The Seven Strategies of Master Presenters - Lifecycle Performance ...

Manage Yourself, Difficult Participants... / 197
a colleague and ask for his or her help in processing the situation and
your alternatives.
Master Presenter David Foot had this to say about dealing with
difficult participants:
I have found that the best way to deal with difficult audience
members is to let the audience deal with them. For example, I
teach at several senior executive management programs. Sometimes
the participants aren’t used to listening, but there are subtle
ways that if they violate the group norms or the group’s wishes,
the group can deal with it most effectively—the worst thing you
can do is to become arrogant. For example, if they start pontificating
about general management, I say something such as, “I’m
not in general management. What I am interested in is the effects
of demographics on retail or policy or…(fill in the blank).” If they
continue, I suggest that they can cover whatever they are interested
during a different session. In other words, I try to put very clear
boundaries on what my session is about and what it is not about
and suggest that we concentrate on what today is all about. Then
I relax the boundaries in the question and answer period.
One strategy David finds effective when faced with a persistently
difficult participant is to say: “You have a good point and one that
probably deserves further discussion, but our schedule won’t allow
me to address it fully at this time. However, if you wish to stay after
the program ends, I’ll be glad to continue our discussion.” This sends
a signal to the participant and the rest of your audience that you are
moving on and it implies that line of discussion is now closed. David
also finds it interesting that often the person whom he invites to stay
for further discussion either offers some great insights that deepen
his understanding of the subject at hand, or the person is the first to
leave at the end of the program because that person was only interested
in seeking attention.
Dealing With Difficult Situations
Occasionally, a presenter can become too complacent. He or she
has mastered the art of self-management and knows the material so
well that no difficult participants would dare to “mess with him.” At
this point, it may be tempting for this presenter to say that he or she