*Making an effective presentation is hard work.
It's even more difficult when your audience is hostile to your
message. Consider these examples:
*You
are the last presenter on a Friday afternoon at a resort area
and the attendees are required to be there after a week long training
session. You are a trial lawyer addressing your local chamber
ofcommerce about proposed legislation that is perceived by your
audience as anti-business. Or you are the new chairperson of a
hospital's medical department and you are schedule to speak with
an older and well entrenched group of MD's about a new hospital
initiative that is sure to meet with skepticism by the already
jaded medical staff.
*You
can even make the examples above more stressful for the presenter
by adding gender, race and cultural issues to the mix. For instance,
the new medical group chairperson may be a young female who is
addressing a group of older males. Or the chairperson is a physician
from India, speaking to a physician group of older white males.
Gender, race and cultural differences can create another barrier
to communication that the presenter must overcome.
*One
of the biggest mistakes a presenter will make when developing
a presentation to a potentially hostile group is to ignore the
obvious. The hard reality is that it takes advanced planning to
deal effectively with these types of situations. A presenter who
chooses to ignore the obvious may still provide the audience with
an adequate presentation. But if you view a hostile audience as
an opportunity rather than a liability, you will choose a different
path and deal directly with their issues.
*You
develop a presentation to a hostile audience in the same way that
you develop any presentation. You begin with an understanding
that you must KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. Knowing your audience members
means UNDERSTANDING their frame of mind at the moment and how
your message can address those needs.
*In
the chamber of commerce example cited, the trial lawyer might
begin his/her presentation with this "in your face"
statement: "When you hear the phrase 'trial lawyer' what
comes to mind?" If no one answers, the attorney might get
things started by writing the word "greedy" on an
easel. Someone will only half jokingly yell out, "ridiculous
law suits" or "our biggest problem." You get the
idea.
*The
trial attorney can then transition into . . . "As business
people, I can understand exactly how you feel. When you read the
paper about million dollar verdicts for hot coffee spills or other
seemingly frivolous suits, you naturally think of us as the enemy.
If I were in your shoes, I would be concerned that trial lawyers
are raising the cost of doing business. But the fact of the matter
is that many things that trial lawyers do actually decreases your
costs of doing business. In
fact, the proposed legislation that I am hear to talk about today
does precisely that." By empathizing with their concerns
and directly addressing what the audience members are thinking,
the trial lawyer is able to diffuse some of the hostility that
may exist in the room.
*In
our health care example, Dr. Leonard Randolph was the new physician
executive with a medical clinic who had to inform an older group
of experienced medical doctors about the latest quality initiative.
He knew in advance that his presentation would be met with hostility
from
his medical team. So he took a risk. He walked in the room wearing
a catcher's chest protector, knee pads and catcher's glove and
said, "I'm ready. Throw me whatever you've got." The
medical doctors in attendance were shocked, amazed and then bent
over in laughter. The hostility was diffused. Dialogue was now
possible.
*What
if the new physician executive addressing the medical team was
from India and had a heavy accent? This could pose a further distraction
to his message. In that case, the physician might begin with .
. . "I've met many of you over the course of the last two
weeks, but we didn't have time to get well acquainted. So I thought
I would tell you a little about my background. Many of you might
think that because of my accent that I am from . . . Kentucky
. . . but no, that's not true. I was actually born in . . ."
*I
encouraged one of my clients to use this line in a sales presentation
before a conservative board of directors. After making this statement,
the board members roared with laughter and any tension in the
room was immediately diffused. It is amazing what a little self-deprecating
humor can accomplish.
*And
how do you handle the situation where you are the last speaker
on a Friday afternoon at a resort AND the participants are required
to attend? I was faced with this situation early in my career
when I found myself addressing a group of attorneys who obviously
did not want to be in the room. They wanted to be out on the golf
course. So I took an enormous risk.
*I
started with . . ."You don't want to be here, do you?"
A resounding "NO" came from the group. I then said,
"I understand. It's a beautiful day. You've been here all
week. Ok, let's make a deal. I have 45 minutes to speak with you
today. But I received permission from Bill [the meeting planner]
to shorten my presentation to 15 minutes. If I speak for just
15 minutes and get you out on the golf course, will you listen
to what I have to say?" A resounding "YES" came
from the group. And then I began my talk.
*In
those brief 15 minutes, I used a prop, encouraged them to interact,
and perhaps influenced a few of the participants to take action
based upon my message. Similar to Dr. Randolph when he addressed
the medical staff, I viewed my presentation as an opportunity
to influence and not as a liability.
*There
is an important caveat that you must consider before taking a
risk when planning your presentation to a potentially hostile
audience. Don't assume that you know the attitude of your listeners.
Ask them. Make a few calls and conduct several interviews. Confirm
your suspicions before you "confront" the group. You
may even want to talk to a decision-maker about what you are planning
to do and say to assure that it will be well received.
*When
you present before a potentially hostile audience, your presentation
is essentially a form of negotiation. You are "negotiating"
with your audience members to consider your information and (hopefully)
act on your message.
*Presenting
to a hostile audience also brings out the best in leaders. You
can't fake it. It requires a meaningful connection. It also requires
an ability to overcome "the barrier of hostility" and
demonstrate a level of trustworthiness that persuades others to
consider a different position . . . this is the essence of true
leadership.
