How do you answer questions effectively when you don’t know the answer?

Questions. As a nutrition professional, you receive lots of questions. In fact, as soon as someone you meet learns that you are a nutrition professional, they may start asking you questions about food or nutrition. Right?!

Answering audience questions is an important way to communicate nutrition. Questions provide us with insights about what our audiences need, want, find confusing, think they understand, and where they need clarity.

Answering questions effectively is an important skill for a nutrition communicator and is the topic of this blog series. Last week’s post provided the 6 essential steps for answering questions effectively as found in Chapter 36 of Communicating Nutrition: The Authoritative Guide.

In this post, we will explore how to effectively respond to questions when we don’t know the answer. It shares an excerpt from Chapter 36, updated to reflect answering questions in person, virtually, and in writing, such as on social media or responding to comments online.

How do you answer an “I Don’t Know” question?

This is the question everyone dreads. Nutrition communicators will never know the answer to every question, but they should know how to answer most questions related to the content within the presentation or article the communicator is being asked about.

Preparing ahead of time and anticipating potential questions should eliminate the potential for having to say “I don’t know” very often.

If the communicator does not know the answer, he or she should be honest. There are several ways to handle this type of question effectively. Let’s take a closer look at how to respond...

When you are certain you can find the answer.

Questions asking for details you don’t have memorized or at your fingertips, but you are certain you can locate the answer, can be answered later. Offer to reply once you have time to look it up. Ask the audience member to send the question in writing with their email address so you have a reminder and contact information for your response.

Your response could be: “I have an article on my office computer that discusses that very question. Allow me to share those results with you directly. If you provide me with your question and your email address, I would be happy to send you the answer with a link to the abstract.” Be sure to follow through with a reply.

When this type of question comes to you in writing as a comment on an article or social media post, take the time to research the answer before replying. Provide a citation to the reference in your response. It will add to your credibility.

When others in the audience are likely to know the answer.

Questions that are beyond the scope of your expertise yet within the scope of others in the audience may be successfully deferred. This works well when the communicator has confidence that audience members are knowledgeable and willing to share.

Your response could be: “Is there someone who can answer this question?” If you believe that the person asking the question knows the answer, at least in part, ask them, “Do you have thoughts on what the answer could be?”

An example of where this approach works well is a university seminar with researchers in the audience who are experts on the topic. An example of where this may not be advisable is on a social media platform where many audience members may have little knowledge about the topic. Use discretion.

When you know the answer in part or to a related question.

Questions that are somewhat outside the scope of your communication topic or that you have limited knowledge about can be responded to successfully as follows: “I don’t know _____, but I do know _____ and _____.”

For example, the audience member asks, “My 16-year-old son plays soccer. How much protein does he need?” Your response could be, “I don’t recall the exact number of grams of protein per kilogram of body weight for teen athletes, but I do know that due to growth and high levels of physical activity, they require more protein than nonathletes or adults.”

Use this technique to bring the answer in line with your message and to highlight a key point. Continuing the example above, your response could end with, “Remember, when it comes to building and repairing muscle, protein is best utilized when intake is spread throughout the day.”

When no one knows the answer.

Questions may arise that fall into the category of “no one knows” or “we are still researching the answer to that question.” Examples of this include: “What causes x, y, or z?”

Answers to questions like this may be partially understood or still a mystery. Explaining what we DO know can make a good response as described above. Share the current thought or theory if you are aware.

For more, check out these previous posts about responding to questions effectively, which link you to 5 tips for mastering the Q and A:

"If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom." ~ Adam Grant in Think Again

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