Some people enjoy drawing attention by trying to trip you up with a fact or statistic during your presentation. Some will find that something you say threatens their secure view of the universe and will want you to know that “You are dead wrong!!” When this happens, it’s important to remember that you won’t be able to please everyone in your audience and you shouldn’t try. Personally, I feel that if I don’t say something that upsets the comfortable, I’m not doing my job effectively.
This is how you minimize the possibility of a verbal attack coming from a member of your audience who is hell-bent on showing you the error of your ways. And it works great most of the time. Yes, there are people who only hear what they want to hear and are just waiting for a chance to make themselves look smarter by making you look dumb.
This is what I say before I start…
“I’m here to share with you my thoughts and opinions about (_________________). If I say something that rings true to you, please file it away for further consideration. If you disagree with one of my ideas or opinions, that’s fine. Just discard it as the reflection of a misguided soul. You may want to take what rings true and discard the rest. I am here to invite you to consider what I have to say. You must decide whether to consume it whole or spit some out.”
This usually works for me, but once in a while you come across someone who is so attached to their perception of reality that there is no room for a contrary opinion. Any disagreement is seen as a total violation of everything sacred. This is sad but true.
I believe that the search for truth is cumulative. When my perception of the truth is added to yours, then we get closer to THE truth. No one has a monopoly on truth, wisdom, or insight.
If someone challenges you while you’re giving your talk and starts to interfere with the flow of your presentation, simply say in a very calm voice, “I’d love to spend more time on your ideas, but I only have an hour to give you my speech. If you see me At the coffee break, I’ll introduce you to the meeting planners and maybe you can talk to them about hiring you to present at next year’s conference.” This always solves the problem.
In conclusion, I want to say that this situation occurs very rarely, but it does occur. When you do, I hope these ideas are as helpful to you as they are to me.
Watch a 5 minute video clip of Mike talking about humor and stress in the workplace
http://motivationalplus.com/cgi/a/t.cgi?video