Q&A: sceptical audience

Yesterday at 13:05Dana, finance director4 questions, asked again on 1
3.7
Q&A handling, effective
Question by questionLengthScore
1You’re asking for two hires. What happens to the plan if we only approve one?0:234.5 Strong2Instant refunds sound expensive. What happens to fraud losses if we refund before we’ve checked?↳ Asked againthen answered0:252.3 Emerging3Completion jumped from 41 to 58%. How much of that was your fix, and how much was the time of year?0:204.3 Effective4If the fraud rules slip to Q2, what does that cost us?0:233.5 Effective
Question 1: Dana asked

You’re asking for two hires. What happens to the plan if we only approve one?

Would ask again if the answer doesn’t say which bet slips.

It belongs in the first 5 seconds
0:000:23, inside the 0:20–1:00 target
FillerLate pointWhere it belongs
Pace 158 words a minute0 fillersPauses well placed
um fillerlate pointstrong line

0:00Then one-tap moves to Q2.1 The engineer is the one I’d keep, because refunds and one-tap both need them, and the fraud rules can run for a quarter with the team we have. So with one hire, we’d still land refunds and fraud rules by March, and the pilot would start in April.2

Notes
1Answer first. You said what slips in the first five words. That’s exactly what a finance director wants.
2Link back to your ask. End by asking for the decision: approve the roadmap, and the engineer at least.

Your answer came at 0:00, inside the first 5 seconds. That’s what they want.

Your weakest answer, made stronger
Instant refunds sound expensive. What happens to fraud losses if we refund before we’ve checked?
You scored 2.3 Emerging. Lead with the limit and the cost, in numbers.

Losses stay small, because large refunds are still checked first.

The risk team has agreed the approach with us, and most refunds come from customers we already know. We’ll review the numbers daily when it goes live, and that’s why it’s safe to approve the refunds bet now.

Built from your own words: answer first, then the reason, then back to your ask.

What to keep
  • Q1 The answer comes first, then the reason, then what still lands.
  • Q3 A direct answer, backed by a comparison with last year.
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