Focus Magazine - Winter 2014 - 13

FRONT OF THE ROOM
Brian Lange

Swaying an Audience

Any
presentation
is a uniquely
personal endeavor.

recently delivered a presentation in which I
had a clear goal to sway an audience to view a
process in a particular way-in an
environment where several audience members
had strong opinions about the process in
question-as well as likely skepticism or
uncertainty towards me, the presenter.
Many readers will no doubt relate to similar
situations faced during their own careers-or,
are likely to face in the future.
I'd like to share some tips on how I faced my
recent challenge, and perhaps it will be
instructive for others.
Get clear on defining (with the audience)
the issue/topic/process at hand. Include the
audience in this process: Let them "mess
around" with the topic a bit. I had table teams
discuss/present their answers to "What is the
purpose of X?" (the process in question). I
welcomed each team's answers-not looking for
the "right" answer. Then, I shared my simple,
clear definition as a contribution to the
discussion (in the hopes that we could reduce a
lot of the distracting or negative views on the
process).
Explore limitations/shortcomings of
current state. This helps move the audience
toward seeing the need for change (but, don't
"sell" your solution yet!). Talking points should
be clear and ideally based on objective
insights. Author Peter Block advises, "See the
reality of the current situation. See the suffering
and the costs of what exists now."
Define an "ideal" state (or process, in my
case). This state (or process) should be realistic,
fairly simple and achievable. Be sure to include
impacts on stakeholder groups. Provide
perspective on how the business potentially
benefits.

Share your proposed new path. Introduce it
as an early-stage idea, in need of some additional
input from others to ensure that it is wellrounded. Be sure to proactively address the
potential concerns that stakeholder groups may
have about the new path.
Do an activity that lets your audience
contribute their thoughts for implementing
the change. This helps provide a sense of
"ownership" for audience members, and ensures
you'll ultimately create an even-better final
project! In my case, I had small Post-It pads on
each table, and asked people to write one idea
per sheet (as many sheets as they wanted), and I
collected and posted them on the wall. Then, I
invited one person from each table to come up
to the wall as a team, where I instructed them
they could move the sheets at-will in an effort to
see if common "buckets" or groupings emerged.
By participating in this activity, audience
members contributed their ideas - a positive
step in the change process.
Convey reassurances and gratitude. Change
is always hard. By expressing gratitude for the
audience input and open-mindedness-and
reassuring them of the mandate(s) they've now
given you - you will have moved in a positive,
collaborative direction!

Conclusion
Any presentation is a uniquely personal
endeavor, and I am loathe to provide "formulas"
for success. My hope in sharing these tips with
you is to attempt to blend elements of change
management with structuring an audience
"experience."
It's important to remember that you are likely
a bit farther along the change curve than your
audience. Remember to engage them and help
them along the curve-together! I

Brian Lange, blange@perim.com, is with Perim Consulting and serves as lead facilitator for SPBT's PrimeTime! For Trainers Core and Masters workshops. He blogs at www.WorkplaceInfluence.blogspot.com.

FOCUS | WINTER 2014 | www.spbt.org

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Focus Magazine - Winter 2014

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