How to deal with distracted audience members
Distracted audience members are an unnerving sight for presenters.
They not only throw presenters off-balance but also double-up as a source of irritation to genuinely interested audience members.
But why do audiences get distracted anyway?
We live in what has been termed ‘The Age of Distraction’. True as that might be, oftentimes, the reason audience members are distracted is because you are not being relevant to them.
How to ensure that you do not lose the attention of your audience
Ensure relevance. Remember, great public speaking is always preceded by a significant amount of private preparation.
You need to identify how the points that you are making intersect with what your audience cares about (refer to the lesson on Gathering Talking Points). Make this connection clear right at the start of your presentation. Refer to this constantly.
This will greatly reduce the chances of your audience members losing interest in your presentation.
Also, a word of caution
You don’t want to be overly fussy about preventing audience banter. Sometimes, something you said could have provoked a thought or an idea that participants felt inclined to share with their neighbours.
Or, perhaps a joke you cracked reminded them of some incident or person, which triggered further laughter. You need this interaction between people.
However, it’s the incessant banter that you want to shut out.
It’s expected of you
Remember, you have every right – and you must exercise that right – to control your audience. It’s your presentation after all.
Also, the rest of your audience wants you to do that. The miscreants in the audience are an irritant to them just as much as they are to you. They expect you, as the ‘authority figure’ that they see you as, to be the one enforcing compliance with group norms.
You’re on a sticky wicket, but here’s how you tackle this.
How to deal with distracted audience members
Start by involving distracted audience members in your presentation. Pose a question to them. Solicit their opinions or experiences. Acknowledge their responses and appreciate them where appropriate. Oftentimes, audience members who were being a nuisance fall in line when they feel heard and appreciated.
However, this might not always work. If it doesn’t and the distracting behaviour continues, then politely at first, and progressively firmly, request the miscreants for their attention. This should usually stop them in their tracks.
Silence is a golden tool!
Here is a trick we learned from a prominent leadership consultant, who was invited as the keynote speaker at a senior leadership event. As she commenced her speech, she noticed that practically everyone in the audience was busy typing away on their phones and laptops.
Undeterred, she decided to carry on. But ten minutes into her presentation, she realised that absolutely no one was showing any visible interest in her presentation.
So, she stopped. She simply stood in that room in silence. A couple of minutes is all it took for her audience to realise that something was wrong. One by one, they each stopped what they were doing, and turned their gaze towards her. When she had everyone’s attention, she stated she understood that they were busy professionals, but since she had been invited to speak with them, they could start by giving her ten minutes of their time. If, in that time, they were’nt convinced she was worth their attention they could go back to doing what they were.
Her approach, she says, worked. Everybody stopped using their media devices and gave her the ten minutes that she had asked for, and then some.
Bottom line: silence works as a means of dealing with a distracted audience.
What if they persist in their ways?
Now, this will only work, if you are in a position of power relative to your audience, like a trainer delivering a session. If the audience members in question continue being a nuisance, then you’d be well within your rights to excuse yourself from your presentation and request those individuals to step outside the room with you.
Once outside, address them politely, but firmly. Point out to them that they are being a nuisance. If they are clearly not interested, offer them the choice to stay away from the room. Make it clear that you’re acting to protect the interests of other participants, who are keen to learn from the presentation.
This should usually do the trick.
In rare circumstances though, you might just need to ignore the persistent troublemakers and carry on undeterred. It may not be worth stepping in, if you won’t be speaking for long, for instance.
