An Unpredictable Audience

It’s nice to be loved by an audience. It’s great when people listening to you laugh, cry, ask probing questions and give insightful commentary to the subject matter you are discussing.

But don’t count on it.

As a general rule, the more responsive an audience is to you, the better—but not always. I have spoken in front of audiences where it seemed I could do no wrong. I had them in the palm of my hand. They laughed! They engaged. But they didn’t buy, refer me business, or connect with me in any meaningful way after the speech or training.

On the other hand, I’ve spoke to groups that sat stone-faced throughout my presentation. Help! I’m dying here I thought. No response, no laughter, not questions, no nothing. And yet six months or even a year later, I’m still getting new business, new speaking gigs, new product sales and new referrals from people who were in that audience.

You just never know.

The important principle is to never be dependent on your audience. Don’t let the lack of a response put you into a tailspin; don’t let a quiet audience drain your confidence.

I am a firm believer that you should always project an extremely positive attitude during your own presentation, no matter what type of reaction you receive. You should emanate the following: “I can’t believe how well this presentation is going.” That’s what Bruce Springsteen does during every rock concert he gives.

Fantastic audience response is nice when you receive it, but you can’t always count on it, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that much in the long-run.

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