I was presenting at an international conference recently. The audience were all highly intelligent people working towards gaining their MBA’s. I ran 3 sessions and on each occasion before I started to speak the audience sat there in silence or played on their phones. These were people who were going to be spending 12 months working together although at the point I was presenting they hadn’t all met each other. Only when I said “For goodness sake turn to the person next to you and introduce yourself” did the room become awash with conversation. Then the hard bit came when I tried to get them to stop when I wanted to make my presentation!
When you attend event don’t waste your time. Engage throughout the event, unless someone like me is speaking. I asked the room why they did this and one brave delegate said she didn’t know what to say! Watch this short video to find out ‘how to break the ice’.
Blog by Will….