How to write and publish a scientific paper - Barbara Gastel, Robert A. Day 2022
A few answers on questions
How to present a paper orally
Conference communications
What should you do if an audience member is indeed abrasive? If someone asks an irrelevant question? If a question is relevant but you lack the answer?
If someone is rude, stay calm and courteous. Thank them for the question or comment, and if you have a substantive reply, provide it. If the person keeps pursuing the point, offer to talk after the session.
If a question is irrelevant, take a cue from politicians and try to deflect the discussion to something related that you wish to address—perhaps a point that you had hoped to include in your presentation but didn’t have time to add. (“That’s an interesting question, but a more immediate concern to us was.…”) Alternatively, again offer to talk with the person later.
If you lack the answer to a question, do not panic—and definitely do not bluff. Admit that you do not know. If you can provide the answer later, offer to do so; if you know how to find the answer, say how. To help prepare for questions that might arise, have colleagues quiz you after you rehearse.
Especially if you have not yet submitted for publication the work you are presenting, consider making note of the questions and comments (or having a colleague do so). Audience members can function as some of your earliest peer reviewers. Keeping their questions in mind when you write may strengthen your paper and hasten its acceptance.