What do you say in a meeting when you don't know the answer?
“I'll have to get back to you.” is fine. Three key words in working with people are “I don't know,” or “I need help.” You simply be honest and indicate that you can't answer them yet and that you'll get back to them as quickly as you can —under whatever the circumstances are—with the answer.
What do you say in a meeting if you don't know the answer?
If someone asks you a question that you probably should know, you can say, “I don't know the answer to that, but it's something I should probably dig into, so I'll do some research and get back to you.” That accepts that it's within your field and you are responsible to provide an answer.
What to say when you don t know the answer in defense?
“Can I connect you with someone who might be better able to answer your question?” “I don't know, but I'd be happy to look into that and get back to you with an answer.” “I don't know, but can we schedule a time to discuss this further following the presentation?”
You can give a straightforward refusal or to act as if no question was asked and continuing the conversation by talking about something else, or come up with straight lies. “I'm not going to answer that.” “I have no idea what you are talking about.” “I've never heard anything about that so I can't comment.”
How to Say "I Don't Know" When You Don't Know An Answer
43 related questions found
How do you tell your boss you don't know the answer?
Own up to it right away and present a potential solution (or even ask for help solving the problem) to quickly remedy the situation. Try approaching your manager to explain where you were wrong, what you think the solution could be, and how you'll avoid making this mistake in the future.
“I'm not sure — I have to check and I'll get back to you.” “Excellent question! I'll look into it and let you know.” “I currently don't have that information, but I'll update you as soon as I get it.”
“That's impossible” By immediately disregarding someone else's opinion over and over, everyone is going to think you're a 'negative Nancy', in the corner. ...
How do you professionally say I don t need to be at this meeting?
“Given that this is a decision-making meeting, I think it's more appropriate to have my manager represent our team.” “Thanks for the invite to this meeting. I don't think I'm required at this point. If it's alright with you, I'd like to send Jose as my delegate.”
"I'm not sure, but I'll find out and let you know." "I'll look into it and get back to you with what I find." “That's a good question and I want to give you an accurate response. Let me get back to you by end-of-day.”
Or, “No, I don't have experience in that area.” The best way to handle the question is to say something along these lines: While I have not had any direct experience in XYZ, I am a fast learner, and I am confident that I could (do, manage, direct, handle, etc.) XYZ successfully and exceed your expectations.
If you feel your communication skills may not be up to par, you can experience increased worry and anxiety about speaking in meetings. You may fear you'll fail to get your message across effectively and cause miscommunication or judgment from people in the meeting.
It could be that you're doing all the talking. For me, it was fear of losing face and feeling intimidated by my peers who always seemed to know more than me. Early on in my career, I struggled to speak up in meetings. I knew I “should” say something but was afraid to sound ignorant or look foolish in front of my peers.
