Audiences come in all shapes, sizes… and moods.  Some audiences are loud, some are pensive, and still others are, well, dead.  There’s nothing quite like the feeling of stepping in front of a room, opening with one of your best stories, analogies, or jokes and watching it land with a definitive thud of silence.  One of the most maddening questions that every presenter at one time or another quietly asks themselves during these moments of silence is, “Is it the audience or is it me?”

It’s a helpless feeling because like it or not, you can be stuck with that audience for anywhere between an hour, which can seem like days, or days, which can seem like weeks.

The first thing I like to figure out is who’s having the off day.  One of the best techniques I’ve ever used is to begin with a humorous video.  I do this because we can’t always trust our own instincts.  Our body and moods can fool us into believing we are giving 110% when in fact we may very well be flat.  But the interesting fact about videos, or a properly prepared visual aid is that their performances never change.  They don’t get moody, or tired, or frustrated.  These visual aids perform exactly the same way each and every time.  If the crowd lights up, you’re on your way.  If the crowd remains frozen, you have your work cut out for you.  That doesn’t mean we throw in the towel; it just means we need to focus on three things:

1. Don’t get angry. Sounds simple enough, but I’ll save you the trouble of walking into this trap.  When you are strapped to a dead audience the experience can play tricks on your mind.  Logically, it’s not really the audience’s fault, and yet, I’ve seen speakers, (me being one of them), who can get a little curt with an audience that just won’t wake up and react.  Your job is not to magically change the personalities of those who have come to see you speak.  Your job is to win over their hearts and minds through your words and actions.  It’s not personal; it’s just who they are.  Keep smiling, and keep rolling.
2. Don’t change… much. The kneejerk reaction when battling a nonresponsive audience is to pump up the energy, and force them into reacting.  That move might look good on paper, but the truth is it can push an audience even further into their shell.  If anything, you might have to dial back your energy just a bit.  But you can try to add some creative questioning to pull the audience into your presentation, and if you do, no matter what the response, your job is to make it great!  That means staying away from questions that have a right or wrong response, and sticking with safer opinion-based questions early on.  If you can demonstrate to the audience that you respect them, and it’s safe to participate, you might be surprised at how far out of their shell they might just venture.
3. Don’t take it personally. The fact is there are all kinds of reasons an audiences might not have a lot of energy. You might be standing in front of an audience that just received some bad corporate news.  You might be standing in front of an audience that hasn’t slept much.  Program deliveries in New Orleans and Las Vegas are famous for this.  You might even be standing in front of an audience from a portion of the country, (I’m not naming names, but it might rhyme with “Midzest”), that culturally just don’t show their emotions.  It’s almost never about you, and if you can remember that, and just do your thing, you’ll be surprised at how favorable the feedback will be.

It might be a little unnerving checking the temperature of your audience, but knowledge is power, and following those few reminders, you’ll be able to get more out of those low reacting audiences than you think.  In the end, it’s all about respect, and doing the best you can with the hand you’ve been dealt.

Are you looking to up your presentation game?!

I’m proud to announce this fall I’ll be conducting a virtual five-session, Professional Speakers Workshop. In this program, I will be covering the following:

Session 1: Sourcing Speaking Opportunities.

Session 2: The Business Side of Professional Speaking.

Session 3: The Nuts & Bolts of Delivery.

Session 4: Applying the “Sauce” to your Deliveries.

Session 5: Presentation Delivery, Feedback, & Coaching.

Take one, some, or all!  For program dates, a full agenda of each session, and pricing options, contract training@Jolles.com

If you follow me on LinkedIn, and I sure hope you do, https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-jolles-8a459b12/  I recently started a newsletter!  It’s called, “When Every Word Matters,” a biweekly dose of tips, tactics, and techniques to boost your communication game!

What do you get when combine energy, enthusiasm… and great content?  You get a “Pocket Sized Pep Talk,” and there are now over 275 of them!  Tune in and you’ll hear a collection of conversations, interviews, and even some BLArticles® that are sure to teach, motivate, inspire, and oh yes; entertain!   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pocket-sized-pep-talks/id1497772972