Shota Ichihashi: The Power of Answering

2023/04/18

After obtaining my Ph.D. in economics in the United States in 2018, I am now researching microeconomics and game theory at Queen's University in Canada. In my research life, there are many opportunities to answer questions, such as during lectures and paper presentations. I have always been bad at both asking and being asked questions, and until recently, I used to pray that no questions would come during my presentations. However, I feel like I have finally grasped the knack for answering questions recently, so I would like to share it with everyone.

The first is not to interrupt until the questioner has finished speaking. It is the worst to guess the content and answer in the middle of a question. Even if you have a perfectly prepared answer, hold back until the other person finishes speaking. I sometimes feel the temptation to give the answer I have prepared, but I bite my lip and try not to interrupt.

The second is the courage to ask back if you don't understand. This always happens in English. Even at a conference I recently attended, a star researcher asked "say that again?" three times. If you ask back, the other person might say, "I guess what I’m asking is…" and paraphrase the question in an easy-to-understand way. Also, no one takes offense at the fact that you are trying to understand the question.

The third is to "also" answer things you weren't asked. This might be surprising to someone trained to answer only what is asked in exams, but I think most people who are good at presentations do it. For example, regarding a paper, if you are asked if you analyzed a certain case, it's fine to say, "I hadn't thought of that, so I'll try it later, thank you," but you can follow that up by saying, "However, although it's a bit different, I'm doing this kind of extension..." and talk about an extension that might be interesting even if it's not directly related to the question. The audience is on your side and wants to understand the paper, so as long as you are answering the original question, there is no harm in providing information that deepens their understanding. Also, since it ends with a positive answer like "I did this," it softens the less-than-ideal impression that you hadn't done the suggested analysis.

When I presented a paper the other day, I asked back until I felt I completely understood to avoid jumping to conclusions, and after answering, I asked the questioner, "Does this answer your question?" to make sure. The answer I got back was "No."