At conference and convention breakout sessions, some speakers will be disappointed by a low turnout while others will be overwhelmed by a standing room crowd. The effective, confident public speaker will be ready for either scenario by being flexible, ready to switch gears and alter presentational style to fit the audience size.
How Does a Public Speaker Handle a Smaller Than Expected Audience?
Imagine a typical convention breakout room that seats 30-50 people. When the session begins, the presenter has only about 10% of the expected audience. In this case a few lonely-looking folks are sitting in the room – probably in the middle or rear seats, and probably spread out. The presenter expected fifty people and has materials for fifty. What does a presenter do? The few people who came to the session still deserve a full presentation.
With a Small Audience the Speaker Can Buy Time and Connect
It’s perfectly acceptable for a speaker to say, “Let’s wait a few more minutes to see if any one else joins us since some earlier sessions may be running late.” Then the speaker can spend those few minutes interacting one-on-one with the few individuals who showed up. In that way, the speaker builds a personal bond with each listener and gains a better understanding of why each listener has come to the session. That is valuable information.
If no other participants enter the breakout room within 5-10 minutes while the speaker is conversing with attendees, the speaker can then invite the attendees to come up closer to create a greater sense of intimacy. With the art of public speaking presenting to four or five people in a breakout room is more conversation than presentation so the speaker must be able to shift gears.
With a Small Audience a Personal Touch is Key
Some people won’t budge at the invitation to approach the podium. The speaker, in this situation, can re-arrange a few chairs in a semi-circular pattern near the podium, sit in the center chair and say, “If you don’t mind, I think we’ll dispense with the screen and my formal presentation. I’d prefer to share this information with you informally.” All but the most shy audience members will likely respond affirmatively and join the speaker up front.
Those that don’t move to the front of the room will feel left out and probably leave. That’s not a bad thing. It’s an effective culling of the audience. But the presenter, in this case, must be ready to dial down the more formal aspects of the presentation and engage in a more conversational style. Invariably, participants will appreciate this special attention to their presence.
How Does a Public Speaker Handle a Much Larger Than Expected Audience?
If there are people in the room who are just passing time between sessions, they can become distractions and sap the positive energy of the other attendees by their inattention. The aim of filtering an audience is to maximize the number of people in the audience who are genuinely interested in the topic while making the venue more comfortable.
To "pre-qualify" the audience, the speaker can simply indicate on the whiteboard at the front of the room, or on a newsprint sheet on the wall, the specific aim of the session and the audience for whom the session is intended. As participants enter the room and jostle for seats, the speaker can filter the audience further by saying: “Hello, Folks. My presentation this afternoon is primarily geared to…” (or) “will cover topics…”
It is better to have people leave right at the outset than to interrupt the speaker by walking out several minutes into the presentation when they realize the session doesn’t fit their needs or interests.
Having a smaller or larger than expected audience can rattle the inexperienced or un-prepared public speaker. The confident effective speaker always stands ready to shift gears and modify presentational style to accommodate the unpredictability of convention goers.
References:
Kalish, Karen. How To Give a Terrific Presentation. New York: AMACON (a division of the American Management Association), 1997.
Simmons, Curt. Public Speaking Made Simple. New York: Doubleday, 1996.
Richard Methia - RICHARD A. METHIA Dick is an author, educator, trainer, and professional speaker with a career spanning more than forty years. In his ...
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