Questions
Asks the speaker to expand or specify part of what was said. "Could you say more about the second variable?"
Clarification
Carries an embedded judgment or accusation; assumes a negative. "Isn't this really just rebranded behaviourism?"
Loaded
Answer the question straight, on its own terms. "Yes — sample size was 240, split evenly."
Bellisimo! Direct!
Move from the question asked to a related point you can answer well. "The deeper issue there is really about incentives, and what we found is…"
Sehr gut. Bridge
Probes the basis for a claim — data, source, reasoning. "What's your evidence that adoption is rising?"
Evidential
Answer, but signal the limits of what you can claim. "It appears so, though our data only cover two quarters."
Hedged!
Pushes back on the argument itself, exposing a weakness. "Doesn't your model collapse if demand is inelastic?"
Challenge
Politely correct the question's premise before answering. "That's not quite what I'm claiming — my point is narrower."
Geronimo! Reframe!
Asks how the idea travels to a new case, field, or context. "Would this hold for non-Western markets?"
Extension
Acknowledge you can't fully answer now; commit to follow-up. "I don't have that figure to hand — happy to send it after."
Gaspacho! Concede-and-Extend
Tests the idea against an imagined or counterfactual scenario. "What if funding had been cut in year two?"
Hypothetical
Accept the point, then build on it. "Fair — and that's exactly why we added the second control."
Bello! Defer!