Self-Presentation: How Should You Tell Listeners About Yourself?
communication
Sometimes there may be a person in the audience who deliberately tries to confuse the speaker or ask uncomfortable questions. Such a “troll” may start to argue, ridicule or provoke.
How to avoid?
Learn as much as you can about your audience in advance. Prepare clear and well-reasoned answers to possible controversial questions.
If things go wrong
Remain calm and polite. Try to move the conversation in a constructive direction. If necessary, offer to discuss issues after the presentation.
Technical problems are one of the most common nightmares. A broken clicker or a malfunctioning microphone can cause panic.
How to avoid it?
Don't ignore a technical run-through and be sure to check your equipment beforehand. If you perform often, it makes sense to get your own clicker.
If things go wrong
Ask an assistant or colleague to switch slides manually. If the presentation doesn't turn on - calmly invite the organizer and return to the audience with what is possible to tell without illustrations.
Even the most prepared speaker can suddenly forget the text. In such moments, it is important not to panic.
How to avoid?
Rehearse the speech completely several times. Do not try to learn the text by heart - prepare a plan in which theses are logically connected to each other and one idea “hooks” another. Use cards with key theses.
If things go wrong
Pause, take a deep breath, and recall the main ideas. Move on to the point in the plan that you recall - only you know what order they should have gone in.
Sometimes expectations are not met and instead of a full audience, you end up with a half-empty room. This can be demotivating, but it's important to remember that your presentation is still important.
How to avoid?
Get involved in promoting your talk in advance. Check the time and date for competing events. Invite people you're interested in attending your talk in person on social media or while networking in the audience.
If things go wrong
Focus on the people who showed up. Take advantage of the chamber environment - ask and take questions, offer interactive mechanics. Invest in the presentation so that you get 100% conversion to a targeted action from a small audience. At the very least, treat the event as an opportunity to practice an “in the field” presentation on an important topic.
Sometimes the audience may be unprepared for your material, or too diverse in their knowledge level. This can be confusing and make you nervous.
How to avoid?
Gather information about the composition of the audience before the event. Prepare your material with different levels of knowledge in mind. Consider where the organizers are announcing the event and how they are positioning it. Look at who the rest of the event content is aimed at and what other events and media and forums with similar audiences look like.
If things go wrong
Be prepared to adapt explanations and examples. Ask questions of the audience to understand their level of understanding and interests. If a particular part of the presentation is clearly eliciting a lot of clarification, take advantage of this to keep in touch and invite the audience to write to you personally, approach you during a coffee break, or subscribe to you for additional materials.
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