Handling INTERJECTIONS  –

        The world is in turmoil today, hecklers and hostile audiences are now more common.

        Handling hecklers requires care and skill.         Dealing with interjections is a high-risk activity.  In most cases, the audience will be on your side and resent interjections.

        Risks are minimized if you deal with your subject in a professional way.  Try to present your facts so they cannot be argued against.

A Handful of Tips to help you handle  hostile interjectors when making  a presentation

* Take no notice

        Answer interjections only when you can use them to your advantage. Ignoring them can be infuriating to the interjector.  Just smile and carry on.

        If the interjector persists, offer to discuss the issues with them when you have finished.         Say, “If you want to discuss that with me we can deal with it afterwards.”

* Don’t get angry and argue

        Continue in a friendly manner and the audience will admire you for your control and composure.

* Prepare some one-liners

        Some people are brilliant with one-liners. They can be a high risk unless you are an experienced debater. You could potentially lose your audience if they are poorly aimed.

         They should be nonsexist and clean.

        If you do use a one-liner, to embarrass the heckler, return to your main message quickly.   Avoid being side-tracked.

* Present your facts so there is no basis for an argument

        Your audience will respond to good manners if you have something worthwhile to tell them.

        People like new information, so be factual and professional.

        Every sentence you utter should have some content that keeps them interested.

* Appeal to the chairperson

        If persistent interjectors or questioners keep annoying you it’s the chairperson’s role to deal with the situation.

        If you are using a microphone you can have the volume increased and gain an instant advantage over hecklers.

-Geoffrey Moss (mossassociates.co.nz)

“Don’t tell people what they already know. Tell them something new.”

Source: “Persuasive Ways. ‘Tricks of the trade’ to get your ideas across”. First published by  Moss Associates Ltd., New Zealand, and in Chinese by the Shanghai People’s Publishing House, the Singapore Institute of Management, Kogan Page Ltd, U.K, and in Hungarian by Bagolyvar Konyvkiado.  Also published as the “Secrets of Persuasion” by Thomson and Cengage Learning Asia and as an e-book and sold by Amazon.com.