Handling Hostile Questions
Stay calm and productive under challenge.
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Help me handle hostile questions. The talk and the audience: [TALK_AUDIENCE]. Examples of hostile or loaded questions I fear: [HOSTILE_QUESTIONS]. My goals for the exchange: [GOALS]. Teach a method: pause, acknowledge, clarify, answer the legitimate part, bridge. Show how to unpack a loaded question, how to correct a false premise politely, how to handle a long statement disguised as a question, and how to refuse a question with grace. For each of my examples, write a calm answer of under 60 words. Provide phrases to buy time, a plan for when a questioner will not stop, and a debrief checklist. Stress honesty: do not bluff and do not attack. If a question involves safety or legal matters, refer it to the appropriate person [VERIFY]. Also add a practice drill with five invented hostile questions, an exercise in rewriting each into a neutral form before answering, and a reminder to ask a moderator or colleague to step in when needed.
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