Stop saying „That’s a good question!“

If you attend pitching events, conference panels or something similar and get to the inevitable Q&A rounds, you will hear well-trained founders and presenters react to every question with „That‘s a good question!“.

When I hear it the first time, I‘m bothered. After the 2nd or 3rd time I‘m positively furious and have lost interest.

If I am interested enough in your business to ask a question, this question is at least good for me, as I put value on getting it answered. I do not need you to validate my intellect by offering your opionion on the quality of my question.

Also, if every question is a „good question“ then what‘s the point.

Are there situations where you can say „That‘s a good question.“?

Yes, if, and only if, you can actually provide context on why it is a particularly good question.

In my experience, this is usually the case, when the question actually pushes you to think about a point from a perspective you hadn’t considered before, when it does not trigger an answer you’ve already given a hundred times.

Questions that are thus value accretive for everybody warrant special mention.

What‘s better

If you want to acknowledge the question before actually answering, you can say „Thank you for the question!“. But then make sure it does not sound like a reflex or an automatic response either.

Get into a mindset of why you are actually thankful for the question and try to reflect that mindset while you speak. You don’t have to provide any explanation, but if you have one in your mind, your „Thank you for the question.“ will sound different.

Some ideas:

• Somebody bothered enough about you or your idea or your business to think about it and come up with a question in the first place – So you essentially thank them for time and consideration.
• The question reveals a blind spot in your narrative with regard to your listener‘s associations or priorities - So you thank them for their joint wisdom.
• The question allows you to make a point you hadn’t made before, or provides an opportunity to provide clarification on something the audience is confused about – So you thank them for actually making the overall pitch better.

Words without meaning are an inefficiency. This does not mean that common phrases and courtesy should be cut – it means that it is the duty of the speaker to have them carry meaning.