You're presenting to a tough audience. How do you exude confidence in the face of challenging questions?

Preparation is key. You don’t have to sweat too much about it. You are an expert in this field otherwise, you will not be talking about it after all. But dating a list of potential questions with prepared at least thought about answers will go along way calming your nerves and proving to yourself that you have everything you needed to answer even the toughest questions.

Know this process, too, especially when you might be asked challenging questions... It's as simple as 'Thank and Repeat.' Let's break it down. Step 1. Thank them for asking the question. Step 2. Repeat the Question. When you utilize "Thank and Repeat," you are giving your mind an opportunity to come up with the perfect answer. Your mind is quick, and it will come up with the perfect answer when you give it a few seconds to do so.

A good way to prove that you were actively listening, is to shortly summarize and rephrase the question before answering. This will ensure that you understood correctly and prove you listened.

Prefer using a known structure and framework that you feel comfortable with. I often use the PREP framework (Point, Reason, Example, Point). The beauty of your framework is that you start by answering with a short answer, and if you feel that you’re answering needs more explanation, you give reasons and an example before summarizing it back therefore, you can stop the short answer if it’s enough. Which is why executives usually knows when we answered using this PREP framework.

“The art of communication is the language of leadership.” – James Humes I think of presenting as sailing a boat; sometimes you need to adjust your sails to navigate through changing winds and reach your destination smoothly.