Public Speaking Course:
The Differences Between a Man and a Woman . . .
in the Audience that is . . .
In my public speaking course I teach about several differences, but here is one that especially stands out. An all female audience is
great to present to because
they usually laugh easier and louder than an all male audience. All-male audiences
tend to be the toughest to
get laughter out of because the male ego seems to get in the way. All the men look around
first to see if anyone else is laughing
before they will laugh, and they won't laugh as loud as they normally
would because they think they
will look inferior to their colleagues.
If you are a female presenter doing a program in front of an all-male audience it is
more crucial for you to bond and be "one of the guys" than if
you were a male presenter. I'm not trying to sound sexist here I am just stating a fact.
This awareness of the sexual differences is just part of what you
will learn from your public
speaking course. I'm just
giving you some things to keep in mind if you are a female presenter and you want to be successful
in front of a general all-male audience. You must realize
not all men out there in the business world are as sensitive as I am (send
all hugs and kisses to me in care of my publisher). If your all-male audience consists of a general public audience not from the same company or
field, stick to sports, business, and money to best connect with them.
Audiences that consist of more than half women are good too
because the presence of females provides a good buffer and makes it
OK for the
men to laugh, since so many other people are laughing.
During my public speaking course I will show you the best way to deal with tough audiences.
Another
hard audiences to deal with consists of a group of executives
from the same company when the CEO is attending. If you say something funny, the executives will start to laugh, but
then choke it off until
they check and see if the CEO is laughing. If he or she is laughing, then they go ahead and laugh. This kind of audience will create timing
nightmares for you. If you are the CEO and you are in the audience for
a presentation, it is your obligation to laugh and at least act like you're having a good time to "give permission" to everyone
else that its okay to laugh. As a good presenter, you can sometimes take it upon yourself
to gently explain to the CEO before you start you presentation how everyone
will look to him or her for approval.
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