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How to intelligently reply to any question when your mind goes blank — Transcript

by Matt Huang · 2,945 words · 420 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Take a second and think about the last
0:02time you got asked a question by someone
0:05that you didn't know the answer to.
0:07Maybe this was your boss at work. Or
0:09maybe this was just a friend or a
0:11parent. Maybe you were in an interview
0:14and when the question was asked, your
0:17mind just went completely blank. And
0:20maybe even after the fact, you started
0:23thinking about all the different things
0:24that you could have or should have said
0:27in the moment.
0:29If that's you, then you've come to the
0:31right place. Hi, if you're new to the
0:33channel, my name is Matt and I'm
0:35currently working in strategy and ops at
0:36Google. And before that, I was a
0:38management consultant. Now, today we're
0:40going to be talking about a very common
0:42issue that a lot of people have, which
0:45is what do I say or how do I respond
0:49when I don't know the answer and I'm
0:51being questioned? And maybe this is a
0:53high pressure situation. Maybe there are
0:55other people around that are also
0:57watching and listening to me and I don't
0:59just want to say I don't know or I can't
1:02afford to say I don't know. Now
1:04obviously if you don't know the answer
1:06to a question
1:08I don't advocate for acting like you do
1:11because it's very easy for people to
1:13sniff out the BS. And so if you,
1:15especially if this is a situation where
1:17maybe you're in an interview and your
1:19interviewer knows way more than you
1:20about that job, then I always advocate
1:25against trying to BS your way through
1:27that question. Instead, there are ways
1:30in which you can tactfully and
1:33confidently let the interviewer know
1:35that you don't know the answer. Let's
1:38get right into it. So
1:41I've put together this flowchart here
1:43that I first want to walk you through
1:45kind of my thought process whenever I
1:47get asked a question. So first thing
1:51that should be going through your mind
1:52is do I know the answer? Now in an ideal
1:56scenario, yes, you know the answer
1:58immediately and so you respond. But
2:01that's not what this video is about.
2:02This video is about if the answer is no,
2:05what do you do then? Well, the first
2:07thing I always recommend to people is
2:10don't panic. And if right off the bat
2:12you don't know the answer to something,
2:16you should do one of two things. First,
2:18you either take a pause, take a moment,
2:22take a deep breath. Don't be afraid to
2:25spend one, two, three seconds gathering
2:29your thoughts.
2:31Or you paraphrase and you restate what
2:35you just heard.
2:36back to the interviewer or whoever was
2:40asking that question. And so what this
2:42looks like is when someone says, "Oh,
2:45Matt, please tell us about the latest on
2:49US China relations." And then you
2:52respond by saying, "Awesome. Okay, so it
2:55sounds like you're asking me about the
2:57latest on US China relations. What I can
3:00tell you is based on the research, blah
3:01blah blah." Another common phrase that
3:03you can use to buy yourself a little bit
3:06more time is to say something like, "Oh,
3:08that's a really interesting question. If
3:11I think about it, what comes to mind is
3:14X." And so both of these tactics,
3:17pausing or paraphrasing, are effectively
3:20accomplishing the same goal, which is
3:21buying you a little bit more time to
3:23think, which is 100% okay. with pausing.
3:27I think a lot of people have trouble
3:29pausing because we're uncomfortable with
3:31silence. But what you have to realize is
3:33silence is actually one of the most
3:36powerful tools in your communication
3:38toolkit. So when you pause instead of
3:42forcing yourself to fill the space
3:44because you're uncomfortable with
3:45silence, what you're actually doing is
3:47one, of course, you're giving yourself
3:49more time to think, but two, you're also
3:52coming across as a little bit more
3:54thoughtful. And so just think about the
3:57way that I'm using pauses right now.
4:00Whenever I pause, that space is actually
4:02being filled by the audience's thoughts.
4:04It's being filled by your thoughts. And
4:06whether you're aware of it or not, you
4:08are processing what I'm saying in my
4:11pauses. And so it's totally okay to take
4:15a pause or you want to paraphrase what
4:18you've just heard. And then you want to
4:20ask yourself the question, now do I have
4:23an answer?
4:25And in an ideal scenario, the answer is
4:27yes. And so you respond. But let's say
4:30that you've done this and you still are
4:33kind of stuck and don't know the answer.
4:35Or maybe it's just something that you
4:37straight up haven't had a lot of
4:39exposure to and maybe you only know a
4:42very surface level understanding of this
4:45topic. Well, then this is where we move
4:48to the next step which is first of all
4:51we do not say I don't know. Now the
4:54reason why you don't want to say I don't
4:56know is not because it sounds bad or
4:59something but because I don't know is a
5:02very loweffort response and it
5:06essentially places the burden onto the
5:09other person because you're saying I
5:11don't know go figure it out or you give
5:14me the answer instead even though you're
5:16the one that just asked me the question.
5:18And so instead, the next time you get
5:21asked something that you don't know the
5:22answer to, what you should be doing
5:24instead is making a hypothesisdriven
5:27assertion. Now, that's a lot of words,
5:31but let's break it down. A hypothesis is
5:34simply an idea that you want to test and
5:38a point of view that you take. You take
5:41aside fully knowing that you could be
5:43wrong, but being totally comfortable
5:45with that fact. It's okay to be wrong.
5:48We don't need to be 100% right 100% of
5:50the time. Even the world's best hedge
5:54fund managers are wrong 40 to 50% of the
5:57time. They only need to be right more
5:59than 50% of the time in order to beat
6:03the market. And so the same applies
6:05here. You should take the approach that
6:06it's okay to be wrong. So what you're
6:08going to do is you're going to make a
6:09hypothesis driven assertion. Now this
6:12last part here, assertion is really
6:14critical because an assertion is more
6:17powerful than something like a question.
6:21So what do I mean by this? Let's say
6:24you've been asked what is the lifetime
6:26value of our customers? Meaning across
6:30the entire life of a customer before
6:33they leave us, how much are they
6:35spending across all of their purchases?
6:38Let's say you don't know the answer to
6:39that upfront. Now, one thing you could
6:42do is you could say, I'm not sure off
6:44the top of my head, do you have any data
6:46that I can use to calculate this for
6:48you? Now, that's not necessarily bad,
6:52but you're still asking them instead of
6:55making an assertion. You're asking them
6:57for data instead of making an assertion
7:00like for example, okay, yeah, we can
7:02definitely calculate the lifetime value.
7:04I think the way that we should go about
7:06this is first we'll need to track down
7:08the average life of a customer at our
7:10company and then we'll need to look for
7:12the dollar value that people are
7:15spending across their lifespan and
7:17probably average that out as well in
7:19order to get the lifetime value. Now I
7:21think for that first piece we can get
7:23the average life of a customer from our
7:26product team and I think also with the
7:28dollars spent maybe we can go to sales
7:30and understand how much people are
7:32spending across their entire life cycle.
7:34Do you see how the second way that I
7:38spoke about the problem is much more
7:40prescriptive and takes a perspective?
7:42And I could be wrong about the ways that
7:44we should get this data, but it at least
7:46proposes a path forward instead of
7:48dumping the onus and all of the stress
7:52back onto my manager or whoever gave me
7:55that question. And so, why do we want to
7:58make an assertion? Well,
8:01because it's the best approach when we
8:03have incomplete information and we don't
8:06know what the correct answer is, but we
8:08still want to propose a path forward.
8:12Making an assertion demonstrates a few
8:13things. One is that it demonstrates
8:16second order thinking, meaning that
8:17you're thinking beyond just the
8:19immediate effects. And you're thinking
8:22more than just one step ahead. You're
8:23thinking two steps ahead. So instead of
8:25just thinking, okay, I need to find this
8:27data. Where can I get it? You're
8:29thinking, okay, maybe I can find this
8:31data from here. Maybe I can find that
8:33data from there. And if I can't find it
8:35from there, then maybe I'll try this
8:37other group. So, you're thinking not
8:39one, but at least two steps ahead.
8:42The second thing is it's demonstrating
8:44that you have a can do attitude and that
8:46you're just overall a more proactive and
8:49initiative taking person, which is
8:52always a benefit, especially in the
8:54workplace. And so it's a very simple and
8:58small adjustment that you can make but
9:01will go a long way in terms of your
9:03reputation among other people like your
9:05co-workers. The third thing is that the
9:08reason why an assertion is so powerful
9:12is because when for example the question
9:15is something that nobody knows the
9:16answer to the assertion is inherently
9:19valuable because it's providing a path
9:22forward. So instead of everyone sitting
9:24on their hands and being upset because
9:26they don't know the answer to some
9:28problem or they can't figure out the
9:30solution, you are at the very least
9:32taking a hypothesis driven approach and
9:34you are at least saying, "Hey, I think
9:36we should go in this direction and look
9:39at these things to lead us to a
9:43solution." Instead of just bringing
9:45problems to the meeting, you are
9:47bringing a problem, but you're also
9:49showing that you thought about a way to
9:50potentially find a solution as well. And
9:53that is extremely valuable when nobody
9:55else has an answer. And it's very easy
9:57for everyone else in the room to just
10:00bring problems and expect that their
10:02boss will figure everything out for
10:04them.
10:05This leads me to the second part though,
10:07which is now that we've established why
10:09assertions are so important and why we
10:12should make an assertion when we don't
10:14know the answer, but maybe we have an
10:17idea of how we might find an answer is
10:20how do we do it and what are the key
10:22principles that we should keep in mind
10:24when we're making an assertion. Well,
10:26there's three that I want to highlight
10:27today. The first is that the assertion
10:29should be actionoriented. And so like
10:32the example that I gave earlier with
10:34looking for the data required to
10:35calculate the lifetime value of your
10:37customers, the assertion should always
10:40include some kind of next steps or
10:43proposed next steps that you or someone
10:46else on the team can execute on pretty
10:47much immediately. And so that's going to
10:50be very powerful because you want to
10:51move things forward. Second is it has to
10:54be logical. So even though you might not
10:56have the right answer or you might not
10:58know if for example the that data that
11:00you're looking for is the right data to
11:02look for it is at least logical because
11:04you're demonstrating that you understand
11:06okay in order to calculate lifetime
11:08value you're probably going to need two
11:09types of data. One is going to be time
11:11related and the other is going to be
11:13dollar value related. And so maybe the
11:15specific metrics you picked weren't the
11:17right ones, but at least logically it
11:20made sense why you were proposing to
11:22look after those pieces of data. The
11:25last thing though is you want it to be
11:27backed by your own personal conviction.
11:30And again, this is where you need to be
11:32confident in your approach. And even if
11:36you know that you might be wrong, it is
11:39you that is the one proposing it. And so
11:41it's very important when you make an
11:43assertion that you deliver it with
11:46confidence and personal conviction
11:49because if you don't even seem like you
11:51believe what you're saying, then how can
11:53you expect that other people are going
11:55to also believe in what you're saying,
11:59right? It just doesn't make sense for
12:01them. And so remember, actionoriented,
12:04logical, and backed by your own personal
12:06conviction is going to be key when you
12:09are making a hypothesisdriven
12:11assertion. Now, the last thing I want to
12:13talk about is different ways to actually
12:16respond when you don't know the answer
12:17to something. And we're going to talk
12:19about an example from an interview when
12:21you get asked a question that you don't
12:22really know the answer to. I already
12:24talked about an example from a work
12:25context. And then we'll also talk about
12:27an example from maybe a more personal
12:29context. And so starting with the
12:32interview context, let's say for example
12:34that you got asked by someone, what
12:36might be the reason that sales of our
12:39product are declining? And right off the
12:41bat, they haven't really given you any
12:42information. And so you're a little bit
12:44lost. It's a very vague question. And
12:46you don't really know what the right
12:48answer is. And realistically, they're
12:51not going to expect you to know the
12:52right answer either. but they're still
12:53expecting you to think through some kind
12:56of a structure and an approach to how
12:58you would get to the bottom of that
13:00problem. And so one way that you could
13:02answer this by giving a hypothesisdriven
13:04assertion is to say, "Hey, so I think
13:08given that we don't have a ton of
13:09background information, but we know that
13:11sales are declining. I'd need to look
13:13into anything that influences the price
13:15of our products, as well as anything
13:17that influences the quantity of our
13:18products because sales at the end of the
13:20day is price times quantity." And so
13:22underneath price, I'd like to understand
13:25first of all, has the pricing of our
13:26products been consistent throughout the
13:28years or are they coming down for some
13:30reason? If so, why? Um, also, what are
13:32our competitors pricing their products
13:34at? Is there some kind of a price war
13:36going on? Are they cutting their prices
13:38dramatically to try and undercut us?
13:40Things like that. On the quantity side,
13:41I want to understand X, Y, and Z. And
13:43you continue talking about different
13:45things that you would propose looking
13:48into in order to figure out what the
13:50actual problem is. and ultimately get to
13:52a solution. And so you see how even
13:54though I don't know what the answer is,
13:57I am answering in a way that
13:58demonstrates that I'm being thoughtful
14:00and I'm thinking about potential root
14:02causes and I'm also proposing ways in
14:04which we can go and figure out whether
14:06or not this is actually a problem or
14:08what's driving that problem. And so now
14:11let's take an example from a personal
14:13context. So, let's say, for example,
14:15that someone is asking you, "Hey, what's
14:17the deadline for submitting applications
14:19to get your visa approved?" And let's
14:21say right off the top of your head,
14:23you're like, "What the heck? Of I don't
14:25know. I'm not keeping track of the the
14:27deadlines here." But instead of just
14:30being like, "Oh, I don't know." which
14:32doesn't really help your friend or
14:34whoever was asking you that question
14:35out. What you can do instead to be a
14:37little bit more helpful is to say,
14:38"Look, I'm not really sure, but given
14:40that historically I know people get
14:41their visas approved in the fall, I
14:43would assume that the application
14:44deadline is somewhere a few months
14:46before that, maybe in the summer. And so
14:49I know that ex person or our mutual
14:51friend who recently applied would
14:54probably be a better person to talk to.
14:55Why don't you go talk to them and I'm
14:57sure they can help you out." So even
14:58something as small as that is very
15:00solutionoriented as opposed to being a
15:02problem oriented. And you're giving that
15:04person a way to go figure out the answer
15:07to the problem. Even though you don't
15:09know the answer, you're still providing
15:10value to them. And so you see the
15:12difference here between being problem
15:13oriented and solutionoriented in your
15:16responses. If you do, this is going to
15:18be a huge unlock for you. And if you can
15:21just apply this solutionoriented mindset
15:24to your life and all your interactions
15:26with people, what you'll find is that
15:28people are going to find you very
15:30helpful as a person. They're going to
15:31appreciate you more and ultimately
15:34you're going to have a better reputation
15:36and get what you want out of life in
15:39general, not just your career.
15:42But all that is to say, today we've
15:44talked about how to answer a question
15:48that you don't know the answer to. and
15:50still provide value. And if you can
15:52apply the practice of making
15:55hypothesisdriven assertions and
15:57solutionoriented answers to any
16:00situation, whether it's an interview or
16:02whether it's a conversation with your
16:05mom or your dad or your friend or if
16:07it's a conversation with your boss, you
16:10will just be so much better off. That's
16:12all I got for you guys today and I'll
16:13see you in the next one. Peace.

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