Episode #291: I’m No Good In Front Of Big/Small Groups

I sometimes read about certain celebrities, historical figures or leaders who are described as being better presenters with small groups or being better presenting to large groups. I wonder what they mean and why that would be? I presume the inference is the person is more impactful with one group rather than the other or feels more comfortable addressing one group rather than the other. Why would the size of the group make any difference?

Perhaps presenting to a tight circle of listeners makes the speaker feel more pressure because the audience is so physically close and immediate. Up on the stage there is a good distance between the speaker and the audience and maybe that provides less pressure. The stage is usually a raised platform or the speaker’s position is at the front of the room, so there is more formality in those settings, which therefore provides more authority and credibility for the presenter.

On the other hand, being up on stage, with thousands of beady eyes boring into your skull can be a lot of pressure for some speakers. The sheer scale can be overwhelming and the serried ranks of listeners confronting. Looking down at that sea of scowling faces and crossed arms can be spine decalcifying. The small group on the other hand may feel more intimate and safe.

There are some things which work well for both groups, so let’s take them separately. For small groups, the intimacy means our body language, pacing and volume has to be different than if we were up on a vast stage facing thousands. We will have a better chance of knowing more about a small audience than a mass audience. The organisers probably know everyone and can brief us about therm. This helps us in the planning stage to think about what will be of most value for the audience. Once we have prepared that talk, we will feel very confident we will get a good reception from the people assembled.

Even if it is a small group, we should stand when we present. The organisers may try to get us to sit down and present, but we should resist that idea. Standing is better for us to free up our body language and deal with any nerves we have. It also gives us elevation above the crowd, which also gives us more authority regarding what we are saying. We can easily see everyone and they can see us too. We want to be working our eye contact, such that we hold the gaze of each person for around six seconds. Less than that is not effective in creating a bond and if we go longer it becomes intrusive. When we get the eye contact balance right, the person on the receiving end feels as if we are speaking directly to them and no one else in the room. It feels like we are having a cosy chat. It is very powerful and attractive. Our gestures need to be smaller and less energetic or we can overpower our audience.

When we are facing those thousands of people up onstage in a big venue, there is a big difference between those in the audience, depending on where they are seated. We see them as an anonymous granite block but they are not. Those down the back, those up on the first tier and up on the second tier can feel remote. We are remote to them too. If you are ever speaking in a big venue, get there early and go and sit in the seats at the furthest extremes. This is when you realise you will appear like a peanut to these members of the audience.

In the same way, we had the small group earlier and we apply the same logic. We don’t talk to thousands of people. We speak to one person at a time. We divide the venue up into six sectors, like the baseball diamond. We have the inner field and the outer field, the left, center and right field and this includes those seated in the second and third floors. When we are at distance from these people seated far from us and when we select one person to speak to, the thirty people seated around them, all think we are looking directly at them too. The effect is the same – they feel we are having an intimate conversation with them despite there being thousands of people in the hall. Don’t look at the sectors in order though. Make it completely unpredictable and random, to keep people on their toes.

In the big venues, we need to use huge gestures. Because of the distance, we have to make a much bigger effort to project our energy all the way to the back wall. We have a microphone, so we are not yelling, but we are trying to drive our physical energy all the way to the rear of the venue. The people at the back will feel our energy and will be drawn toward us. We also have to make more use of the stage. Not running around on stage from left to right like a maniac, as you will have seen by some people, but purposely spending time on the left, center and right of the stage, trying to get as close to the audience as possible.

Regardless of the size of the venue, we have a plan and we know what to do. We can be effective regardless of the circumstances, because we decided to be in control and we are well organised.