The History of Booing

Studying cows, pigs and chickens can help an actor develop his character. There are a lot of things I learned from animals. One was that they couldn’t hiss or boo me.” – James Dean

It’s the terrifying reality that faces all performers, public speakers, and basically anyone in front a group of people. The boo. Much like its ghostly cousin, the Halloween boo, the jeering crowd “boo” is horrifying and can happen at any time. But where did this monster come from? Why do crowds boo?

Crowds have shown displeasure through booing throughout history, with the first written record of it in ancient Greece. At the Festival of Dionysia in Athens, the crowd would participate to vote on which tragedy they liked best, using shouts and whistles for plays that stunk. It was considered a civic duty to participate, so we can perhaps thank our great-great-great-great grandparents when we are booed today.

Hoot, a similar word, was used around 1225 to describe the sound made when people weren’t happy. The English word “boo” was not used until the 19th century, when it described the low sound that cattle would make. In the 1800s, it was officially designated to describe the sound of an unhappy crowd.

There have been many infamous “boos” throughout our history from fickle fans. In 1965, Bob Dylan was booed for going electric at the Newport Folk Festival. Steve Jobs was booed at the 1997 MacWorld Expo for announcing Apple’s partnership with Microsoft. It is disapproval at its most visceral, and as Major League player Branch Rickey said: “I don’t care who you are, you hear those boos.”

Audience manners aren’t always genteel, especially when they’ve spent money or time to watch an event. In sports, booing can sometimes shake even the strongest visiting team, which is why home crowds rely on it. Either way, it often signifies audience interest and expectations, which can occasionally be a good sign.

In the words of Steve Levitt: “I’ve never been booed, but I think that’s a bad thing, because I think in order to get booed, people actually have to have high expectations about you.”

If you find yourself being booed during a presentation, at the very least, you can say that the audience was listening. But how to avoid the humiliating experience all together? Consider these three tips:

1. Know Your Audience – Don’t go into your presentation without some familiarity with the crowd. Do they love PCs and you have brought an offensive Mac? Would it be a good idea to drop your opening pun joke?

2. Be Confident, Not Cocky – Don’t make yourself a wrestling villain by coming into the room with an attitude that says “you are all beneath me.” Speak naturally, don’t force an attitude.

3. Watch for Audience Triggers – Keep your eyes on the audience at all times. This will help you see any trigger words you may be using, potentially feeding the “boo” fire.

If you do follow this wisdom and still receive a painful booing, don’t worry. Everyone from Madonna to the movie “Taxi Driver” has been booed before, it’s a strange human tradition.

Question: How can you avoid being booed during your presentation?





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