How do you handle speech disruptions?

In the late 1970s I was speaking at a gathering of industrial designers in upstate NY, using 35 mm slides. In the darkened theater, the projector jammed. Several techs began to unjam it. To kill time, I asked "Will the designer of the Kodak Carousel projector please..." It brought the house down. The guy was in the house. I'd forgotten we were near Rochester, Kodak's HQ. Later, over lunch he told me the Carousel had not been intended for consumer use. He advised against using the 140 slide carousel, much thinner slots than the 80 slide version, so malfunctions were more frequent.

No matter how many tests and trials you do, a technical issue can pop up anytime, on its own irritating schedule. The best way to handle it is to have a story in your back pocket. The screen should only have a portion of the info that will be shared. A tech issue is a great opportunity to share information that will enhance the main presentation. Keep talking, keep smiling and keep presenting

Disruption in between meeting/important discussions/speeches etc. due to inevitable situations beyond our control like power failure, audio visual malfunction and so on; during such instances one must keep a tight control of the situation. Firstly one should not show anxiety or discomfort in their expression rather try to be supportive and if you are in between a presentation or a speech see if you can engage with your audience in some other way , might be a sign language or a small physical activity without leaving their place or anything that keeps you and the audience momentum, interest on and you keep their focus toward yourself and steer them in the way you were doing before the disruption

Smile. Take a deep breath and hold your head high. Meaning.. don’t bow your head in frustration nor embarrassment. Arrive early to test your equipment prior to your presentation. It’s not a bad idea to also do a practice run in the intended location to ensure all necessary items and technical details are in place to allow you to be successful. If a problem or disruption occurs during your main event, embrace the situation and be grateful for the opportunity to allow your personality to shine. Through adversity we are able to truly show who we are as individuals and connect on a deeper level with the audience, listeners and viewers. It’s ok to laugh. Be authentic and make light of the situation. Keep going! You’ve got this.

Stay humble and grounded and imagine you are in the audience. What would they want to hear, and how would they like to feel once you have finished?

In 2022, I was asked to be a Speaker at a Conference. The audience became noisy, and I paused for a good 15 seconds to allow the adults in the room to see the program was being hindered. When the noise continued, and grew even louder, I held my mic, and began to speak louder than the noise, and with authority, directing everyone back to the program at hand. It worked, we continued, and it was kind of funny to see all the faces staring at this little, short woman with such a big voice!

I once experienced this kind of situation as the audience but not the noisy one. The host was amazingly creative handling the situation, I saw she went backstage and suddenly all the lights were off and then the sound of Kenny G playing My Heart will go on increasingly until the room is quiet.

Mary Means, NOW you tell me? I could always fix a jam with a ball point pen - much less frightening than a laptop malfunction

I usually find that a combination of the teacher-tyoe glare from me and, even more importantly, from their fellow audience members, does the trick. If that doesn't work, try humour.

One of the things that always brings levity and helps quiet a room is to speak with authority and to speak with the intention to be heard. When all else fails, bring in a call and response that is well known (eg: 1-2-3 Eyes on Me; 1-2 Eyes on you).

Listen and thank them. Acknowledge the question as interesting and/or valid and for that reason you'd like to give it the time it deserves....so invite the person to speak to you privately afterwards. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't, either is fine - you been polite and respectful and it allows you to move on and regain the floor. Don't get sucked in to answering it there and then because there's a real danger you'll lose the rest of the audience in the process.

Remember the 3 E's: Can you explain? Can you elaborate? Can you give you me an example? I learned these from Tom Mucciolo of MediaNet, Inc. Tap the Wisdom of the Crowd: Invite audience members to share their perspective.

During a large user group meeting, my solution engineering partner faced a challenge during a technical discussion. I stepped in, leveraging my industry experience to provide the correct technical response. By acknowledging the question we were able to continue with the presentation and showcased the importance of knowing your competition. Occasionally offering "hero support" is enjoyable, especially for your partner and someone more knowledgeable than you!

Valid responses to difficult questions: "I don't know, but let's connect and I will find out for you after the event." "I don't want to give you inaccurate information so I'll say I don't know rather than guess and mislead you." "You seem to be getting at something, and I'm not sure what it is - could you put it another way?"

Recently I organized a Summit and noticed on stage one set of slides from one of the presenters was missing. By mistake I forgot to attach his presentation. I immediately explained to the audience the issue, proposed to take the break a couple of minutes earlier than planned so that we could fix and present his slides after the break. My suggestion when such unexpected events happen is to (I) focus on the solution. Don’t waste your energy trying to understand the cause or what went wrong. (II) be open and transparent about the issue you are facing and that you are working on the solutions. (III) have a feedback session after the event and discuss the issues with the team to prevent them from happening again.

Think - is this a health and safety issue? If so, calmly suggest that the audience leaves so that the organisers can manage the situation.

You always have to show authority from the stage but things like the fire alarm going off (it's happened to me) are out of your control. Locate the authority figure in the room: the MC, fire warden or venue manager and hand over to them. Your responsibility in an emergency is not to panic - it's to guide the audience's attention to the person who is best placed to help them.

Take responsibility and never blame others. Smile. Take a deep breath and keep going. To begin, it can be easiest to revisit a previous discussion, Main points or offer to dive into an area the audience is most interested in. After all— if you’re speaking, you are the subject matter expert and you should believe it.

Prepare, prepare, prepare. Humour is often invaluable - but at your own expense not theirs...never embarass or humilate your audience. Finally, begin and end on time - the audience and technicians will appreciate it.