How do you handle difficult audience members?

In my experience, the famous "knowing is half the battle" adage is the key to when the audience is poised to be challenging. You can have a plan of action in place to avoid being tripped up. For example, be proactive and add in additional time for questions or commentary when you know the audience will likely have questions or a lot to say on a subject. Another great proactive tip is to identify your "talkers" and engage them by calling on them randomly. This allows you to use soft skills to guide the conversation and avoid letting your "talkers" take the lead. Last, I always recommend adding a touch of fun to your presentation. An entertained, engaged audience is less likely to go into tangents and distract from the message.

At a professional level there is no way to know the audience beyond what you as a speaker has been told. You should always expect the know it all, the I need every detail, and the Profesional disagreement member of the audience. Just be prepared for them in a generic sense.

Knowing your audience is critically important and having a strong 'Why Frame" at the beginning of your presentation helps. The "Why Frame" helps your audience understand what's in it for them and addresses known challenges or objections your audience may have come into your presentation, meeting, or training. Demonstrating empathy for your audience goes a long way as well. Challenging audience members may be frustrated with things in their lives or situations that happened in their day that have nothing to do with your presentation. Meet your audience where they are and deliver value. At the end of the day, it's not about getting through your content, it's about delivering value for your audience.

I simply don't speak at functions where these groung rules aren't understood up front and explained by the host. I do make note of entities (schools, associations, trade groups) that allow chaos and I do not speak to them in the future. Over the years I have found that the engagements I'm invited to are civil and well mannered.

Practice saying “thank you!” “Good point!” “Yes, that’s correct” “yes, that might work..”. Always affirm first. Calling people out for their errors can be publicly shaming—and if they have the courage to speak, offer respect. “Yes, thank you—I’m looking for something different here…” redirect gently unless the error represents an immediate life-threatening situation. In that case, be direct and loud. Almost never needed.

First off go in prepared, we'll dressed and with confidence nearing arrogance. Secondly have your defensive responses well rehearsed and be able to deliver them in an incredibly tactful and dis armming manner. ? While I understand your observation it goes beyond today's discussion, I'll gladly get your contact information for a follow-up meeting. ? The study being discussed today is based xyz data and your question while intriguing is out side the scope of today's talk, let's connect off line. ? Sir/ madam I have noted your concern however you are disrupting the presentation and for sake of the other attendees I must ask you to leave. (Use as last resort)

Do not validate their point as they will feed off it and generally get more and more vocal. “There’s lots of different thoughts on this topic and we’ll get a chance to hear them when I’ve covered the presentation i’ve put together“ …This makes it feel like a personal intrusion.

Objection method: First,diffuse and empathize- “Thanks for sharing your honesty/ that you feel that way.” Second, learn more to show you hear them versus dismissing them (although in some cases dismissing can be valid)- “Can you tell me a little more about why you feel that way?” Third, confirm you heard them correctly by summarizing what they said- “What I heard you say is…”. Fourth, provide some type of “band-aid” to allow you to proceed with your presentation without them continuing to be disruptive or rude- “If possible, I’d like to speak with you more about this on break/after the session so I can better understand & still give others the chance to learn from our session within the time allotted today”. Lastly, check for agreement.

Objections are grounded in emotion. Acknowledge the objection or question by reframing it in a way that allows you to remove the emotion and focus on the root cause of their challenge or pain. This demonstrates you are listening and enables you to focus on something you can address. Removing the emotional word(s) used in their statement often diffuses the negative energy and focuses more on a productive conversation around the problem and difficulty stated in their question.

Carry your audience along by interacting with them by asking questions, physical activity, short stories and brainstorming. If your presentation is not boring, the audience interest will increase and their focus and attention will be more on the presentation.