How to Quickly Articulate a Response to Any Question

How do you quickly articulate a response? If you're asked a question on

response? If you're asked a question on the spot, you don't have time to prepare. How do you come across as

prepare. How do you come across as intelligent and credible the moment you open your mouth? That's what you're about to learn. My name is Yaser Khan.

I've coached more than 30,000 leaders across the world on how to speak like a CEO. Let's get into it. If you want to

CEO. Let's get into it. If you want to sound articulate on the spot, first we must identify what kind of question

we're being asked because depending on the question, the way you respond is going to be different. So the first kind of question you have is the direct.

Then you have the detail question. A

direct question could be what is the time or what do you want to eat?

These questions require a small piece of detail. I don't need you to go into a

detail. I don't need you to go into a lot of detail. What do you want to eat?

Oh, you know, I'm feeling like having pizza, but I I guess I could also go for burgers. And the reason I want to have

burgers. And the reason I want to have pizza is because it's been a long Just tell me what you want to eat and stop talking there. The more you talk, the

talking there. The more you talk, the more inefficient you are with your communication because your message was already received. Now, another big

already received. Now, another big problem when a lot of people when they're asked a question, they don't know they're being asked a direct question. So, if I say something like,

question. So, if I say something like, "Is the project going to be done on time?" What am I looking for? I'm

time?" What am I looking for? I'm

looking for a yes, it's going to be done on time because of ABC reason. Yes,

we're still on track. Or no, it's not going to be done on time because the vendor was late. We pushed it about a week. just a little bit of detail, but

week. just a little bit of detail, but it's very direct and it's very concise.

That's what I'm looking for. What people

do is when they hear a direct question, let's say they start talking here, they end talking here. They'll say, "So, tell me, is a project going to be done on time?" Oh, yeah. The the project So, I I

time?" Oh, yeah. The the project So, I I emailed the vendor. And then the vendor said, "Oh, I didn't receive the email on time. I'm going to double check with the

time. I'm going to double check with the team." So, they went and double checked

team." So, they went and double checked with the team. And then they replied to me 3 days later and they said actually the team was behind so we couldn't really do it on time so we have to come up with a new timeline and and now we

talked to them again and we're thinking of maybe expanding the timeline to about Tuesday. So maybe Wednesdayish to

Tuesday. So maybe Wednesdayish to Tuesdayish we might expect the project to be done when all the way around in your mind if you are a manager looking

for an update what's the piece of information you need just tell me is this going to be done on time yes or no answer the question first then provide

the detail a lot of people what they will do is they will ramble because they will take their internal thought process they verbalize the

thought process and they think if I talk long enough I will know what I'm talking about. It's the opposite. Think about

about. It's the opposite. Think about

what you want to say and explain it in the fewest possible words. If you need a lot of words to communicate something simple, you're not a very good communicator because you are inefficient

with your words. You have to use too many to communicate the message. So if

you are being asked a direct question, here's the format I recommend. In the

first sentence, answer the question and you might not have the answer. You

can say actually I'm not sure. I'll

check and get back to you. That's direct

to it gives me some indication. Right?

Then you provide detail. Whatever amount of detail is required only that supports the answer. What you don't want to do is

the answer. What you don't want to do is give insignificant detail or become defensive. Is this project going to be

defensive. Is this project going to be done on time? Uh yeah, the project unfortunately is not going to be done on time, but but honestly, I reached out to them and they said that now it's coming

from a defensive place where you're just trying to protect yourself. Answer the

question, provide just enough detail, and slow down when you do it. So, the

first type of question you have is a direct question that requires a direct answer. Then you have a detail question.

answer. Then you have a detail question.

Detail question requires you to explain a process, explain the story

or justify or give proof.

So for example, if I if you were in a job interview and I asked you why did you apply for this role? you could tell me about the process. Well, the reason I

applied for this role is because I've done XYZ. I have this type of

done XYZ. I have this type of experience. I was looking for my next

experience. I was looking for my next big step and when I saw your job posting open up, it really resonated with me.

This requires more detail. If you were asked why did you apply for the job and you said because I saw the job posting doesn't sound very articulate, does it?

So, you're explaining a process. Then

you can also tell a story.

Why did you get into accounting? Well,

the reason I got into accounting is because my father owns an accounting firm and ever since I was growing up, I was spending a lot of time in his office seeing what everyone else does, blah blah blah, going into a story. So, this

requires detail. Now, you might also have to justify and provide proof. So,

why did you delay this project or why did you run the marketing campaign this way? Explain it to me. You're not going

way? Explain it to me. You're not going to say because I wanted to get more sales.

that doesn't explain the process. Well,

the reason I did it is because we I had this problem and we wanted to solve it with this approach. That's what we did.

You walk them through it. You justify

it. And then lastly, you have proof.

Tell me about a time where you have worked with a difficult coworker and you had to make it work. Well, this happened two years ago when I was working at XYZ.

You were giving more detail.

It's important to know what type of question you're answering. It's

important to know what the person asking the question wants. So, for example, if you're asked a question like, "So, tell me a little bit about yourself." Is that a direct question?

No. But a lot of people perceive it that way. Oh, my name is Yaser. I work as an

way. Oh, my name is Yaser. I work as an architect and I am from from Canada. I'm

answering in a direct way when the question was asking for detail.

In other words, or on the flip side, sometimes you're asked a direct question, but you give a detailed response.

Did you pick up milk from the grocery store? Actually, so here's what

store? Actually, so here's what happened. And I I went to the grocery

happened. And I I went to the grocery store and I was picking up all of these different things and I was on the phone call with my friend and they told me to do XYZ but then I got just tell me yes

or no. So can you see the importance of

or no. So can you see the importance of this? So how do you know how much detail

this? So how do you know how much detail to include? Just like in the direct

to include? Just like in the direct questions, the first thing you want to do, even if you asked a detailed question, is you want to either answer

the question or you want to tell them what you're about to say.

So if I if I say, "How do you make an omelette?" Obviously, in the first

omelette?" Obviously, in the first sentence, I can't tell you the entire process. So I'm going to say, "This is

process. So I'm going to say, "This is the six-step process." These are the steps that you will follow to make an omelette. Step number one, grab an egg.

omelette. Step number one, grab an egg.

Step number two, break the egg. Step

number three, put the egg in a bowl.

Step number four, whisk the egg. Step

number five, get a pan. And so on. I

don't know how to make an omelette, but I'm guessing it's something around that.

So, what did I do here? I have broken down the process. But did you notice how I did not waste any words? what I was

saying had a purpose in my answer. So

you first answer the question. So in

other words, I could say this is how you make an omelet. Then you go into your individual points. Now this could be a

individual points. Now this could be a story. This could be a proof. This could

story. This could be a proof. This could

be a example data point. Whatever it might be and then at the end you just say the

answer again.

So that's why so that's how you make an omelet. So that's why I delayed the

omelet. So that's why I delayed the project. So that's why I decided to go

project. So that's why I decided to go with this marketing approach. So what

you want to do is you want to answer the question immediately. This gives the

question immediately. This gives the other person the illusion, how did you come up with that so fast? How did you know how to do that? You don't have to say it immediately after hearing the

question. So if someone says, do you

question. So if someone says, do you believe in aliens? Yes, I believe in aliens. And reason number one, reason

aliens. And reason number one, reason number two, that's a little suspicious.

You didn't even think about that. How

was this so readily available to you on the top of your head? So instead, that's an interesting question.

I do believe in aliens and the reason I believe in them is because I think we have an infinite universe and it would be selfish to believe that in an

infinite universe that we cannot observe that we are the only living species. So

that's why I believe aliens do exist.

Now in the moment I took the time to think structure. What did I do? I said

think structure. What did I do? I said

yes. I provided a reason of why I believe that to be the case. And in the end I answered again yes I believe that

aliens do exist. So when you speak in a structure, it gives the illusion that you were prepared or you knew what

to say right off the top of your head.

Now let me double click into a really important point. Okay, there's a

important point. Okay, there's a difference in how how your brain sources the information.

So you have step one is creating and step two or not step two. One way

your brain receives information is creating. The next way is retrieving.

creating. The next way is retrieving.

What do I mean by this?

Let's say if I asked you right now, what is your phone number? What is your brother or sister's name? What's the

last thing you ate?

What is a movie you watched yesterday? You don't

have to think about it too much. What

you're going to do is your brain has all of these bits of information at the top of your head or somewhere in your mind. All you have to do is dip

your mind. All you have to do is dip into it, find the piece of information related to what I asked you and then bring it outside. So if I say, "What's your phone number?" Go into the part of

your brain that has a phone number. Just

take it out and say it. You don't have to create the phone number. You don't

have to think about the phone number. A

lot like if I asked you, can you get me water from the fridge? You'll go open the fridge, go pick out the water, close it, and that's it. You're just

retrieving it. Okay? This is because it's already in your memory. You've

already crafted it. You've talked about it at a certain point. You've thought

about it. You've experienced it recently. It's somewhere in your memory.

recently. It's somewhere in your memory.

Now, the other process is creating.

Creating requires more brainstorming, more brain power because you're building something out of nothing. So for

example, if I ask you right now, tell me about the best piece of advice you've ever gotten.

Now what's happening in your mind? You

have again lots of pieces of information, but you might not have thought about this question. So what do you need to

this question. So what do you need to do? You need more time to first think

do? You need more time to first think about what is the best piece of advice.

Is it this? Is it this? Is it this? Is

it this? Okay, finally you decide this is the one that I'm going to talk about.

Now, you're going to think, okay, that's the piece of advice, but who said it to me? When did they say it? Why was it my

me? When did they say it? Why was it my favorite? How did I use it? How should I

favorite? How did I use it? How should I recommend you to use it? You were

structuring and creating the entire answer on the spot. and that will take more time and that is more difficult to

do. So often times when you are seeing

do. So often times when you are seeing interviews of people where they're asked questions and they're able to respond very quickly, most of the time they're

not creating in the moment. Yes, there

is a way to create faster too. I will

talk about that. But most of the time they are retrieving it from their memory because they've spent time thinking about it. they've recently experienced

about it. they've recently experienced it or it's something they speak about quite often. So for example, if you ask

quite often. So for example, if you ask a CEO about their product or their marketing campaign because they've been in meetings very often talking about the marketing campaign, talking about the

product, it's somewhere in the mind.

It's it's somewhere at the top of it.

All they have to do is go in, pick it up, retrieve it, and give it to you.

They're not creating it from scratch. So

this is why if you have to come up with a story on the spot, it's very difficult to not only find the story, find the message, craft it, and deliver it in an

engaging way too. So not only are you coming up with the content, but you're also thinking about how to deliver in a good way on the spot. And that is a separate skill that we need to craft. So

if you are in an interview, you want to prime yourself to focus on retrieving.

What do I mean? In an interview, you know the questions they're going to ask.

Tell me about yourself. Why did you apply for this job? Why should we hire you? Tell me about a time where you work

you? Tell me about a time where you work with XY. You know that they're going to

with XY. You know that they're going to ask you these questions. So, all you're going to do in your preparation, you're going to list out the questions.

You're going to write them out, and you're just going to think about what story, what proof can I give that backs this up? Tell me

about a time when you've dealt with a difficult coworker. If you were asked

difficult coworker. If you were asked that in the interview question and you had to create it then and there, you're going to think you're going to give a sloppy answer. You're going to ramble.

sloppy answer. You're going to ramble.

But if ahead of time you just said, "Oh, that story. Yes, now I have it at top of

that story. Yes, now I have it at top of mind." Then when you go into the

mind." Then when you go into the interview and they say, "Hey, tell me about a difficult coworker. Oh, yeah. I

remember two years ago I was working with this." And they'll think, "Wait,

with this." And they'll think, "Wait, how did he do that?" And I actually did this in my first job interview many years ago to the point where halfway through the interview, the interviewer

asked me, "How did you prepare for this interview?" Because you seem to have a

interview?" Because you seem to have a question ready to go. And it's because I listed out all the questions and I verbalized them and I had all those stories floating at the top of my head.

If I had to think about them on the spot, it would take me very long and I would ramble. So, an easy thing that

would ramble. So, an easy thing that most people just don't do, list down the things you can get asked and prepare yourself for how to say them. Prepare a

story, prepare a bullet point. So, all

you have to do is retrieve the information instead of having to create the information. Now, there is a time to

the information. Now, there is a time to create because you're not always going to get asked questions that you know off the top of your head or something that you have recently experienced. Let me go

back and touch on retrieving real quick.

One detail I forgot to add here.

For some questions, if you are unable to retrieve and answer the question immediately, it signals to the other person that you are not a competent

person. So for example, let's say I'm

person. So for example, let's say I'm working with a marketing team and I ask them, "What ad budget do you recommend

and what do you anticipate our rorowaz to be?" and they're thinking

to be?" and they're thinking what what ad budget what what does rorowaz mean? If I know they don't know

rorowaz mean? If I know they don't know these terms off the top of their head if they can't tell me right away they might not have had this conversation. So if I ask them typically when you're working

with clients what's your first what are the first few steps you take?

Well, uh, I I think you know, with like one of our clients now, I know they're creating the answer. So, they might not have answered this question many times

before or they might not have thought about this many times before. What

information am I getting about this team? They might not be very experienced

team? They might not be very experienced if they've never thought about it. Do I

want to work with someone who's never thought about this thing that I need help with? So you can tell if someone is

help with? So you can tell if someone is creating or retrieving depending on how structured their answer is and how quickly they're able to retrieve it. Now

not everything needs to be retrieved. So

if I say this is my situation, what strategy would you recommend? They can't

just go in and right away, oh yeah, this is what I would recommend. Hm. For your

situation, I would recommend you do XYZ.

Now they're creating. So it's not one is good, one is bad. There's a purpose for each, but it's important to know what you're doing. If you can control

you're doing. If you can control something, you can be prepared for something, do that so you can retrieve it. But also get ready to create the

it. But also get ready to create the answer. How do you create the answer?

answer. How do you create the answer?

You create it with a structure that we talked about here.

You have lots of pieces of information.

You just need to figure out how do I take that information, say enough, but not too much.

Say enough but not too much. This is

called being verbally efficient.

Efficient with your words. So if someone says what strategy would you recommend?

This is what I recommend.

The first thing we should do is this.

The second that the third that we had a client we work with who did XYZ and it worked really well for them. In your

situation I think it's going to work out as well. That's my recommendation.

as well. That's my recommendation.

Can you see how even though I was creating the answer, I was slow. I

thought about what I wanted to say. I

structured it and then I gave it to you.

You're going to trust me more because it sounded like I thought what I was going to talk about. I I thought about what what I was going to say. I

I value your question enough to ponder about it to create it. So, you also don't want to rush the creation process.

The right answer is better than the rushed answer. Always. The right answer

rushed answer. Always. The right answer is better than the rushed answer. You

don't want to be someone who's so uncomfortable with silence that you just want to speak. This will make you sound overly eager and it will make you sound

junior. When people are experts at their

junior. When people are experts at their craft, they have high authority. They

hold space.

They take their time. They slow down. So

to bring this all together first, if you want to respond to a question in an articulate way, one recognize is it a direct question, is it a detailed

question? If it's a direct question,

question? If it's a direct question, answer in one sentence.

That's it. A little bit more detail.

That's fine. Give them the direct answer. They might prompt you for more

answer. They might prompt you for more detail. Then you can go into it. Or you

detail. Then you can go into it. Or you

can ask blah blah blah. Would you like me to go deeper into that? And then they can they can request that. If it it is a detailed question then provide a process, a story, justification, proof,

data, whatever you need. But only enough detail that supports the answer. If the

detail does not support the answer, then it is irrelevant. If you speak in a structure,

irrelevant. If you speak in a structure, you're going to be able to do that. And

then lastly, know the difference between creating and retrieving. You can

retrieve things by preparing for them, bringing them top of mind and just picking them out. And for creating things, you will get you you will need to get used to using a speaking structure. You do it enough times, I

structure. You do it enough times, I promise you, you'll be a speaking on the spot