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Successful Presentations -- There's Always a Crowd
For business people who know their stuff but break out in hives giving a presentation or speaking in public, it might seem like a relief when only six people show up in an auditorium that seats a hundred.
But if you've ever been to a baseball game where the bleachers are half empty and you can't smell your neighbor's hot dog, you know better. It's a drag. Something's missing. Or if you've ever gone to a play where actors are playing to a vacant first row, you know what it's like -- the energy is low, and the production's less of a special event.
So in order to create a lively, high-energy atmosphere, many seasoned speakers create a crowd wherever they present -- even when there's not one. A crowd signals popularity and keeps both the speaker's and the audience's adrenaline pumping. It doesn't take an army to make a crowd. It just takes a little planning.
Wherever you're presenting, you can help make the room work to your advantage. Get there early and figure out how to create a crowd. You don't want people uncomfortable, just cozy enough to feel they haven't shown up for a math lecture on Senior Ditch Day.
If the chairs are portable, remove or push to the side all the ones that won't have a warm bottom in them. If you've got rows of stationary seats, like a theatre, encourage people to sit together in the first few center rows or even rope off a section.
If you're in one of those hotel conference rooms big enough for a royal wedding, see if they can close off an area just the right size for your group. If not, ask for a different room or at the very least have everyone sit around a conference table, not in random chairs scattered like golf balls on a driving range. If you don't, your focus will be just as off the mark as if you'd used a three iron when you should've used a wood.
Though it might seem daunting, a crowded atmosphere will help you practice all the other tricks and techniques of successful presenting -- like making eye contact, projecting your voice, showing off audio-visuals, and keeping up the pace. And if it turns out you're so popular that somebody's got to get more chairs -- well then, your presentation's off to a great start.
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