Few of us can know for certain whether or not Chris Hanson ever actually catches a predator. But for most speakers–especially the kind that are attracting hecklers in the first place–much can be learned from his weekly exploits in vigilante justice. Here are a few superficial lessons, right off the bat:
1. Have a major media network back your crazed witch hunt.
2. Build a portfolio of market-leading surveillance gear the likes of which have not yet even appeared in a Bond film.
3. Meet an ex-KGB or AWOL military man with a broken past, then channel his wounds of betrayal into presentation venue enforcement.
Few of you were aware that Hanson has a contingent of the latter at his disposal, but he does.
Heckling is one of those “perfect” disrupters that makes maturity look spineless and spine-having look immature. As much as you and I both want to believe that your elementary years never revisit you on the stage, we’d be foolish to live our lives as if this is the case. So what do you do? Take a lesson in pragmatism from Benjamin Franklin:
Benjamin Franklin worked hard as a boy. More importantly, he worked hard in the right places: as a working boy, he regularly pushed his laden wheelbarrow past a gathering place for the wealthy, despite the fact that a shorter route existed. Getting credit for hard work was as important as doing the hard work. The same goes for maturity on stage: the mature response to heckling is to ignore it, but such behavior is an elephant in the room. Eventually, you’ll look dumb if you stick to the script. Instead, get the audience on your side: “I’m here to discuss the changes that our industry is facing so that we can all live and work and pursue our goals. Is there someone here that would like to take that discussion in a different direction?”
Few hecklers ever take the stage–just as few ever throw a major league pitch. In the end, the best defense against heckling is a nearby audience member’s elbow. Keep the masses on your side, and you’ll catch your heckler.
