The myth of the tough crowd?
Everyone talks about how this room or that room was “a tough room” or a “tough crowd”. What makes one crowd tough and another one easy? Sometimes I think it’s mostly the speaker trying to explain why they didn’t do as well as they’d have liked, and the toughness of the crowd is an easy target.
I’d argue you can’t know how tough a crowd is or not unless you get there early enough to see another speaker present – only then can you calibrate how good they were, with how quiet or hostile the crowd was in response. With a sample size of 1 – you and your talk – you don’t have enough data to say anything about the crowd’s toughness.
I think often the tough crowd is created by the speaker not being informed enough about what’s going on in the room. What are they mad about? Why are they so quiet?
Here’s some advice on tough crowds:
- An audience has a culture – know what it is. Some professions, countries, and groups are quieter or more reserved than another. Ask other people who have spoken at the group, or ask the host. It might seem tough to you, but entirely normal to them. Calibrate your expectations.
- Know the things that make them mad, and avoid. Every company or industry has words they hate or facts they don’t want to hear. For example, mentioning Google at Microsoft, or Microsoft at Google, is sure to provoke a response. Choose stories and examples carefully.
- Nothing makes an audience happier than talking about what they came to hear. Perhaps they’re upset because of recent news, layoffs or a product failing in the marketplace. If there’s some constructive way you can work their true issues into your session, you can relieve the pressure they’re feeling.
- There is always someone in the crowd who hates you the least. Find the people who seem most positive or active and give them as much of your attention and eye contact. Rewarding their positive responses will encourage them to keep doing it, and possibly help others in the audience follow along.
What are other factors that make crowds tough? And what are counter moves speakers should know? I’d love to hear your stories on tough crowds you’ve faced and what you learned (or didn’t :)
April 28th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
There’s quite a bit of truth in this:
There is always someone in the crowd who hates you the least. Find the people who seem most positive or active and give them as much of your attention and eye contact. Rewarding their positive responses will encourage them to keep doing it, and possibly help others in the audience follow along.
I gave a talk last night and, while I wouldn’t consider the crowd “tough”, the word “unenthusiastic” came to mind. I engaged the two who seem most interested at first and, before I knew it, five or six people were participating.
April 28th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Crowds with widely varying skill sets are always a challenge from a technical presentation perspective. The only way out of that is to target the middle, drop advanced nuggets for the faster ones, and do your best to qualify the audience before walking in the door.
April 28th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Scott, this is spot on.
Some managers at work recently gave a highly detailed technical presentation to a group of users, who had stated beforehand that they weren’t technical.
Afterwards my colleagues complained about the “tough crowd”. Unfortunately I wasn’t in a position to tell them that the audience were “tough” because the presenters totally failed to engage them.
April 29th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Stephen: I wish there was a name for what you describe, because i think it happens all the time. If the speaker creates a mismatch between what he’s saying and what they can understand, the crowd will always seem tough – they can’t follow.
It’s a good trick to check in with a crowd, especially if the talk is longer than 30 minutes, for a show of hands as to who understood the last example or story, and who doesn’t get it. Then at least there’s a chance the speaker can make adjustments.
Any suggestions for a name for this? Where the speaker creates the toughness?
April 29th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
I’ve heard it described as “the curse of knowledge” (not sure by whom).
You’re wearing headphones and can clearly hear the song. You start clicking your fingers to the beat, expecting the audience to sing along – but they have no idea what the song is.
PS I went back to the same audience (police officers) a few weeks later and gave the same presentation in the form of a story, with examples which were meaningful to the police. They weren’t that tough at all!
May 7th, 2009 at 10:29 am
I gave a two day seminar a few weeks back, and the first day was really rough. My colleague and I were both thrown by the crowd – unresponsive, eye rolling, disinterested. I was totally unnerved by the experience, and that night I spent some time figuring out how to get more engaged with the group. I decided to ask a few questions about their experiences with design, and everyone seemed much more relaxed (including me)! Getting to know the group with some informal questions goes a long way to making everyone a human being.