A book on public speaking by Tom Antion

Get 'em On Stage
Male / Female Audience Differences

Get 'em On Stage
In my book on public speaking you will learn that is very funny to involve the audience by getting them on stage with you. In fact, almost every presentation I do, I find a reason to get an audience member on stage with me.
When you get someone from the audience on stage with you, the rest of the audience will be compelled to watch what's going on for the following reasons:

1. They want to see what is going to happen to one of their own.

2. They are priming themselves to be up there.

3. They are worrying to death that they may be asked to be up there.

The first two reasons are good because the observing audience member is thinking, "I want to watch to see what my colleague will say or what will happen to them while they are on stage. No matter how good of a presenter you are, you can't compete with the excitement that someone from the audience generates by being on stage with you. You will learn how to generate this kind of excitement on stage and in the audience, when you read my book on public speaking.

The other thought is, "I BETTER watch what is going on in case I am asked to go up there." This mindset is good because it makes the audience member to think about the point you are trying to make, in case they are asked up too. 

The third reason is not so great because the shy or sensitive audience members will withdraw from what you are saying, because they are scared you will ask them to stand up in front of everyone. The skills taught in my book on public speaking includes how to be sensitive to the needs of all the members of your audience. This chance of audience withdrawal is easily eliminated by the following statement.
"In a moment I'm going to ask for some volunteers to come on stage with me. Don't worry. No one will have to come up if they don't want to." If you have a high percentage of shy audience members, you will almost feel the breeze as they breathe a sigh of relief. 

According to a study done at the University of Wichita, public recognition is a top motivator of people. If you claim to be a "motivational" public speaker of some sort, you need to incorporate this and use your public profile when speaking to give out some much sought after public recognition. I find out the good things that particular audience members have done during my extensive pre-program research.

• Recognize a single audience member for a particular achievement, or for a period of high performance.
   

• Recognize a group of audience members for a particular achievement, or period of high performance.

While they are on-stage, highlight their achievement or performance with some kind of certificate. Make sure you include your company name at the bottom of the certificate, because many times they will be hung on the wall which will give you free publicity.

You can also get audience members on stage with you to do some sort of demonstration. I do a funny one where I'm demonstrating differing personal space across cultures. The person helping me gets a good laugh from the audience as we interact.

Knowing how to anticipate the possible outcomes of your presentation is a skill learned in my book on public speaking. Try to have adlibs planned and ready to go for many of the comments or questions you anticipate from the people on stage. You can also have someone on stage to assist you in writing on the flip chart, changing overheads, or to blow a horn when someone in the audience asks a good question. Let your imagination have its way when planning your presentation.

Whenever, someone is up there to assist you, make sure you give them some kind of prize. One of your products is usually good because it gives you a chance to mention it without using a hard sell. And just about always lead the audience in a round of applause for the helper as they return to their seat.
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Male / Female Audience Differences
In my book on public speaking, "Wake 'em Up!", I teach on the differences between men and women in the speaking profession.  An all female audience is always wonderful to work with because they laugh easier and louder than if you had an all male audience.
All-male audiences are hard to get laughter out of because their ego's get in the way. They will look around first to see if anyone else is laughing before they will laugh, and they won't laugh as loud because they don't want to look inferior to their colleagues. Audiences that consist of more than 50 percent women are good too because the presence of females provides a good buffer and makes it OK for the men to laugh, since so many other people are laughing.

For a female speaker who is giving a presentation in front of an all-male audience it is very important for you to bond and be "one of the guys". I'm not trying to be sexist here,  just stating a fact.  I'm just giving you some things to keep in mind if you are a female speaker and you want to be successful in front of a general all-male audience. You must realize not all men out there in the business world are as sensitive and loveable as I am (send all big hugs to me in care of my publisher). If you have an all-male audience that is not from the same company or field where work related issues would suffice; make sure you stick to sports, business, and money to best connect with them.

In my book on public speaking I will show you a more in depth approach on how to deal with tough audiences. One of the hardest audiences to deal with consists of a group of executives from the same company when the CEO is present. If you say something funny, the executives will start to laugh, but then choke it off until they see if the CEO is laughing. If the CEO is laughing, then they feel that is okay to laugh. This kind of audience will create timing nightmares for you.  As a good presenter, you can sometimes take it upon yourself to gently explain to the CEO before you start you presentation how everyone will look to him or her for approval.

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