Michael Dodd - Great Answers to Tough Questions at Work

The great thing about this book, and the excellent insights of the writer Michael Dodd, is that it covers a lot more than just dealing with' difficult questions. The practical tips, tools and advice help to turn difficult questions into great opportunities!

Phil Jesson, Managing Partner at KAMguru The UK's leading Key Account Management consultancy

This book is the ultimate handbook for the modern leader for whom inspiring communication, conversation and story-telling skills are must-haves. Inside are two Golden Formulae that you can use to plan, prepare and practice and be ready to not just answer any tough questions well, but to be a standout communicator in all situations.

Ian Berry, Mentor for Business Leaders and International Speaker on Leadership and Change

Should I recommend Great Answers to Tough Questions at Work? That is an easy question Yes. Why? As a CEO (also, husband, father, son) I have been asked tough questions that have stopped me in my tracks. Now, give me tough questions, I'm ready. Thanks Michael.

Tony Meyer, CEO at Now Managed Learning Services

Entertaining, insightful and packed full of practical tips, this book is a must-have' for anyone in the public eye.

Susan Cousin, Headteacher and Multi-Academy Trust Director

If you are a leader in a high profile position, you must expect to be interviewed and challenged on a regular basis. Michael Dodd's book will be a great help to anyone finding themselves in such a position. This book emphasises the importance of carefully planning the messages you want to get across with well-prepared responses to the questions, thereby enabling you to remain in control of the situation.

Sir Mike Hodgkinson, Chairman of Keolis (UK) Ltd, Deputy Chairman TUI AG

If you want to out-communicate your competitors, out-smart everyone in your strategic communications and build competitive advantage this is a must read. It also comes with the additional benefit of enabling you to hugely improve your internal communications, resulting in higher levels of engagement and inspiring greater innovation and creativity amongst your team.

Sir Eric Peacock, Chairman of Just Loans PLC; Non-Executive Director at United Kingdom Export Finance

Michael Dodd has quizzed the best on six continents and all his experience, knowledge and stories are distilled in this brilliant book. He gives you his formulae for planning, preparation and practice so you're always ready for the toughest questions with answers that satisfy the questioner and place you in the driving seat.

Barry Graham, Founder and CEO Speakers' Corner

Employing well-crafted messages and powerful, amusing stories throughout his book, Michael Dodd practises what he preaches. Covering a wide spectrum of business situations from client relations to media crisis, Great Answers to Tough Questions at Work is immensely readable, highly practical and might just save your career and reputation.

Jem Thomas, Director of Training and Innovation at Albany Associates

This edition first published 2016
2016 Michael Dodd

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Set in 11/14pt MyriadPro-Regular by Thomson Digital, Noida, India

At some stage it happens to nearly all of us.

We're asked a question by the boss, a job selection board or a potential client and we say something really stupid.

Or wrong.

Or self-defeating.

Maybe, on a bad day, it can even be a combination of all three.

And then you realize a short time afterwards what you should have said.

This human experience is so common, the French have an expression for it.

They talk about the annoying phenomenon of thinking up the perfect thing that should have come out of your lips all too late while you're on the stairs leaving after that bruising verbal encounter: L'espirit d'escalier, otherwise known as the spirit of the stairs or staircase wit.

This book contains solutions to this and related problems.

It guides you on what you should say and how best to say it in challenging situations throughout your working life.

Whether you're asked Why should you be promoted?, Why aren't there any pens in the stationery cabinet when I asked you to get some last month? or Why should I invest in your billion-dollar project?, this book helps you formulate answers that are set to be more impressive, more reassuring and more inspiring than the ones you're giving now.

It gives you the techniques and the amazingly effective golden formulae for dealing with hard questions, nasty questions and stupid questions.

Drawing on my background as a broadcast interviewer, with training by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in the art of putting business leaders, politicians, officials and others under pressure, this book will show you how to stand up to what have been described as blowtorch-on-the-belly questions.