Here's how you can navigate difficult or challenging questions during a motivational speaking interview.

Best Advice: "Never prove your innocence; let them prove your guilt". Stop, breathe, and centre yourself. Remember, you DO NOT have to answer immediately. They will wait for you as long as it takes. Also, you can ask clarifying questions, giving you time to think about what to say.

I had two guys just hammering me during a talk in a township. I listened, gave them space to feel heard, and asked questions and gave them more space. Ultimately, these two guys told the rest of the audience that my advice was gold and that they should follow it. We forget how much it means for people to feel heard.

It’s about empathy. People want to feel safe, seen,valued and heard- what I refer to as our 4 human drivers. When someone makes comments or interrupts a speaker, they are needing to have one or more of those drivers met. One of your jobs as a true speaker is to allow for connection between humans. We do that by empathising. And we can only empathise when vulnerability meets vulnerability. So listening without judgement, giving them space for a couple of minutes and gently responding can allow you to show and receive vulnerability. Which changes the dynamic immediately. Allowing you to move forward with the presentation with great respect. It’s a powerful thing to watch.

If you aren't sure at that moment how to answer the question, and/or if you need more input from the questioner, note that it's a challenging and thought-provoking question and offer to discuss further after your talk.

I love saying "I don't know" - I would easily tell someone that I don't know and that we should exchange details afterwards, and then I can come back to them.

Storytelling is the way to connect with an audience and showcase relevance even with the most difficult interviewer. And the story that you share doesn't have to be your own. It's important to have stories in the back of your mind when it comes to challenges and/or overcoming said challenges. Some of those can be yours, some of those can be friends/colleagues, and they can even be client's stories that you've asked to share. For instance, one of our motivational speaking clients was interviewed on a panel and the interviewer disagreed with their answer on the stage. So our client used it as an opportunity to teach how differences in perspective and view points is valuable in team building and found common ground with the interviewer.

You have to have the right mindset going into difficult questions. It is not about defending or being right, it is about being curious.