I remember the first time my ability to control a distracted audience was pushed to its limit. I was presenting to 400 high school students. The presentation up until this point had gone great. Students were engaged, they were interacting, and we were headed for the home stretch. We had just transitioned to a more serious moment of the presentation and I was preparing to give my final thought. Then the unthinkable happened. A massive cockroach began to walk across the gym floor directly behind me. Now, I’m not talking an ordinary bug I’m talking a large and in charge bug that didn’t scurry across, instead it chose a slow straight path lingering long enough for every student to notice.
What happened next was my worst nightmare. The entire room began to point and yell, as if it would help move the bug along. I tried to ignore the distraction but as the sound level increased I knew there was no saving this moment. My initial reaction was panic as I had no idea how I would regain the room.
That was when I stopped took a minute to breathe and then implemented 3 steps that have worked time and time again to regain the attention of a distracted audience. Here are the three steps I have learned that are guaranteed to reel your audience back in and neutralize the distractions.
Step 1: Acknowledge the distraction
If you ever find yourself in a similar situation with an audience that is completely distracted by an outside force. The first step you should consider is to acknowledge the distraction. By acknowledging the distraction, you eliminate the audiences need to inform you what they are seeing. Instead, you bring everyone’s attention to the distraction in turn taking control of the situation rather than letting the situation control you.
Step 2: Respond with humor.
Humor is a great way to lighten the overall mood of your presentation. It is also a vital weapon when it comes to diffusing a distraction. Humor helps to take your audiences mind off of whatever had stolen their attention. This also helps you to level the emotional playing field resetting back to the baseline of the beginning of a presentation.
Step 3: Re engage with a recap.
Once you have acknowledged the distraction, responded with humor, it’s time to draw your audience back in. The best option I have found is to recap the important information you have shared up until that point. By starting with a recap, you help your audience forget the distraction that has taken place. It reminds them why they are excited about your content, and why they should listen to the remainder of your presentation.
When that cockroach walked across that stage I thought my presentation was over. In fact, I figured there was no way to regain control and that I might as well be done right them. But then I remembered these three easy steps and was able to not only regain control of the audience’s attention, but to draw them in in such a way that this night was one of the most powerful presentations of the entire week.
If you are interested in learning more about how the Ethos3 team can help you develop as a presenter contact us today.
