Have you ever noticed an audience “check out” on a speaker?
There are times when seating profoundly effects and audiences response.
Recently I was the last speaker of a four day event. All day, for four days the attendees sat at tables set for 12 people in the same large banquet room at the Hotel.
By the time I was introduced in the afternoon of the last day they had set up their seats to create an easy way to “check out” of any presentation.
Out of 150 people the majority of the people were sitting in the back of the room. In fact, there were five tables in the front that were absolutely empty and the others up front have two or three people at a table meant for 12. This seating creates what I call the castle wall effect. The participants can tune out and talk to each other because they feel they are protected and hidden behind the castle wall.
It also makes it much more difficult to connect with the group and to get them to laugh. It is hard to move and audience to laugh over empty seats. You may have heard comics like Jay Leno talk about the advantage of having the front seats filled and a packed house for the comedy to work. The same principal applies to any speaking, training or meeting situation. Laughter and energy move easily in a crowd. With all those issues in mind, you can see were this could have made for a “tough audience.” I had to move out into the audience throughout the speech to bridge the empty gab. Now in the ideal circumstances you as the speaker can get the room arranged more effectively. Here is what you might ask.
Could you ask the banquet manager to change the room slightly before the last day’s presentation? Could the hotel staff please move out at least the back three tables and all those chairs at the back? And get rid of any extra chairs in the room that people may have pulled away from the tables and brought to sit in against the back wall. Those are what I call the, “too good for the room seats.” and are typically filled with participants who may have high assigned status, or those who most want to check out. Please get rid of those chairs.
If you can get the change the groups they will fill up the room at not have empty tables or three at the tables in front. You will have a packed house and a much happier audience!!
Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at http://PattiWood.net. Also check out the body language quiz on her YouTube Channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.
Showing posts with label About Patti Wood Corporate Speaker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label About Patti Wood Corporate Speaker. Show all posts
About Patti Wood, Corporate Speaker
Patti Wood MA,CSP is credited for bringing the body language to the national consciousness by The New York Times. Patti has been researching, writing and speaking on Body Language since 1982. She consults with Fortune 500 companies, the media and law enforcement on the topic. Her audiences rave about her high energy and content rich programs. Time Magazine recognized her nonverbal communication course at FSU as one of the top college courses in the country. She was even called, “The Babe Ruth of Body Language” by The Washington Post.
To view a client list or program descriptions go to www.PattiWood.net. She is interviewed on an average of twice a week by media around the world including; CNN, PBS, National FOX News Network, BBC, History Channel, Discovery Channel, Regis and Kelly, CBS, VH1, E! Entertainment, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Reuters, UPI, ESPN, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, The Miami Herald, Men’s Health, The Chicago Tribune, Details, SPIN, Elle, People, ESPN, and is quoted in; US Weekly, The New York Post, The London Times, The Los Angeles Times, In Touch, Oprah Magazine, Life and Style, Glamour, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, First for Women, InStyle, The Toronto Sun, Psychology Today, TV Guide, Women’s Own, Seventeen, Ladies Home Journal and Redbook and more as a body language expert. Patti is a CSP, a Certified Speaking Professional, an earned designation of the National Speakers Association designed to recognize "Masters is the Industry."
Her broad knowledge and research on nonverbal communication led her to positions as the national spokesperson for Wrigley’s Spearmint gum®, Benadryl®, Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion® and the Natural Dentist®.
Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at http://PattiWood.net. Also check out the body language quiz on her YouTube Channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.
To view a client list or program descriptions go to www.PattiWood.net. She is interviewed on an average of twice a week by media around the world including; CNN, PBS, National FOX News Network, BBC, History Channel, Discovery Channel, Regis and Kelly, CBS, VH1, E! Entertainment, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Reuters, UPI, ESPN, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, The Miami Herald, Men’s Health, The Chicago Tribune, Details, SPIN, Elle, People, ESPN, and is quoted in; US Weekly, The New York Post, The London Times, The Los Angeles Times, In Touch, Oprah Magazine, Life and Style, Glamour, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, First for Women, InStyle, The Toronto Sun, Psychology Today, TV Guide, Women’s Own, Seventeen, Ladies Home Journal and Redbook and more as a body language expert. Patti is a CSP, a Certified Speaking Professional, an earned designation of the National Speakers Association designed to recognize "Masters is the Industry."
Her broad knowledge and research on nonverbal communication led her to positions as the national spokesperson for Wrigley’s Spearmint gum®, Benadryl®, Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion® and the Natural Dentist®.
Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at http://PattiWood.net. Also check out the body language quiz on her YouTube Channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.
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