Jay Leno's Return to Late Night What is he going to say?
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There will always be distractions when you speak. Some members of your audience will sneeze, others will have to get up to go to the bathroom, and of course, some will have their cell phones go off, repeatedly. What's the best way for you, the speaker, to react in these situations?
For starters, you need to be "in the moment." Some speakers are well-prepared, but they come across as memorized. So if a baby cries or a siren goes off, the speakers pauses in such a way that you worry he will fall out of his grove and never find it again. You don't want to come across that rigid. If your audience feels you are always thinking about what comes next on the Teleprompter in your brain, they will worry for you if there is a distracting noise or action in the room.
Part of your responsibility as a speaker is to size up a distraction to see if merits a reaction from you. If one person in your audience lets out a slight burp, better not to comment at all. You don't want to seem like you are trying to embarrass anyone. But if the president of an organization or your lead prospect walks into the room when you are in the middle of your speech, you may want to say "Hi Sally," or "Hi Jim." Just make sure that you don't seem in any way annoyed at them for coming in late-you have no idea what other crises they may have had to deal with.
One thing you don't have to do is be funny in reaction to funny sounds, water spilling or silverware falling to the ground. If you can be funny, great, but don't try to be Don Rickles. The main thing is to be relaxed, in the moment, real and not bothered by anything.
More Insights from TJ Walker & Jess Todtfeld
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Upcoming Events
March 30, 2010
9:00 pm
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- How to create action when you speak
- Body language: A few small changes equal big results
- PowerPoint: How to avoid putting people to sleep
- The best ways to quickly put your presentation together
- The secret to knowing every message and every PowerPoint slide without memorizing them!
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