PRACTICAL SPEAKING GUIDE

Handle a question you cannot answer yet

During a presentation, someone asks for a cost breakdown you do not have.

2026-09-27 · Original teaching notes by SpeakBEC

Start with the situation

During a presentation, someone asks for a cost breakdown you do not have. Guessing may appear confident for a moment but gives the audience unreliable information. “I don’t know” is honest, yet the conversation still needs a useful next step.

A possible exchange

I don’t have the breakdown here, so I don’t want to give you an unreliable figure.

I can check the supplier and implementation costs with finance.

Would a written breakdown by tomorrow afternoon meet your deadline?

Why this works

The response distinguishes missing information from an inability to help. Name the information you need to verify rather than hiding behind “I’ll get back to you”. A proposed time lets the listener judge whether the follow-up is useful. Ask about their deadline if you do not know it.

Do not promise an answer on another team’s behalf without checking that the timing is feasible. You can promise to confirm the timing: “I’ll speak to finance today and let you know when the breakdown will be ready.” If part of the answer is already known, state it and mark the boundary clearly. This is more helpful than either guessing the whole answer or withholding everything.

Change the condition and try it

A client asks whether the product works with a system you have not tested. Respond without saying yes or no beyond your evidence. Explain what you will check, with whom, and how you will update the client. Keep the client’s decision deadline in view.

Try a spoken or written response before checking it. Did you address the changed condition? Could the listener identify the next step? The model is not the only acceptable answer.