Anticipating the Audiences Reaction


Obviously, you can not know all of the things that will set off an individual person. But you can know and base your actions on far more specific information about them than you probably now are using. Even if the reaction of the audience cannot be known, try not to do anything that will directly cause him to react negatively based on what you know to be generally true.

Most people are likely to become quite active in their reactions and responses, for psychologically, they are ego-defensive as well as subjective. Either consciously or unconsciously, they will actively try to counteract anything that they find aggravating or threatening. For example, if you seem superior to them in any way, they will attempt to block the imagined or real superiority, perhaps by not liking you or disagreeing with you, as their own internal justification. Something as simple as your looking like someone else they know (who perhaps once did them wrong), a stereotype, or a preconceived idea could greatly affect your attempt to train them.

While this may seem to be just simple common sense it is easy for many trainers to lose perspective when speaking to a large group of people.

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CEO, A.E. Schwartz & Associates, Boston, MA., a comprehensive organization which offers over 40 skills based management training programs. Mr. Schwartz conducts over 150 programs annually for clients in industry, research, technology, government, Fortune 100/500 companies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. He is often found at conferences as a key note presenter and/or facilitator. His style is fast-paced, participatory, practical, and humorous. He has authored over 65 books and products, and taught/lectured at over a dozen colleges and universities throughout the United States.