Most of us have witnessed scenarios where the speaker is trolled or heckled by the audience, digitally or in-person. The experience is not pleasant for both the speaker and the people around. In fact, it is disrupting enough to leave the speaker (more often than not) struggling to regain the set flow.
So, what is heckling?
It is to interrupt any presenter asking awkward/embarrassing questions or making such statements. The purpose is to stump you, whether in a flat confrontation, some form of insult/accusations, general interruptions, or excessive questioning.
Types of Hecklers
You have two types of hecklers, i.e., active and passive, that you can come across during the presentation.
Active – These are the people who interrupt you directly in the middle of the presentation.
Passive – These people don’t bother you as abrasively as the former. You will see them talking to their neighbors or using their smartphones in the middle of the presentation. Although less disrespectful, unlike active hecklers, these people nonetheless prove to be a distraction for you and your audience.
How to know if it’s really a Heckler?
You might encounter them anywhere, whether your corporate training presentation, fundraiser event, or stakeholder’s meeting presentation.
However, there is a difference between people asking difficult questions, making bold statements, being inquisitive or skeptical, and a heckler.
How do you figure it out?
- The genuine persons will ask you questions during the designated Q&A time. They will be thoughtful and respectful with their words and use logic to frame questions.
- As opposed, hecklers will jump into a rant. They will make things personal and poke and prod at you.
Differentiating is important as you wouldn’t want to deal with an innocent person and risk averting your audience.
If you know how to handle hecklers, they might not be so harmful to you. But if you don’t, these people can seriously affect and diminish your effectiveness, leaving you with an unsuccessful presentation.
If you want to cover yourself fully in this respect, go through our heckler handling tips and become unshakeable for your next presentation.
Tips to Handle Hecklers
1. Take care of your emotions
It is normal to feel reactive toward unpleasant situations. But if a heckler is able to elicit emotional reactions (anger, frustration, or anything defensive) from you, you risk losing focus and control over the flow of your presentation.
Such backlashes will also result in you losing the respect and trust of your audience as they don’t see you in the leadership persona anymore. Tackling your emotions wisely is one of the best ways to handle people who try to create a nuisance.
And this kind of understanding will be best developed by having a keen awareness/understanding of yourself and your presentation persona (wise, entertaining, fun, etc).
Pro Tip – Don’t frown, grimace, or jump to speak up. Absorb the comment with neutrality, transmitting confidence.
2. Politely avoid or give subtle acknowledgment
If a heckler is persistent in nagging you, polite ignorance won’t help you for long. If someone is being too difficult in the audience, it feels normal to just talk over them and not reward those interruptions.
In certain other cases, you might have to handle the situation with more care. Your audience will really respect you if you are graceful and do not let those people get under your skin.
Try speaking politely and with respect, acknowledging their interruptions, and redirecting to the audience. More often than not, you can get rid of these people by peaceful acknowledgment.
3. Request a sidebar
You can have a private conversation with the person during the break time. Enquire what’s going on and how you can help. A sidebar will be helpful for both active and passive hecklers.
For passive hecklers, you can also try directing your conversation towards them (through a story) or walking towards them and standing in proximity to make them discontinue the side conversations or snide remarks.
4. Let them speak
What if you get in a situation where the person won’t stop?
Every time you try to pick up from where you left off, there is another stupid question thrown in your direction.
When someone really wants to interrupt you and doesn’t stop even after doing everything mentioned above, what you should do is let them talk. The heckler won’t expect you to give them center stage and will be taken aback by that.
Give them the floor for a minute or two, and most likely, you will have them off your back, not to hear from them again.
Pro Tip – Try to verbally acknowledge, paraphrase, nod, and validate as you speak to them. When they are done – thank them for sharing the pain point and request to get back to the topic as you are not able to progress with the presentation.
Most people will respond positively to this approach, but if they don’t, you can try the next step – the last resort.
5. Respectfully ask them to leave
You have tried everything and still can’t get them to drop off the unpleasant act. It is best to ask them to leave politely. Remember, as a presenter, you are in command of the room and have a duty towards the other audience members who came to listen to you.
So, it is wise not to pay heed to these kinds of interruptions for long and make those people leave. The situation might get uncomfortable, but in the end, you will save yourself a lot of trouble and have your way toward a successful and smooth presentation.
Note – Before asking them to leave, do try to resolve the situation amicably by speaking to them. It will instill confidence in you as a presenter that you tried everything before moving to the last resort.
6. Let other people have your back
The hecklers might be ready to take on you, but they would not be as comfortable standing against an entire crowd as opposed to one person. The audience came to listen to you and not the cynic.
You can graciously ask everyone if they want you to continue with the rest of the presentation or listen to the heckler. It might be a little awkward (for a few seconds) for everyone in the room, but you will have a quick roomful of support.
After all, the presentation is about some important topic, and no one would want to waste their time with unnecessary rambling.
7. Don’t keep dwelling on the experience
Yes, you had an unpleasant experience, and it would be wise to come out of the moment as quickly as possible and end on a positive note. Being level-headed and calm will help you quickly regain the lost momentum and begin from where you had been cut off.
While you can mention the situation once, be absolutely sure not to refer to it again after that. Your audience will follow suit if you move ahead graciously without letting it get on your mind.
And in fact, such an incident might even add some feathers to your strong suit if you tackle it efficiently. It can enhance your credibility, trust, and resiliency as a person and presenter, and people will take you more seriously.
8. Let’s not overdo it
You might have the urge to tackle the heckler and make your stand in front of the audience. Unless you are not a comedian on the side or maybe someone inherently funny – it is wise not to use humor or one-liners as a response to the person.
Try to avoid continued eye contact with the person as they might see it as an invitation to continue.
When you are responding to the comments, address the entire room and not just that one person. When you are about to conclude the response, look at another person in the room and quickly move on to the content.
One most important idea is to never let the heckler get personal with you. Being courteous and calm will help you not take the bait and be focused on the topic at hand.
9. Do the homework and learn about the people
Interact with meeting planners, clients, and people within the group to understand the issues people are facing. You will get a fair idea of who has an ax to grind. With this, you can be prepared in advance and know your people beforehand.
If it’s a large audience, you can go through the list of people and figure out any disturbing elements if you can.
Also, speak to the ground support to know how to best deal with any mishap.
Summing It Up
The entire purpose of hecklers is to throw you off the rails and interrupt your presentation. However, a little alertness and a cool mind can help you deal with the situation as graciously as possible.
You can use the tips on a case-to-case basis, i.e., subjectively. Maintain your calm, figure out your audience, and once you are settled in, take the help of the tips to handle the situation courteously.
In extreme situations, quickly make the decision to have them removed to avoid unnecessary unpleasantness.
Be assertive, firm, and calm (in your demeanor), and people will shy away from taking advantage of you. And last, never try to punish your heckler. So many times, it’s just misplaced anger when they don’t know you personally. By listening reflectively, you will be able to address their issues as well.
