Presentations are usually followed by a question answer session. This could be the most interesting part of your presentation as it helps you to clarify the content of your presentation and to interact with your audience meaningfully. However it could be your worst nightmare if you are not able to handle the questions well. Preparation for this session will go a long way in aptly answering the questions .

 Here are the tips for effectively responding to questions, especially the difficult ones:

1. Always remain calm. Avoid getting perturbed or defensive.
2. Be prepared. Think of the possible questions and rehearse the answers even before the presentation session.
3. Lay down the rules in the beginning. Let the audience know what type of questions will be answered at what point of time. Questions that require clarification could be answered during the presentation and those that require additional information could be answered afterwards.
4. Maintain control over the questioning. Limit the number of questions a person can ask. Allow only one person to speak at a time. Give a chance to every member in the audience to ask questions
5. Listen to the entire question, understand it, re-phrase and repeat it to the audience if necessary before you answer the question.
6. Answer the question by focusing your attention on the questionner for one-fourth of the time and on the audience the rest of the time.
7. If, you do not know the answer, be honest. However you can offer to find out the answer or suggest the source from which the person could get it. Don’t apologize for not knowing the answer.
8. To answer a person who heckles you with provocative or disruptive statements – do not repeat what has been put to you unless the question or statement is to your benefit. Review the statement looking for the underlying motive. Use your analysis of the statement, to rephrase it as a question so that the content is no longer antagonistic to your own position.
9. If you think a heckler is trying to be merely disruptive through his question, remain calm and ask him what his answer would be. Once he has had his say or you find the rest of the audience getting restless, close with a polite “I will have to give a chance to others to ask their questions” and move to the next question.
10. 9.With a person who is trying to show off or deliberately trap you into a mistake, again wait till the statement or question is complete, re-frame the phrase asking whether you have understood it right and answer only if you are sure of the facts. If not, you can say something like “That is an interesting idea. I’ll have to look into it when we take a break”.
11. The best way to deal with absolutes like “Everyone knows that”and “It’s quite obvious that” is to be calm and ask for validation of the statement.
12. When a person strongly disagrees with you and refuses to stop arguing a point with you, you could respond, “Thank you for your opinion, I accept that there are different viewpoints on this issue.” Insist that time constraints mean that you must move to the next question.
13. If a person is rude or provokes you with a contentious question, calm yourself and then answer the question to the best of your ability. Ignore the personal, embarrassing comments and questions.
14. Even if the audience is not in agreement with your answer but you are sure of your facts, stand your ground in a reasonable manner. If you are wrong have the humility to accept it.
15. Although some people get a perverse pleasure from putting others on the wrong foot, and some try to look smart in front of the boss, most people ask questions from a genuine interest. Questions do not always mean you did not explain the topic well , but that the audience interest is deeper than that of the average audience.

The key to an effective conclusion to a presentation is to speak with conviction and answer with confidence.

Dr Vinaya Prabha V Baligar

So you have decided that you need counseling and want to seek help?  Are you unsure about whom to approach? Many individuals face this dilemma. The fact that so many professionals exist only complicates the matter. So how do you choose the right therapist? And what is the difference between a professional counselor and a non- professional counselor. This article answers these questions.

 A professional counselor may be a psychologist, psychiatrist or a psychotherapist.

 A Psychologist is one who possesses a degree in psychology and is trained in human behavior. Psychologists who are trained in therapy are called psychotherapists; they can either be clinical psychologists or counseling psychologists. They are trained in psychological theory and assessment. They are trained in different methods of therapy and use the methods of their therapeutic orientation to counsel and assist the counselees. They also have the advantage of supervised experience in their therapeutic field of orientation. Psychotherapists may use psychological tests to assess their counselees.  

A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental disorders. A psychiatrist prescribes medicines as well as gives therapy to a patient.

Now, to answer the question as to why you should seek the services of a professional therapist. The professional is trained in the scientific therapeutic methods. They have the advantage of supervised experience in their therapeutic field .The validity and effectiveness of these methods has been proven by research over the years across many countries, cultures and social systems.  They are trained to be non-judgmental and non-biased. All information given to them by the counselee is kept confidential. Professionals do not give advice. On the other hand they act as facilitators in helping counselees with their problems

A non-professional counselor can be a lay person like a relative or a friend. They could also be volunteers, social and community workers. They may not have a degree in psychology. A non-professional counselor can be a good listener with basic counseling skills who is interested in helping you out with your problems. They may have a certificate in counseling, giving them knowledge and basic skills in counseling theory and methods. They may not have supervised training in therapy.

So, next time you decide to go for counseling, keep the above points in mind and then make your choice about whom to consult.

Psychological testing has become rampant across industries, more so in the case of Information Technology, BPOs and ITES companies. These tests are used to ‘throw up’ personality profiles and competency descriptions that would help companies recruit the ‘right’ candidate. The Human Resources department in most organizations is responsible for the administering of Psychometric tests.

The International body that sets guidelines for testing is the International Test Commission (ITC) which stipulates guidelines for adaptation and usage of tests. ITC has issued guidelines to cover the following –

• Professionals and ethical standards in testing
• Rights of the test candidate and other parties involved in the testing process
• Choice and evaluation of alternative tests
• Test administration, scoring and interpretation
• Report writing and feedback.

ITC has defined Competence in test use as “A Competent test will use tests appropriately, professionally and in ethical manner, paying due regard to the needs and rights of those involved in the Testing process, the reasons for testing, and the broader context in which the testing takes place.”

There are many reasons why a test can be fallible-

1. Inappropriate usage of Tests
   The norms for which the tests have been designed have to be considered carefully. They cannot be administered to a population that is different from the norm population (Norm population can be adolescents, senior executives; norms could be based on age, occupation, gender, economic status etc.). That is, a test designed for adolescents cannot be administered on Senior Executives and vice versa because the results of such administration would be faulty.
2. Culture Fair Testing
   Another common flaw is in the usage of tests which are not culture fair. Many psychological tests have been designed for the western population and can be used appropriately only in that culture. Unfortunately many of these tests are used on the Indian population giving rise to faulty conclusions.
3. Design of test
   The psychometric can only be designed by professionals qualified in psychometrics. Many a times lay people design test using the help of information accessed through the internet or sometimes even from their own common sense. Such tests are not valued.
4. Validation of test
   Evert test that has been designed has to be validated. The process of validation would involve administering the test on large population over a period of time before it is certified as “ready for use”. This cannot be done from tests that are fabricated overnight.
5. Downloaded test
   Often tests are downloaded from the internet and are used for proposes other than for which they have been designed. For e.g. a personality test being used to test the emotional intelligence or team skills of a person.
6. Wrong customization
   Sometimes the items of a test are changed to suit the user. In such instance the test cannot give valid result. For example an item (a question / statement in the test) would state – ‘Do you usually date on weekends?’, could be changed to ‘ do you socialize on weekends ‘ to fit the Indian scenario. The results of the tests with such changed items will not be valid.
7. Test administration
   The test administration should be systematically standardized, i.e., the test should be administered exactly under the same condition to all the users. This means that the actual test environment, the instruction, the timing and materials are the same on every test occasion. Before administering the test the user must consider the following deadlines-
   • What is the purpose of testing?
   • What outcomes will be achieved through testing?
   • Why are these specific tests being used?
   • Why are these tests relevant to the outcomes being sought?
   • What evidence is there that these tests are appropriate for the people who are to be accessed?
8. Confidentiality of test results All results of test must be maintained by the administrator in strict confidence. Revealing the results could lead to unfair discrimination in the workspace. This happens when a selection that is used is disadvantageous to certain groups within the organizations. For example the results of IQ tests conducted on students were revealed to the teachers to the disadvantage of the students. The teachers who were privy to the IQ test information exhibited prejudiced judgments about those students who scored low in these tests. Consequently, the use of IQ tests in the US schools has been banned and can only be used after prior permissions from the parents.To ensure confidentiality, the following guidelines should be considered:Ensure that test materials are kept securely.
   1. Ensure that test materials are kept securely
   2. Ensure secure storage of and control access to test materials.
   3. Respect copyright law and agreements that exist with respect to a test including any prohibitions on the copying or transmission of materials in electronic or other forms to other people, whether qualified or otherwise.
   4. Protect the integrity of the test by not coaching individuals on actual test materials or other practice materials that might unfairly influence their test performance.
   5. Ensure that test techniques are not described publicly in such a way that their usefulness is impaired.
9. Competence of Test Administrator and Interpreter  he personnel administering the tests have to be strict in following the instructions stipulated by the test designers. The interpretations too have to be done by qualified personnel who are psychologists.
10. Limitation of tests  The tests are ‘limited’ for the purposes for which they have been designed. For a holistic assessment of an individual, it is required that the test results are supplemented by information from interviews and group discussions. In addition the test results are not valid after eighteen months of its administration.
11. Test Copyrights  It is an offence to copy tests that have been copyrighted. They can only be used after the necessary permission is obtained from the designers. Otherwise this illegal copying may lead to lack of standardization in test condition and poor control of materials.
12. Test feedback  Often times the guidelines for feedback are not followed by the Users. The British Psychological Society has set out the following guidelines for written and oral feedback:

• Ensure that the technical and linguistic levels of any reports are appropriate for the level of understanding of the recipients.
• Make clear that the test data represent just one source of information and should always be considered in conjunction with other information.
• Explain how the importance of the test results should be weighted in relation to other information about the people being assessed.
• Use a form and structure for a report that is appropriate to the context of the assessment.
• When appropriate, provide third parties with information on how results may be used to classify people into categories (e.g. for diagnostic purposes or for job selection).
• Include within written reports a clear summary, and when relevant, specific recommendations.
• Present oral feedback to test takers in a constructive and supportive manner.