Earlier this month, an executive testified before the House Financial Services Subcommittee, and rose from the witness table with a dozen daggers deeply embedded in his back. Well, not literally.

But I wonder if it felt that way for Edward Liddy, the caretaker head of American International Group or AIG. Mr. Liddy was testifying about the $165 million in retention bonuses paid to employees of AIG’s troubled Financial Products unit. By the time he was finished, there wasn’t an unsplattered shirt cuff among the panel members. As Macbeth put it in an only slightly different context: “All great Neptune’s ocean won’t wash this blood clean from my hand.”

My guess is that you or I wouldn’t be willing to face Mr. Liddy’s ordeal for one dollar a year — the salary he’s agreed to accept for his job. But what about instances in our own presentations when we face skepticism or hostility from our audiences? Resistance that’s expected, the kind Mr. Liddy faced, at least advertises itself beforehand. But how do we deal with challenges to our position that we can’t anticipate, the kind that only rear their heads during our presentation?

The most important thing to remember about “push-backs” like this is that we shouldn’t fear them. Resistance is a natural element of a thinking and attentive audience. Listeners who question, challenge, and play the devil to your advocate, are people who are engaged in what you are saying.

We can learn from salespeople in this regard, since they’re particularly good at recognizing such nibbling on the bait. They realize that no listener would take the time and trouble to engage in dialogue with a presenter if they weren’t interested. Let’s face it: the audience member who resists you completely will stop listening, and probably leave to boot.

We should therefore continue to reach out to audiences whatever the resistance, and never shift to defensiveness. Once our responses become defensive, we’ve lost control of the situation and shifted into a “siege mentality.” From that point on, we’re only dodging flaming arrows coming over the battlements — not advocating effectively for our product, service, or message.

So stay positive when you speak on behalf of your company, your organization, or your ideas. Audiences respect a speaker who stands up for his or her beliefs — even, and sometimes more strongly, in the face of determined resistance.