Great Answers to Tough Questions at Work

by Michael Dodd

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CMI MANAGEMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD

The essential guide to turning tough questions into positive opportunities Difficult questions can be thrown at you from your first job interview through to challenges you get when you’ve made it to the top. If you find yourself on the firing line on a regular or occasional basis this is the perfect go-to guide to help you turn tough questions into positive opportunities. Great Answers to Tough Questions at Work promotes a confident 'win-win-win' mindset for questioner, answerer and wider audiences beyond. Author Michael Dodd provides golden formulae and proven strategies for constructing inspirational answers―however challenging, vicious, tricky or stupid the question. He outlines simple but successful techniques for dealing with the kind of nightmare questions which all ambitious people in the workplace have to face along their journey, whatever stage of their career.

Genres: Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published March 21, 2016

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Dodd's book certainly offers the answers to the "tough questions" at work. He does so in an informative and funny way with lots of personal insight.

Michael is a former journalist who became a foreign correspondent and following that a world class trainer in media development and public speaking skills. His depth of knowledge and experience in this field shines through in this book and his advice comes across as genuine and professionally sound.

This book is must for anyone who is currently in the market for new employment or looking to further their professional career. Once you read this book you will feel confident to answer the "tough questions". Often we have the skills required to gain the employment we seek but not the knowledge of how to conquer that all important interview or engage confidently with our peers or management. Michael breaks this down for you and shows you how to answer the "tough questions". He explains how this needs to be done honestly and teaches you how to gain the confidence that will help you land that dream job or be more successful in your current role.
I can not recommend this book enough.

[Davor · Rating 2 out of 5]

They call it a guide, but it struck me more as a "manual" where people are put into boxes, and everything is pretty much black or white, mechanical and predictable. All the tips turned out to be lists of steps, and there are so many of them, it's super easy to lose track. Instead of establishing principles or a system, which would've been easier to grasp and then apply, this book offers but a bunch of recipes to apply on people as ingredients.

[Fraser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concrete strategies for answering questions in all types of business scenarios including job interviews, sales, negotiations and crisis.

[Jad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book with different cases to look at and learn from

[Lia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather generic professional development book.

There are some nuggets of wisdom, however I felt the style to be very pedestrian. It felt the whole way as a book sold after a professional development conference you had to attend for work and the key note speaker was spruiking his wares.

I try to pick up new books from the library in this topic (everyone can always learn more) however there are better books out there. Try Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High for a better option.

[Bruno Geddo]

As a long time humanitarian worker, I have first-hand experience of how important it is to convey that I care for and am passionate about refugees and displaced people receiving the support they need swiftly and reliably.

From my perspective, therefore, the ability to communicate effectively helps with fostering favourable public attitudes to receive, assist and protect people fleeing war, violence and persecution. Equally important, it helps with raising the additional resources required to deal with unremitting humanitarian emergencies in a turbulent world.

Michael Dodd has a lot of knowledge and experience to share on this very important topic with potential ramifications across society.

In his book “Great Answers to Tough Questions at Work” Michael Dodd shares advice and tips, do’s and don’ts, examples and warnings, generously and insightfully. He does so with a light touch and in a clearly structured and user-friendly format. This makes for a fast paced, absorbing and page-turning book, an intriguing piece of work which avid readers looking for practical answers on how to get their messages across will absorb in no time, and hopefully benefit from in their respective fields of work.

How well we answer difficult questions in times of crisis may influence perceptions on leaders’ understanding of reality and their concern for ordinary people, which in turn plays a role in shaping societal attitudes towards “elites” in an especially fraught time.

In today’s interconnected world feeding on the 24 hours news cycle, and social media dwelling on everything under the sun, I believe “Great Answers to Tough Questions at Work” is a timely and important contribution for positive leaders across the board to better communicate on matters of consequence, and hence help make the world a better place.

Bruno Geddo