You're facing interruptions during your speech. How can you maintain composure and continue effectively?

Sometimes I add at the beginning of the speech, preferably by my pretty Personal Assistant: "Our presentation today is 30 minutes long with Q and A at the end. If you have a question, write it down, and you'll have a chance to ask without interrupting others. If you need to call someone or go to WC, do it now as Richard is intolerant of interruptions. Thank you for attending here today."

Drawing from my experience in the training fraternity, here are some professional tips on how to handle interruptions during a speech: A deep breath can help you stay calm and composed, preventing a reactive response. Use the interruption as an opportunity to pause and collect your thoughts. Politely acknowledge the interrupter. This can be as simple as saying, “I understand your point,” or “Thank you for your input.” Maintain eye contact with the interrupter to show that you’re addressing them directly. Politely ask if you can continue your speech and address questions or comments at the end. Redirect the focus back to your speech by summarizing your last point.

It is prudent to be pre-emotive of potential hiccups and interruptions because public speaking cannot always be smooth sailing. Anticipate the potential challenges such as power blackouts, projection hitches and audience interruptions. Do a mental rehearsal to prepare yourself psychologically.

When facing interruptions during your speech, staying prepared is key. Familiarize yourself with the equipment and environment beforehand, and have backup plans for technical issues. Anticipate potential interruptions and rehearse how you would address them. This proactive approach boosts confidence and helps maintain composure when faced with the unexpected. Being prepared allows you to navigate interruptions with poise and ensure a smooth delivery of your speech.

The power of mastering the pause gives you a great advantage in public speaking. It projects your confidence and calmness in speech and presentation management. The pause also helps your message sink in with the audience while enhancing reflection.

In 1 hour speech, I take 5 minutes which can be through a video I play or a role play. In 3 hours event, I take 2 breaks of 10 minutes each break. In today's short attention span, breaks are important, and not many are like you ad me.

Body language is a big component of public speaking. Ensure you have open body language showcases through open palms, straight posture and eye contact. Acknowledge questions that you received and answer them in a calm manner. Emotional intelligence plays a big role mostly when handling emotionally charged questions.

I would never advise trying to ignore the interruption. Involve the interruption/interrupter and make it part of what you're saying. It'll show your confidence, poise and expertise that you can handle it which people will respect you for. I often use humour (or try to, at least) to deflect when it's a purposeful attempt to put me off. Maybe that's come from 15 years in teaching of which there quite a few interruptions along the way but it's a technique that has worked well when I'm now speaking to adults.

There are levels of interruptions and addressing them: A. If a member is seeking to boost his Ego and show how smart he is, address it politely yet in an assertive way. You can't be perceived as weak or nice here. B. Is She or He is one of your competitors that was sent to test you? I had an event with such a person that kept interrupting (I have a 3-strike rule), with questions that aren't meant to be answered by me. So, I sent a security hulk to him, and he took him out. Then, I address the audience: "My competitors are trying to interrupt me from now and then. I guess they are envy of me and are intimidated. Let's move on, shall we?"

It is important to keep your composure when dealing with hecklers. Don't get emotionally entangled with the drama of hecklers as tempting as it may get. Maintain a calm composure and if the heckling persists you can tactically emphasize the message and objectives of your presentation.

I faced this recently in a speech I was making surprisingly from a person I respected and looked up to.. I just smiled took a breath and continued..

Positive body language can convey confidence and control, even when faced with interruptions. Keep a relaxed posture, make eye contact, and use open gestures to show that you are unfazed by disruptions. Smiling and nodding can also help in maintaining a positive connection with your audience. This non-verbal communication reassures your listeners and helps you stay composed, reinforcing your message and presence on stage.