Around the 2 minute mark of my last video, I basically said that just because a person has their hands up and they want to ask a question, it doesn’t mean you have to call on them. That statement caused me to receive numerous questions asking me to explain more. What a thing to say right? I also admitted that it might be rude. It could be very rude to deliberately not call on some one, but let me clarify: I’m not saying this with negative intent. It’s really something you should do if you run out of time (in this case, you can always provide some other form of communication for your audience to reach out to you and ask questions) or for the unruly audience member. I’m talking about the one who wholeheartedly disagrees with whatever it is that you presented and he/she will do whatever it takes to say exactly what’s on their mind no matter how it will come out.  The average person in this situation may see  five hands raised and feel like they have to answer all five questions. While that is ideal, at times it may not be what’s best. It may not be what’s best for you because you sense that this person wants a verbal battle. They may have a firm disagreement with what you said. Which means they will want to make their point and are willing to do anything to make that point. It’s basically you identifying negative energy and doing your best to not allow it to spread.

What type of situations would force you to make this decision? An obvious answer would be controversial topics such as religion and politics. You should never have a keynote talking about those two and if you do, good luck to you with that. But with that being said, you can also think that you have a great topic to talk about and someone in your audience can find the controversy in it. This literally can happen with any topic. So what should you do in this situation? Let’s take it back to the groundwork for a second. With any topic you’re looking to present, you should be listing out the pros and cons. The pros being all of the great insight and helpful things your audience can take from it. The cons being any negative aspects your audience can pull from it and would want to challenge. This can be hard, speakers would love to believe that all of their ideas are great and everyone would agree with them. But that is rarely the case. First because no idea is perfect. But secondly and more obvious, it’s in our human nature to disagree with one another. So it’s up to you to sit down and map out possible push back you may get on your topic and prepare for it, because no topic is immune to disagreements.

What if you account and prepare for disagreements, yet you still get caught off guard? What do you do when an audience member hits you with that question that you weren’t ready for and the may even be a little snarky about it? The first thing you have to remember is to always bring positive energy. If you meet negative energy with negative energy in the moment, it simply doesn’t end well. Try to get an understanding of where they are coming from with their question. You can do this by asking clarifying questions. Literally break down their question to the simplest form, so it can lower the controversy and get to the root of what they are asking. If that doesn’t work, you can tell them to meet with you afterwards and you can answer their question directly at the time. The latter scenario allows you to buy time and figure out a way to answer their question. It also gives them a few minutes to cool down. It may not go over smooth, but when given a try it often works.

Well what if you keep getting controversial questions? Then you have to take a look in the mirror. There has to be a common theme in it all and it can’t be your audience. A lot of times, we don’t like to accept responsibility and point blame at ourselves. But that comes with the territory. That means that your audience will give you clues that your information isn’t landing or going over well. You can be blind to it all you want, but just like when you speak and your audiences listens… when you audience speaks.. you should listen too. They are the ones paying to see you. They are the ones whose time you’re either making use of or wasting. They are the ones who will ultimately keep you in demand or have you put back on the shelf. It’s just up to you to recognize their needs and listen. They’ll give you all the clues in the world. You just have to pay attention. Be open to their thoughts and respect them. Even if you don’t get it in return. It will show a lot about your character and take you a long way in this game.

Make your next presentation, your best presentation!

Sincerely,

Julian A. Leonard
(Founder of The JLeonard Group LLC)

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