Category: Speech Summary

So, you are about to go on stage and face an audience that you know are not going to be happy about the message you are going to deliver.

• you are telling the local community the school is closing down
• The whole firm is closing and everybody is going to be laid off
• You are telling the Nurses Union they are not going to get a rise.
• You disagree vehemently with the objectives of the organisation

It has been estimated that blood pressure, pulse rate, and stress levels can rise as high as a soldier going into battle for the first time.

So before you go on, take several deep deep breathes and let them out slowly. Tense and relax your abdominal muscles as you do so. You will find it is a great way of avoiding a Panic Attack when you first start to speak.

It is surprising, but even in the above situations, people will want to hear what you have to say and you will not be boo-ed or cat-called. If you are, step away from the podium and ask the Chair of the meeting to control the audience. If he or she can’t, then leave. There is no directive that says you have to put up with personal abuse.

The most frequent problem is some one, or several, shouting out hostile interjections.

There are techniques for dealing with this

• Thank you Sir/Madam, I can tell you are upset. If you let me finish with my presentation I will be glad to answer questions afterward. Then let the chair deal with the person concerned.
• When some one yells out an interjection (Rubbish! Nonsense!) Hold your hand out, palm facing the interjector, and carry on without pausing.
• If it is obvious that the interjector has irritated the whole audience, you can try Rob Muldoon’s technique of verbally sparing with the interjector, but this is risky. Thank you sir, I can tell you are upset. I suggest you take a deep breath, it will steady your hand to get the top of the Prozac bottle.

You don’t happen to be a School Teacher or Accountant do you? David Lange used this technique.

Question time

This is the trickiest time. Take charge of it and set the limits.

I am happy to have 5 (or however many) questions and people can contact me at Jim.Bloggs@goldengate.com. And can I ask that the questions be short and not an opportunity to give your own opinion. Then hand over to the chair to nominate people. He/she will ensure that questioners do not give a long monologue of their own views.

• Listen carefully to what the question is
• Paraphrase to ensure you understand. If I understand what you are asking is ————.
• Make sure everyone in the audience know what the question is.

Then comes a most useful technique to deal with questions and opinions that are frankly unacceptable. Can I ask who you are and what organisation you represent? This give many hostile people cause to think about how hostile they really want to be.

If a person is not at all satisfied with your answer, ask to see them later  so you can get details of how you can contact them.

Then leave, get to the pub, and have several stiff whiskies.

Best of luck.

Rob Julian DTM

Oh – if, as happened to me in 1981, the Springbok Tour, you have the Red Squad with PR4 batons and riot gear advancing toward you with Ross Murant telling his men ‘Pick your targets’, do not try reasoning with them. Just turn around and run. Fast