First you were afraid; you were petrified. You kept thinking you could never live through another horrible presentation. Thanks to Gloria Gaynor, you have a new theme song to help you make it through the work day and the uninspiring meetings that suck away your will to live. Take some advice from Gaynor’s heart-break anthem and learn how to survive the monotony.
Go Walk Out the Door
It’s an option. You could do it. With all of the education focused on writing and delivering meaningful presentations, you have the right to expect that a presentation be worth your time. If you are not learning and are in a position to leave without getting fired, go ahead and go. If you can’t escape, sit by the exit and take a few mini-breaks during the presentation. A walk around the office will do wonders to wake you back up.
Just Turn It Around Now
Being in the audience doesn’t mean you’re helpless. Audience members are an important part of any presentation, and they should take an appropriate level of responsibility for the ones they attend. If a presentation is going horribly awry or a question and answer session is taking a useless trip to Negativetown, interject with a comment or question that will refocus the discussion. By attempting to steer things in a new direction, you are hinting to the presenter that she should move on to more relevant issues.
Hold Your Head Up High
Many presenters are insecure about speaking in public and are afraid to take the perceived risks that make for an interesting presentation. Most uneasy presenters, if they feel the audience is not paying attention, will try to get to the presentation’s end as quickly and painlessly as possible by speaking quickly and omitting all the entertaining frills. Unfortunately, this approach is painful for the audience. As an audience member, notice when a presenter needs your support and act engaged. If you encourage him by smiling and nodding in agreement, you will encourage him to relax and step it up a notch.
Learn How to Carry On
Sometimes all of the above tactics fail. You can’t leave the room because your boss will make you pay for it later. The presenter has asked that you hold all questions and comments until the end, and she seems to really mean it. You’ve tried to act interested, but the presenter is focused on an imaginary dot in the back of the room and doesn’t notice you. You have enough decency not to check your iPhone, but you’re fairly certain you are about to be the first person to actually die of boredom. Save yourself and inconspicuously carry on with your own project. Most likely, you have paper and are behind on one of your 500 projects. We’re all supposed to be multi-tasking geniuses these days, so take this opportunity to exercise your talent. As long as the presenter thinks you’re vigilantly taking notes, there’s no harm in getting a little work done while she drones on . . . and on . . . and on.
