You’re written a good presentation, developed slides which were visual and colourful. You’ve rehearsed, standing up, using gestures, making sure your voice was loud and clear. As a result your nerves were under control.
But then …
As you deliver the presentation, the audience focused instead on their laptops. One person made (or took) a phone call. One checked e-mails, another sent a text message. Someone posted a remark about your presentation on Twitter. Another person stared out the window, then when bored, off into space. One got up to find the restroom. Two in the back had a side conversation, whispering. A woman in the front doodled in her notes. Most strange, a man next to her simply sat there, staring. He was doing nothing at all.
When you tried to engage them – perhaps with a question, you called out their name – you get generic, one-word answers. Worst of all, from the weird man at the front who’s been staring relentlessly at you, no response at all.
Is this Disruptive, or Something Else?
In every presentation skills workshop, participants offer all sorts of examples how an audience is disruptive: multi-tasking, not paying attention, not engaging. Last week, one woman put it most succinctly. What if the audience is rude?
What is rudeness? And who’s the judge?
A basic definition of rudeness is discourteous or impolite behaviour, usually deliberate. More so, it’s subjective. It’s a judgment by one person of another’s behaviour.
Is an audience member’s behaviour rude to you? Yes, probably. But is it rude to them? To others? Perhaps … but here’s where you need to be careful. What’s rude to you may not be rude to them. Their behaviour – to them – is most likely normal, and certainly not deliberate.
So what do you do? Here are my suggestions.
Don’t assume an audience member isn’t paying attention.
People listen and engage in different ways. Some people fidget, move or doodle. Others – like the man staring at you – are passive, almost lifeless. Don’t assume that how they behave distracts them from taking in information. I can’t speak for you, but there have been plenty of times that I (as an audience member) just sat still and watched the presenter.
In fact, some audience members find it very difficult simply to sit still, to do nothing. Whether they know it consciously or not, these people need to multi-task as a way to engage or concentrate. According to research conducted by Jackie Andrade at the School of Psychology at the University of Plymouth, UK, doodling may significantly help people remember information and focus the mind.
Other research says some people take notes as a way to keep them centred on the conversation. I had a woman in a workshop recently who keep fiddling with her Blackberry. At the break, when I gently asked what she was working on, she showed me that she was using her smartphone to take notes that she could send to her team at the break.
Can they really be engaged if they’re writing e-mails or sending text messages?
Yes, absolutely they can. I once had a person in the back of the classroom intently watching his laptop. He didn’t realise that the windows behind him were essentially a mirror, and I could see him watching the movie Deadpool. I thought, I’ll get him with a tough question to teach him a lesson. But when I asked my snotty question, I was the one who learnt the lesson. He answered me with a perfectly formed and articulated answer.
Don’t take the audience’s behaviour personally.
Instead, set boundaries at the beginning of the day. In my introduction, I tell people I’m fine with participants sending text messages or emails as long as they’re discreet. Go the bathroom if you want, but do it quietly. Take a phone call, but leave the room and come back in quietly. The only time I might say something now is if one person’s “rudeness” interferes with another person’s attention.
Also, this type of behaviour is usually short-lived. Most people who send SMSs usually finish in 30-60 seconds, afterwards they quickly re-connect to the group. So, perhaps the best advice of all is to ignore it.
One thing that helps is to ensure you have clear and accurate titles on your slides if you’re using PowerPoint or Keynote.
The slide title is the first place people look to figure out what the presenter is talking about when they mentally rejoin the room.
If your slide titles are vague, it takes them longer to re-engage.
Don’t assume motionless people aren’t engaged.
While some people fidget, others are motionless. Learning Styles research shows certain people prefer to reflect on what they hear, and as they reflect, their body is idle. In other words, they don’t need to move to think. It might feel odd to you to have someone simply stare at you, not moving. Distinguish between people who are passively listening, and those who have mentally left the room. As before, ignore the behaviour. But, at some point, you might gently ask if they have any questions or want to comment. If they say no, then move on.
Some disruptive behaviour is obvious, so get ahead of it.
The operative word is ‘obvious’ – that is, a person’s behaviour is clearly disruptive to several people, if not the entire group. If it is, gently call it aloud.
Side conversations are not just distracting to you, but to the group. First, ask if they’re discussing something which may be interesting the group. Sometimes it is. Most times it’s not, and by calling it out, it’s done.
The same is true of people who are surfing the net or engaging in an activity not associated with the meeting. Tell them it’s not acceptable at the beginning. (As I said, set boundaries at the beginning.)
One participant spent the entire morning working on a spreadsheet which had zero to do with the topic. At the break, I gently said she must be very busy to have to work on work at a training session. She apologied, and said she wasn’t listening, couldn’t listen, and she asked if she could leave and return to the office. “Yes, of course,” I said. “But, you won’t get your accreditation if you leave early.” The look on her face told me everything. “You can absolutely stay, but I need you to focus on the topic.” The laptop was closed when we returned from break.
Be relevant and enthusiastic.
Whereas the previous two points have more to do with assuming information about the audience, this point is mandatory for you, as the speaker. Audience members ultimately want only two things from the presenter.
- One: be relevant. Don’t waste their time.
- Two: be enthusiastic. If you’re not interested in your own topic, your audience never will be.
Look at your content. Is it about you, or is it about the audience?
Is the overall tone “me-me-me”, or are you offering the audience explicit and specific actions?
Are your messages written from your perspective, or from the point-of-view of the audience?
Where’s the objective of your presentation in the document itself? Near the front, or near the back? Some people don’t know how to listen until they know what they’re listening to, and why?
If the answer to these questions put the focus on you instead of the audience, then you aren’t being engaging.
Who’s the one being rude now?
Any other tips on handling audiences’ behaviour? Please add your thoughts and comments below.
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