conditional structures (e.g., "If you could send me an email, I would find the answer for you") and common phrases like "Do you mind if we...?" to soften their requests and manage conversations tactfully.
