PDF
Email
PrintAvoiding Major Public Speaking Mistakes
‘Mind reading from facial expressions'
When I first began speaking to audiences I was extremely sensitive
to the way audience members looked. During the presentation I would
try to read their mood.
- Were they frowning?
- Did they have blank expressions?
- Did this mean they were hostile?
If no-one was smiling this would really bother me. If one person
appeared more friendly than the rest I would focus on them during
my talk, to the exclusion of the others.
On one occasion I was conducting a two day workshop to about forty
people. There was a particular woman in the front row who continuously
frowned at me and even occasionally shook her head!
I began to try and blank her out of my vision and was relieved that
she didn’t ask any questions. At the end of the two days as I was
saying my goodbyes and packing to leave she approached me. ‘Here
we go' I thought. I was amazed when she told me how much she enjoyed
my presentations and that she had loved the training and couldn’t
believe how much she had got out of it!
Ever since, I haven’t tried to guess what my audience is thinking.
If I suspect someone is not enjoying it, I approach them and give
them a chance to say so. I consider that their responsibility.
As I learned how to relax and enjoy public speaking, my perceptions
began to change. What I had seen as hostile, I started to see as
nervousness in the audience members. Rather than looking at them
to put me at my ease I began to try to put them at their ease.
Next, Dealing with a Difficult Audience
Back to Personal Development articles
blog comments powered by Disqus
