Episode #133: How Do You Follow On From Really Bad Or Really Great Presenters

One of the most painful experiences as a presenter is watching the speaker before you put the entire crowd to sleep with their dull, monotonous monotone delivery. I don’t know which is worse, but the opposite problem is when the speaker was legendary and you hear your name being called because you are up next. Either way, what is your plan? Oh, I see, no plan! Maybe that is not a very good approach.

Often when you are invited to speak at certain events, there are a bevy of presenters and you are one of them. You might be in the Green Room watching on monitors or hidden back stage, waiting to come on. If the current speaker is just droning on, you can literally see the audience wilting. In Japan the wilt factor is high and the wilt speed is quick. There is no social remonstration here about sleeping while the speaker is on stage.

In 1979, when I first arrived in Japan, I was amazed, well actually shocked, to see how Japanese university students felt no compunction about sleeping right in front of the Professor. The good Prof would be warbling away and those in the back rows just checked out. They would fold their arms on the desk, rest their head on their arms and then off to sleepy byes. In Australia, that would have been unthinkable, considered the height of rudeness and you would have been called out for it during the class.

Having attended a huge number of speeches and given hundreds here myself to Japanese audiences, in Japanese, I have seen this time after time. The fatal error is to dim the lights for the slide show and bingo, a good chunk of the audience has just fallen asleep. There are no digs in the ribs with a sharp elbow by neighbours to prod some semblance of respect for the presenter. Everyone just carries on regardless.

I have also been in the nasty position of having to follow on from a speaker who has murdered the audience. By the time I turn up for my talk they are all certifiably brain dead. What can you do to retrieve the situation? Well the concept of this being a distinct possibility in Japan needs to be established in the planning phase. Most people neglect to consider this untoward turn of events if they are one of a number of speakers.

The easiest thing is to pause and not start immediately. The hum of the previous speaker is like a sleeping draft for many in the audience, a bit like white noise in the background. Their brain has adjusted to that low hum and off they go, dropping into blissful slumber. By injecting silence into the room, you break the pattern and pattern interrupt is a key to grabbing attention. The silence also builds anticipation on the part of those still compos mentis. Thirty seconds of silence seems like an eternity and those imagining it is all over now, will emerge from their little nap, to discover you are there on stage ready to go.

This is when you hit it hard with that first sentence. Crank up the volume and be loud without being a screamer. Again, add a slight pause after the first outbreak of hostilities to create more pattern interrupt. Now you have restored everyone’s attention to the speaker, give a truly professional talk, engaging your audience with tonal variety, eye contact, gestures, pauses and great content. Trying to get an audience in Japan to engage with the speaker through raising their hand in response to a question, often generates zero reaction because nobody wants to stand out in the crowd. “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down” in Japan, so forget any physical refreshment for your audience through speaker nominated actions. Stick to engaging the audience through photographs, especially featuring people. Use storytelling to draw them into your message.

What about the opposite issue when the current speaker is really rocking it? The audience are laughing, clearly enjoying themselves and hanging on their every word. They depart the stage to a rousing ovation with a clearly satisfied reaction. Now they are calling you up. Fortunately you have a plan for such an occasion. You start by turning to face the direction the previous speaker took when they departed the field of battle and you compliment them to your audience. “Wasn’t that a fabulous talk. Thank you very much Suzuki san, that was really great”.

You have now joined the team compact between that star speaker and the audience. You have identified with the audience and they like you, because they agree with you. There is no shame or loss in credibility to praise the other speaker. In fact, it shows just the opposite. You display what a broad mind you have and that you are totally comfortable in your own skin. Not intimidated in the least and simply oozing confidence.

Do not open with an apology ever. Don’t talk about you won’t be as good or tell them you feel really insecure after listening to that speaker. That screams out “loser”. After a slight pause between bonding with the audience as part of previous presenter fan club, you launch right into your talk with a really good question. You know it is a really good question, because you have designed it to be that way. Or you might hit them with a famous quote they all know, from some worthy they all respect.

What you are doing is another version of pattern interrupt. They were tuned into the previous topic and now you need to redirect their minds away from what they have just heard, to listen to what you are going to say. Be professional in your delivery, be valuable in your content and be the best you can be. You may not overpower the impression of the star speaker, you may not vanquish their memory, but you will have shown you are a serious, competent person too.

The key is to have two plans. One for the audience decimator and one for the superstar. No matter what happens you are ready. That will show in your presentation and so your personal and company brand will be enhanced.