Once you’re in the room with your audience, focus on engaging people and projecting confidence. Here are some suggestions that will help:
• Retain the expressive, conversational tone you practiced in your rehearsal.
• Speak at a moderate pace. You’ll sound nervous if you go too fast; you’ll bore people if you go too slowly.
• Make sure everyone can hear you. If you have a microphone and sound system, test its effectiveness before you begin.
• Avoid watering down what you say with “kind of” and “sort of.”
• Make eye contact with audience members.
• Watch the audience for nonverbal cues, and use your facial expressions to convey interest in people’s reactions.
• Take a breath now and then. It helps you relax and reduces filler language such as “um” and “er.”
Keeping your audience engaged
You’ll probably confront one or more difficult audience members: the tuned out, the overloaded, or the just plain grumpy. Inattentive people often cross their legs, fidget in their seats, or look around the room more than usual. Here are some proven techniques for grabbing their attention:
• Change what you’re doing—pause, for example, or alter your tone of voice.
• Survey the audience: “Just out of curiosity, how many of you believe that our customers are satisfied with our current returns policy? Let’s see a show of hands.”
• Add humor if appropriate. Audience members welcome a little comic relief.
• Provide analogies and vivid examples.
• Introduce personal stories.
• Keep returning to how your message affects the audience: “Here’s what that last point means for you and your team.”
Being flexible
Even the most well-planned, meticulously rehearsed presentation is a dynamic event. Rarely does everything go by the book. Technical difficulties may arise, circumstances affecting your content may change right before you speak, and audience reactions may take an unexpected turn. You can anticipate some wrinkles, as discussed in “Know Your Audience” earlier in this book. But you must be willing to embrace unforeseen developments and to remain flexible in the face of them.
A presenter who refuses to deviate from his or her plan risks being perceived as having a tin ear, a thick skull, or, worst of all, a flawed message. Treat unexpected developments as opportunities, not threats. Don’t allow them to derail you from your core message, but don’t just barrel ahead without addressing them, either.
This is especially important when an audience member throws you a curveball question or comment (see the next chapter, “Manage the Response”). If someone asks for more evidence on a peripheral point, for instance, view that as a chance to make an even stronger case. If you have more data in your pocket, share what you’ve got or offer to do extra research after the presentation.
When technical or logistical problems arise, brush them off with good humor. A joke in the face of a glitch is a testament to your confidence and level of preparation, and it shows that your message is more important than the medium.