Speaking of Focus

"Focus your eyes,

focus your ears,

focus your mind,

focus your body."

My seven year old son will say this on command, thanks to his karate training, and even better, will actually focus. Focus is important in the martial arts - you never want to be caught off-guard by a reverse tornado kick.

It's just as important to you as a speaker.

Focus Your Eyes - Don't let yourself be distracted by people walking in and out, by the lighting, by the waitstaff, by the giant screens on either side of you. Take inventory of your possible distractions before you walk on stage, address any you can control, then go out and keep your eyes on those you're conversing with - nothing breaks communication like wandering eyes.

Focus Your Ears - In addition to visual distractions, clanking dishes, conversations in the room, audience applause just on the other side of the partition, even blaring wedding reception music from down the hall can turn both the speaker's head and the heads of the audience. Some distractions need to be acknowledged, to refocus your audience. Others only you are keenly aware of, because your audience is focused on listening to YOU. You'll know which is which by focusing your ears, and eyes, on THEM.

Focus Your Mind - Not just on what you want to say, but on your mindset. Friend and fellow speaker Datta Groover believes "Whatever state of mind you are in when you present, people will tend to follow." If your mind is focused on how lousy breakfast was, or the fight you had last night with your spouse, it will be seen and heard in your performance. Sneakier mental machinations like fear of failure and lack of conviction are just as dangerous. Focus your mind on the moment and on the audience outcome - and leave everything else backstage.

Focus Your Body - I know what it's like to be betrayed by my body. I'm not the most balanced person in the world (yeah, I know what you're thinking - mentally OR physically, Rich), and occasionally find myself having to steady myself on stage. Focusing your body starts before you ever walk out to the microphone, however. Are you eating right? When are you eating? Are you physically energized or drained? Are you drinking enough water, and keeping water available to you when you speak? Have you scoped out the stage for weak spots, wires, and suddenly appearing orchestra pits? You need to focus your body both inside and out. Nothing's worse than needing a potty break in the middle of a keynote, except tripping over a power cord as you rush to the restroom.

Different speakers have different routines before presenting. Some eat the same meal or snack, some have a lucky blazer or tie, others listen to music, pray, or recite words reminding them of their purpose. Some of us do ALL of those things. Maybe Riker, my little green belt, has it simplified perfectly. Focus your eyes, focus your ears, focus your mind, focus your body. Then go kick butt...er - go Speak...& Deliver!

Speaking of Distractions

"Can I call you back Chief? I'm at a KAOS speaker's convention."

Over the last 10 years, the possible distractions for speakers have increased in ways we never imagined. It's one thing to hear a cel phone ringing, it's another to hear Lady Gaga belting her latest rock ballad to alert an audience member they just got another comment on their Facebook account.

Speaker distractions go beyond ringtones, of course. People walking in or out, dishes crashing in the background, sirens from passing fire engines - none of these are uncommon. I've also heard of fire drills or evacuations mid-speech, electrical outages, and sprinklers going off!

7 Ways to Deal with Distractions

A. Preempt. Have the emcee or introducer recommend the audience turn phones off, or at least to silent, before they bring you up. Have staff monitor the doors, and quietly let people in and out, and aid in finding them seats. Talk to the wait staff supervisor about when to serve dinner, drinks, etc. Make sure the temperature in the room isn't too hot or cold. Whatever you can take care of before it happens, take care of so your audience never has to worry about it.

B. Ignore. A singular, short distraction from an audience member usually takes care of itself. Peer pressure gets them to turn off the offending device, or the late-arriving listener eventually sits down. If you ignore it, most of your audience will too. The bigger the audience, the more effective this approach becomes.

C. Spatial Closure. In a smaller room, when you aren't on stage, you're able to walk toward a person who's holding their own conversation, and bring more attention to them (and the people they are talking too, who are often more concerned than the primary transgressor), and provoke them to pay more attention to you. If it's a training session, its a great time to toss them a question, unless they are the CEO of the company. Know your audience, as always, but let them know who's leading the discussion.

If you are on a stage - try eye contact instead. Move toward that person's direction and look right at them as you speak. They'll get the message - and if they don't, those around them likely will.

D. Ad-lib Humor. A common response to a phone ringing in the audience is "Please, hold all my calls" or "Tell them to hold the anchovies!" There are plenty of other options when plates crash, music starts playing, or shouting in the hallways invades your time with the audience. If you're at a moment in your speech where some levity won't take your audience offtrack, and you are confident with quick-witted responses, go for it. One quick call-out is enough to shame most of your audience into switching their phones to vibrate.

E. Planned Humor. Tom Antion lists several responses you can commit to memory for specific events in this free chapter of his book 'Wake 'em Up Business Presentations'. He also includes a brief exercise to help you create some lines of your own. Again, know the audience before firing off a one-liner, planned or not.

F. Control. As the speaker, you are leading the meeting. If a fire alarm goes off, the lights go out, or someone falls ill, the audience will first look to YOU for what to do. Calm the audience down and pass the microphone to a conference or meeting official. If it's your event, either deal with it personally, or have enough staff on hand to attend to the problem, and refocus your audience. Whatever is happening, its up to you to cue the audience on their next emotional and physical move.

G. Nip-It. While you don't want to be quite as paranoid as Deputy Fife in the old Andy Griffith Show, there does come a time when you have to simply shut some people down. People who refuse to stop talking and distracting from the presentation. Those that try to interrupt with questions when you aren't in Q&A mode. Hecklers. Don't go for a full shut down right away, or the audience will begin sympathizing with their peer against you.

But when it becomes repetitive even after being addressed, the audience will switch allegiances. Ask the offending party directly to ask questions later, or take the conversations outside, or, in the case of a relentless heckler, to outright leave. Have staff on hand to make sure it happens if the pressure from the audience and you still isn't enough to quiet these people down. You are responsible for the audience getting their time & money's worth - don't let a persistent distraction remain if at all possible.

Distractions are a fact of life as a speaker. It's your job not to let them interfere with what you have to say, with your confidence on stage, and with your audience's overall experience. Be prepared, be on your toes, be calm - and you will Speak & Deliver. Even if you have to finish in the parking lot as the building burns in the background...