In meetings, respond right away.
When asked difficult questions, many non-native English speakers tend to stall immediately, for example:
Q: What do you think of the future of the economy in Japan?
A: That is a good question. Well... Hmmmmm... Let me see... I think that it is positive.
The problem here is the person asking has to wait a long time for your opinion.
Most likely, the main reason you need to stall is not that you need time to come up with an opinion. Rather, you probably stall because you're thinking of the rest of your answer—the supporting evidence and reasoning. In that case, try this approach instead:
Q: What do you think of the future of the economy in Japan?
A: I think that it is positive. As far as the reasons why, well, that's complicated. Let me see. If I had to give the main reason, well, the main reason is...
What you are gaining from the second approach is the person hears your opinion right away. This is beneficial because your audience has more patience when it comes to waiting for the supporting claims instead of waiting for your opinion.
You can also stall through the rest of your answer when formulating your supporting evidence and reasoning:
Q: What do you think of the future of the economy in Japan?
A: I think that it is positive. [Now stall for the first supporting claim] How should I put it? Well, the main reason is probably due to the current policies of Abenomics that have been in place since 2012. Due to those policies, the Nikkei stock average has reached its highest level in 15 years. As far as the second reason goes [stall for the second supporting claim], I suppose that is probably due to the optimism of both corporations and consumers in Japan. The Bank of Japan’s December Tankan assessment of business conditions improved for the fifth straight quarter last year. In fact, it is at an 11-year high of +25. This can continue as long as confidence stays strong. So, to wrap up, due to success of the current policies and fantastic stock prices, I'd say the future of Japan's economy looks bright.
Note that your initial opinion does not have to be complicated. A simple positive or negative along with restating part of the question is sufficient. Compare these two beginnings:
1. I think our economy has a bright future.
2. The Japanese economy has a bright future due to the effects of Abenomics combined with the confidence of Japanese companies and their consumers.
Of course the second response is good, but in reality, people often don't speak like that—including native speakers. It is much better if you keep things simple at the beginning and then get more sophisticated through the rest of your answer.
Sometimes you do need time to think of an initial opinion, and in that case you will need to buy time right off the bat. However, giving a quick opinion when possible is a good idea. That is because, just like strong endings, simple, to-the-point beginnings are good style in English.
So remember: answer the question as quickly as you can, and then buy time when you are supporting your initial opinion. Try this in your next lesson at The English Farm.
—
stall [verb]—to pause or move slowly, typically before giving an opinion or making a decision.
right off the bat [idiom]—at the very beginning.