***'Changing It Up' in Public Speaking

By Nancy Daniels, The Official Guide to Public Speaking
The official guide to Public Speaking

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Imagine addressing an audience with your 40-minute presentation and not even before you have finished your 1st major point, you see that you their reaction to you is not quite what you had anticipated. Imagine even further that it is the same presentation you gave to a group the previous week who were enthralled with your every word.

What can you do in a situation like this in which your audience is less responsive than you would like?

I suggest that you ‘change it up.’ If you are establishing yourself in public speaking, then you probably have a few topics about which you speak. It is also likely that your topics are interwoven to some degree.

I have often gone in a different direction completely or added different anecdotes depending on my audience and their reaction to me. Because I speak on 4 different topics. all of which are related, I am able to move my presentation into a different direction if I feel that my words are not moving them.

In one particular case, I was able to ‘change it up’ before I even opened my mouth to speak. My audience was quite boisterous and I knew that were I to talk to this group, some of whom were inebriated, about the sound of the speaking voice, it would be a very long presentation. On the spur of the moment, I decided to switch gears and talk about presentation skills.

Because this group was a Lions Club, I knew that many of the members would appreciate this particular topic because they were serving in leadership positions requiring them to speak at the local, state, and possibly, national levels. And it worked. I opened with a joke which immediately had them laughing and they were mine for the rest of the 40 minutes, even those who were not quite sober!

Likewise, were I in the middle of my presentation and I felt that my audience was less than enthusiastic about me, I would change gears, so to speak, by directly involving them in my presentation. I might ask them to stand and take a breath and demonstrate proper breathing techniques or I might ask some questions, making them respond directly to me. This type of involvement from your audience always works because they must then focus their attention on you because you are asking something of them.

The other thing you should keep in mind is that all audiences are different. No two are alike. Some will be more responsive than others. And, while I advocate knowing your audience in advance, you can never prejudge exactly how you will be received.

Another piece of advice is to try to meet and greet some in your audience before you begin. By talking to them, asking them what they do, what their involvement is in the club or organization, or whether they are attending the full three day conference in which you are speaking, you get to know them which can come in handy during your presentation. There is nothing wrong in referring to a couple of people during your talk if it is pertinent to your topic. It will make your delivery that much more personal

Don’t be afraid to ‘change it up.’ It could be the difference between a less than enthusiastic audience and a ‘goal.’