Lessons from a Speech Gone Wrong

Published by Ryan Healy on April 10th, 2008 in Personal Development | 8 Comments

A lot of things have happened in my life as a result of blogging, but one of the most unexpected is the number of people who invite me to speak at their company or conference about generational issues. I have done enough speeches at this point so I have a routine, but the last speech threw me for a loop.

The room was set up for about 90 people, but only 30 people showed up. And just like I used to do in college, the majority sat toward the back of the room. I should have realized this would happen: The speech was at a Disney World resort, and not only did I need to compete with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck but also happy-hour magaritas.

I learned a lot that day — about how to deal with a speech that isn't going as well as planned. Here are three things I'll remember to do next time this happens:

Control the room by winging it

Everyone sat scattered and toward the back of the room. The first thing I should have done was postpone my usual, "Hi, thanks for having me…." opening and politely asked everyone to move up. This would have created a completely different dynamic and I'm sure people would have been more engaged and involved. Instead, I let the audience control my presentation.

Another thing I could have done is stopped the presentation all together and cracked a few jokes about not blaming anyone for skipping my speech because drinking margaritas by the pool, heading over to Pleasure Island or catching the Monorail to the Magic Kingdom sounds like a lot more fun.

Be clever enough to create audience interaction

A little audience participation can turn a boring presentation into a great one. My mother and I gave a presentation to a Human Resource group a month ago about "bridging the generational gap." It was a lot of fun because of the interaction we were able to create. I tend to give a lot of information and crack a few jokes to lighten the mood during my speeches, but my mother is the queen of facilitating. She facilitates meetings, groups, thanksgiving dinners, and whatever else could possibly be facilitated.

She showed me some great ways to create this interaction. One great way to do it is to create some type of handout that the audience can fill out. We gave the group a quick test about what generation are you really in? It was a huge hit, and it loosened everyone up before the presentation began.

Also, we asked a lot of questions. After an interesting point was made, my mother might ask, "So what do you guys think of that?" After a little hesitation and awkward silence, someone would always chime in with a thought. This would lead to another thought, and some great discussion.

I should have used a few of her tricks when my presentation began to get stale. Next time, I will.

Don't leave your game on the practice field

I've practiced my speech for hours, but now I know why people say there is such a thing as too much practice. I nailed the speech in rehearsal that morning: I was speaking to the bed and the lamp, I cracked a couple jokes, and laughed aloud. It was by far the best dry run I had in weeks. But by the time I was in front of the audience, I had already done a great speech, so I probably didn't concentrate enough on making the real one great.

All in all, the presentation wasn't a total bust. People asked a lot of questions, most of the audience was engaged, and multiple people came up to me with business cards and questions afterwards. But I know it could have been much better. And next time, it will be, thanks to my lessons learned.