Episode #209: Speaking To Audiences in BIG Venues In Japan

The chances of speaking to a 5000 person business audience happening and happening regularly in Japan are remote for most of us. Nevertheless, in case you find yourself in front of a very large audience, here are a few hints on how to adjust to the increased size of the event.

Get there early and go and sit in some of the most far-flung locations. It might be the last row at the back or the rear seats on the elevated third tier of the venue. You realize you will seem like a peanut to audience members seated at the far extremes and so you need to “big up” your presentation to suit the tyranny of distance.

Definitely go for the pin microphone, so that you hands will be left free for gestures. These gestures will have to become much larger than anything you have been used to before. Remember you are a peanut waving your arms around to those in the cheap seats at the back. This means go for double handed gestures as much as possible, to fill up more of the stage with your presence.

Marshal your ki for the big stage. Ki is the intrinsic energy we possess and it is most famously seen in martial arts. When you are on stage, you have to try and push your energy, your ki, to the very back wall of the hall. You have to mentally project your energy that distance. Your voice helps with this task. You have to be directing your voice all the way to the last rows of seats.

Your eyes also come into play here. You need to be breaking the audience up into a baseball diamond. Left, center, right field, inner field and outer field. These six sectors have to be worked hard by your eye contact to be picking out individuals and looking straight at their eyes for six seconds each.

Use the left, center and right sides of the stage. However walk slowly to the extreme edges, stop, settle and talk to the audience on that side. Walk back to the center and talk to those located in the center seating, then walk to the right and do the same for that side of the venue. Keep repeating this walk and stop, settle process throughout your talk. For those in the front row, definitely don’t forget to look at them, because you are so close and can have the greatest impact with that group because they feel your presence most immediately.

When the venue is really big you have to go even bigger when presenting.