There are few things that make people more nervous than giving a prepared speech in public. 

But one thing that certainly does?

Taking questions from the audience after. 

Boy howdy, does a Q&A send our lizard brains into fight or flight!

Why?

Because we are now outside the land of rehearsed presentations, and into the world of...

IMPROV.

(Fortunately for you, dear reader, I'm OBSESSED with improv.)

Q&As can be scary because we feel like there's no way to practice them.

But this simply isn't true. 

Professional improvisers don't rehearse the shows they perform on stage, but they practice the skills constantly. 

And the seemingly simple skill that the practice the most?

Listening.

Let's get into it, shall we? 

The #1 mistake I see speakers make during Q&A is:

Starting their answer before they've fully processed the question. 

We've all seen it. 

A politician is asked a pointed question about healthcare premiums, and that...