Skip to main content

Handling Distracted Audiences

Lesson 13 from: Powerful Communication Owns the Room

Bill Hoogterp

Handling Distracted Audiences

Lesson 13 from: Powerful Communication Owns the Room

Bill Hoogterp

staff favorite money & life

buy this class

$00

$00
Sale Ends Soon!

starting under

$13/month*

Unlock this classplus 2200+ more >

Lesson Info

13. Handling Distracted Audiences

Next Lesson: Using Names

Lesson Info

Handling Distracted Audiences

Well, first of all, we got a small problem over here. What do you do in the audience is distracted when they're not paying attention when you're looking at their phones, when you've got a problem child to deal with, especially when his gifted is this particular problem, child. So in a moment, we're gonna teach you six technique sips six steps, they're easy to handle an audience that's distracted when we come back to that, thanks to our online check. In addition, the host thank some of our folks online the country a katy, bob, stephen and crystal were helping guide a lot of the online conversations thanks guys up in seattle and a quick bridge fromthe last session, so we learn all these audience involvement techniques, but the techniques or just the techniques you don't own them until you make them your own friend ofmine. Joey ito is the head of a mighty media lab, famous investor and just amazing, amazing guy, and he had come to the course and I was using a lot of techniques the body pu...

ll I really like, but then I'd get in front of a real audience and I wouldn't do it kind of chicken out, and then he called me today said, you're gonna be so proud, I actually did my first body pole in front of four thousand people and it worked so well and instead of just describing it I'm gonna have you do I'm gonna do it for you everybody show me with your fingers online as well type in your number how good an artist you thought you were a scale of zero to ten ten being the highest how good an artist you thought you were when you were four years old ten means I thought it was a really great artist you're old not at all everybody understand one, two three put up your fingers how good an artist did you think you are when you were four years old now show me how good an artist you think you are today what changed and his whole point with sometimes education were killing creativity in ways that we never wanted to. So it was the technique is the technique but the brilliance came from his idea a body paul slipped into another body bowl so for all of these things they're just raw carbon it's your ideas that make them all come alive. So what do you do when the audience is distracted so six simple steps number one back to the phone number one you simply make eye contact with the problem child and the message of the eye contact is we want you back we really like you you have so much to contribute we really want you back is very positive if that doesn't work, then I go to def con to take a step towards the person and try to establish eye contact, and the message still is we want you back. We really want you back, it's all positive, stay presidential. If that doesn't work, then I go to level three. You step towards the person next to them or even behind them. Now I haven't said a word to rust, but what am I doing? I'm raising the level the price of poker? Little by little, you're escalating your intervention to match until you solve the problem in real life business, ninety percent of the time level one, two or three years, it will solve the problem. But if it doesn't pretend it doesn't, then I go to level four and you give the person a job. Russ, can you help me write something's up on the board? Do you mind helping me? Yes, sir. Not really. It's. Very difficult to not help if you phrase it that way. But if he didn't this time, you're not gonna help. Russ, can you help me write something's up on the board? Do you mind helping me? I would rather not okay, because you're looking at your phone. Uh, well, did we all agree in the beginning that we're gonna put the phones away? Did brian tell us all to put the phones away? Do we all agree to that? Yes. Now level five is I'm using the pressure of the group against the behavior it's a very high level of intervention. I don't ever really want to go to level five. Why not it's? Good. You're going negative even if you do is charmingly as possible and he may raise his filters against me permanently. So it's very, very rare times. You ever have to do that and level six you just take a break and talk to the person one on one let's, take a five minute break or bio break. You hear this term bio break using europe all the time it doesn't mean just go to the bathroom means to meet your biological needs but get a drink of water. Get some fresh air but it means also very short break so you can say let's take a bio break and talk the person one on one so quick review what step number one I kind of like what's the message of the eye contact you care, we care and wei wants you back very positive what's level two steps forward one step towards the person and if you're sitting in a meeting and you can't really move around the same effect as you just lean in, just kind of lean in and try to make eye contact, you haven't said the message to anybody else, but you're trying to pull them back what's step three going to sam next to them or behind them, but without talking to them and it's just raising the level of energy in the focus on them that makes it easier for them to want to put it away step for given the task, give them a task. This's why involving the audience is so important? If you get everybody involved in the beginning, these habits don't start. So when you do a body pole, when you do a pair up when you and around the room, everybody so engaged that they're not going to get distracted in the first place you're preventing the problem from ever starting step five you'll break sixes of I'll break step five is master of the group against against the behavior and there's a big difference psychologically between the behavior and the person. Dr richard could explain even better than us, but think of it this way you have to separate the person from the behaviour for them to change the behavior think of two in the morning, you can't sleep, you're watching a really bad old science fiction movie and the hero has the ray gun and his friend is being killed by the monster but the monsters all over his friend he can't shoot the monster why not? He could kill his friend so what does he have to do before he shoots the monster separate separate the monster from the friends when you separate the behavior from the person you say to your child boy good ball through the neighbor's window not so good it makes it easier for the boy to see that's not me one of the things you never want to tell a child is they're stupid never tell a child their stupid why not believe it they believe it and bad things happen when they believe it so none of us is perfect but separating that out you're the worst dad in the world because you smoke cigarettes is different than dad we love you we want you around forever we hope some day you wouldn't smoke the more you separated and especially in our own mind the more we separate our own behavior from who we are, the easier it is to change the behavior and that could be little habits for public speaking. It could be big habits in our life, but the more he said that's not the real us the easier it is for us to change, okay, question one if you know say you're making eye contact with with ross to get him involved how do you not lose the rest of us? Good question so generally it's subtle so I'm giving you my six steps I'm trying to pull him in so I'm holding you with my hands some step to I'm trying to pull him in but if you're really good at it nobody even knows you solved the problem you handled it very quickly and easily without them having to be embarrassed second question um I don't remember well, come back to that let's ask for a brave volunteer and we'll do a quick demo so want to be is going to get up and you're gonna do a short presentation in fact we're gonna do a pitch commercial for creative life you're gonna stand up here and say why everybody should check out creative lives get more involved by all the downloads etcetera that's your assignment but when you're doing it when you come back in the room we're gonna kick out the room for thirty seconds when you come back in one or two people in the audience might be doing something they shouldn't be doing and they will not stop until you get to the right level of intervention. So first who would like to be the brave volunteer communications about okay her gina all right, gina you're gonna go with roberto and when you come back you're gonna talk about creative life and thirty, forty seconds, but you have to solve whoever's doing whatever they're doing and they won't stop till you get to the right level. So if jennifer was a level three problem, she won't stop until you stand next to her. You understand the task off you go now, raise your hand. If you're really mad at gina, you really don't like gina. Just kidding. Just kidding. Ways to run. No one wants to not like you. Okay, let's, get to problem children who want to be a problem. So gary and I saw shauna first. I'm gonna give you options for behavior. You're gonna choose the behavior, you're gonna choose the level it solved you. First option is to borrow your pen again is making annoying noise just kind of bang bang. Get louder and louder and louder. Option to keep talking to your neighbor. You never stop. Option three. Falling asleep. Option four. Phone or laptop tablet. Anything. So, gary, give you first choice. What? Do my neighbor so talk to your neighbor. And then what level? Let's not do any five or six? Is what level of intervention stops you too? For so until she gives you a job, you will not stop talking to a neighbour, understand? Shawna, what activity? What do you want to do? So you get louder and louder noises with the pen and you have to be really louder, louder, louder, don't be subtle, and since we already had four, pick another one one two or three uh three until she stands next to you will not stop everybody else be normal or as normal as you're capable of being going to stretch for a lot of us. All right, let's, bring gina back in. All right. We've got a guest speaker was gonna talk to us about a great, great program on the internet. Great company, tina. And they're all yours. Hi, everybody welcome. My name is gina, and I want to talk to you guys all about creative lives. It's a wonderful internet space where you can learn all the academic techniques that you want to know anything from health and fitness photography. Creative live is a great site where you can go and watch these things live, and I really like creative lives, especially because it's so interactive with your audience you can be part of you could be part of the class by talking with your teachers, and you can also come and be with your audience, you can chat with them about different things that are very important that you're trying to learn now, the thing I love about creative life is that you can get everyone engaged, so hopefully everyone will be taking notes really focused and listening to the different topics here. So creative live is a wonderful place for you to get all the academic sources that you need, and I think right now, we need to take a little bio break and come back and talk more about creative life. All right? Okay, stop. Deposit what you do well, you don't get distracted by us. Yeah, I have no idea what I was saying. Wait. We'll see what the online community thinks he did well, for saying that you stayed calm. That was really good and noodle out on noodle on it the same that you made their their bad behavior part of your pitch, which is very good. Too good. And you stay positive. You kept moving, kept engaging everybody. And you had your problem, child here. You walked right over to her to handle her nicely. I think you invented a new one with gary. Grab him on the theme of the shoulder. Well, actually, can you comment on that bill cause dream fleur is asking is saying they don't know touching a member of the audience is actually a good idea let's ask, so body pulls your ten ten means oh, I love that touching touch me all you want zero means don't ever touch me ever write online and prove how much do you feel overall how much would you like to be touched in that situation go means you love it comes I put all the hands I kid but I'm comfortable with it so looking around what's the answer you have some people who hate it always and some people who really like it a lot and most of us it's a little bit tech contextual certain settings it's okay, start setting it's not so good thing to know on average the numbers were up, you know, five to six to seven we had a couple of twos and then most people like it depends on the context and also on the culture a lot there's a famous time when president george w bush was in germany and the chancellor was in front and she mrs frankel was uh uh they're on national tv and the president in regards to what you think of president most people when they meet him in person finding very folksy and he's a toucher so he came up to her and he's a national tv he's like subtle like this and she's more like jack she hates talks that way so her but she knows she's on national tv so her face is like hey, but I can't show how much I hate it so so just be aware of your audience were all different world be who you are you will be aware how everybody else's so thank you running clothes shop anything she could have done differently I remembered my question from earlier uh is there do you see a difference between giving someone a job and asking them a question? Question is a form of a job for sure so questions are definitely ways to give people get people engaged, so yeah, that was the feedback that was, uh, step that you kind of skipped over wass giving very a job so let's say you're in front of a thousand people and already there's eighty of them doing something they shouldn't how do you solve them all at once a body pull, everybody stand up boom, you know show me you use but your with your hands blood will block that will solve everybody at once a parable solve everybody at once. So these are easy ways to get engaged on peggy serious saying online that perhaps if you got him out of his seat, he would've actually stopped talking maybe and even a heads up instead of embarrassed I'm gonna ask gary in the second if you'll help me with something I didn't tell mewhat it wass but right away he's now we're thinking about me and it's all about saving face. Okay, so is it solve every problem, every every situation? No, but it gives you atleast some tools. It's another reason why you always want to be moving the room always want to be using your space involving your audience and giving people thinks to dio so let's transition now into a game called eyes, names and flags roberto is gonna hand out a flag to everybody in the room why is eye contact important? It's physiological! I'm a look jennifer in the eyes and for the next two seconds she couldn't put her filter up even if she wanted teo that's how powerful eye contact iss so most people look at an audience, but they kind of look above the audience or they've been trained not to make eye contact or just to pick one friendly set of eyes all good but let's go to a whole new level as to how to pull people with you through their eyes so everybody actually want we take the flags right here from russ is passed around everybody take a flag doesn't matter which one I like, how we think john's flag specifically for him a lot of people do think that I am australian, so maybe this is appropriate and as the crew were picking some of their favorite ones brian's got honduras over here. Lori was the flag from panama. Panama is over here. Okay, so now here's how we're gonna play the game when I look at you I want you to raise your flag high so when I look at you raise your flag high when I look away put your flag down my look atyou raise your flag high when I look at you raise your flag high when I look away put it down hosts as well okay, let's, try it again looking at you so this is how we don't show how eye contact or if I'm making eye contact raise your flag if I look away you put it back down raise your flag when I look at you and online I want you to pretend you have a flag in your arm so so your arm is your flag so if I look at you, raise your arm if I look away okay, I'm looking at you guys flags all right? Now, if I make solid eye contact and remember the movie top gun, this movie top gun in there fighting that the jets and they get a green signal they don't shoot the missile because they might miss, they don't have a signal lock, what they have to wait before they shoot the missile signal lock so if I get a signal lock with you where might my eye contact is really solid like I've got you then you have to stand up and go move to a different chair so we get very moving around now the spot you sit could be on the stage it could be in the audience but you're gonna get up and move to a different chair camera crews gonna have fit with this one so I look atyou raise your flags if I and if I make solid eye contact you gotta move you guys can't move all right? And I had you I had you so much all right now however, I understand how we play the game so we're going to do is I'm gonna call you up on stage shaun was already here jack you can have a seat and I'm gonna give you a crazy random topic and you're gonna start talking on the top and you don't finish until you've moves three people so if she looks at you raise your flag if she makes solid eye contact you have to move and remember the online community is a member of the audience you can look at them, pull them in and make them move her out of the idea do you want a top easy medium or hard medium hard? It is talk about civil rights ready to get oh my goodness so, uh civil rights are super important and therefore they uh we just hit a huge milestone in california because the gay rights just past which is pretty incredible and therefore they jennifer europe you come on up you could do next one you want easy meeting were hard. How could you be hard anyway? Talk about where you went to school when you were little ready begin when I went to school when I was little, I went to a school in hayward. It was, um my first elementary school was in kindergarten and I so I was only there when I was five and then when I was six we moved to get place called castro valley and that was where I became a first grader and when I was in first grade I was in room for and then I went to grade two okay, nice job now. Feedback what's working what's not working your eye contact is getting stronger but would make it even stronger. You see movement, use your hands, step in and go like this with your hands sake even just one like little things like that pull them in. And when you were talking to online community boom and just feel a strong connection, I just realized I know sit with shauna when she made eye contact with someone eventually she raised her eyebrows just very briefly and then the person moved like that just little signal that I see you who wants to go next? All right lorrie come on up topic is pollution, pollution environment pollution ready online audience hi guys. Everybody is concerned about many different things it could be the trees are being brought down the water as bean is thirty come with drink it for how long can we drink it? You think it's actually forever? What are gold was gonna be there trees are always going to be there if you think the water is forever you want you're going to drink money at the end now you you flags up but you're not locking eyes you've got to pull them into your eyes for a couple more signal locks go uh two people to move right how many people moved already too to go one more than okay guys all right, we'll call it tactfully online community good. All right wants to go next. All right, gary, come on up and health care is your topic ready? Begin so healthcare is really important these days. It's quite talked about these days and the news president obama has this new health care initiative that, uh he's been pushing and its universal health care for everybody and I think the most important thing from this is that we have to be able to have health care records online all right good and don't forget the red light is your online community that's capturing thousands of eyes all at one time right? Jackie might as well go since you're here okay all right you want easy, medium or hard of course I will hard by ice all right, your topic is the economy ready begin the economy right now a lot of people are very bullish about the economy but what we know is that we're printing money like wild indians right? We think we're all drunken sailors on what we'd really like to do teo stop printing money and actually count inflation the way it's supposed to be counted thank you all right. Nice job. All right, who wants to go next? Okay, now we're gonna change the game up a little bit this time you capture a flag if he looks at you you make eye contact just raise your flag but if he uses your name is when you move you do not move unless he uses your name I don't know anyone's name well, you might wantto grab a few and online you can and we have more than names. For example, if you say who's from michigan I would have to move because it's kind of part of my name or all of you in purple shirts is also another way to do it now online if you can remember any of the names that we've been sharing feel free to do it you can try to move people in the crew but you're going to use people's names until use three names you're not done everybody understand and your topic is what were you like in college ready begin uh what was I like in college um that reminds me of donuts and one time when I was eating donuts there was a person who was wearing a shirt that wasn't hiss and that person who was wearing a shirt that wasn't hiss he's a really good name yeah yeah all right ask me why do they call them doughnuts because it's not like they have uh they're not made of nuts they don't grow on trees they don't have green shirts that are looking like trees good and you can move us to one more and then the sky's went gray and the grey I don't think of myself as great okay all right good job so adjusting if we don't know the names there's different ways we all have different names you could say for example everybody here from the uk and then some some people gonna feel online and off like that's them alright mukesh same thing names if used three names and your topic is science ready begin science I love science how many junior big believer and making science accessible to students off all backgrounds uh especially folks from so cal I wonder why why do we have technology only narco I mean, why just in america, for that matter, why not in south america, such as panama? And when I speak of science, I don't mean just in juniors. I include doctors as well. All right, good let's, stop there.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Powerful Communication Owns the Room - Levels
Tips For Successful Communication
Powerful Communication Owns the Room - Exercises

Ratings and Reviews

Sheryl Mendoza
 

Super love this course! It's powerful, very engaging, insightful, and truly amazing! There are always golden nuggets on each class that you can implement right away! So grateful for this course! Lots of blessings to you, Bill! Thank you so much CreativeLive!

Mich
 

I am just of the 8th module and cant seem to have enough...i wish there were more hours in a day...it almost feels like binge watching...its gotten me so hooked!!!!! Love it, great course Bill!!! Would recommend it 200%. So practical and really such great techniques!!!!!!!!!!!

a Creativelive Student
 

This is the best online training program I've ever purchased! At such a low price, you get a 3 day training from a master teacher in his field. I find Bill's sessions to be lively, engaging, and lots of fun. I've learned enough from just Day 1 to lessen some of my fear of public speaking and agreed to a new speaking engagement. I highly recommend this program, and will look into Creativelive trainings in the future. Thank you so much!

Student Work

RELATED ARTICLES

RELATED ARTICLES