Meeting Preparation

To avoid being asked a question which you don't know how to answer, prepare! prepare! prepare.

The article provide some tips:

1. Before
1. Know your audience
2. Think ahead - If you know their background or expertise, you can guess what they want to ask.
3. Practice the presentation
4. Learn jargon - so that you can act like a pro
2. During
1. Think it through - instead of answer the question directly, ask the audience to provide more information.  Act like an detective
2. Ask for assistance - ask other audience for input.  Change the role from "answer the question" to facilitator/moderator of a conversation between audience.
3. Emphasis what you know - and acknowledge what you don't know.  Let the audience know you will research and reply later.
4. Stay on topic - if answering the question will make you off topic, then better not do it.
5. Confident
3. After
1. Research the question - prepare similar question for future and broaden the knowledge
2. Integrate - integrate the question and answer to next presentation
3. Follow Up - follow up to audience with unanswered question

Reference: What to say when you don't know what to say" HP Technology at Work Vol. Sept-2013