eBay University, Miami, FL 2004 - The scene: With over 350 people in the room, I've lost control. People are yelling at each other. It took several mojitos that evening to recover.
Whether you have many or a few in your room, you must maintain control of the room for the sake of those who really want to learn. It's your responsibility as the speaker. How can you do this without being a jerk to your students?
First, before the students even arrive you'll want to make sure everything is in place for the presentation.
- Temperature should be comfortable
- Seating ready
- Computer on and connected to the internet
- Presentation loaded
Once people are in place, begin with some housekeeping. Even if it's a small group. Tell them what you expect.
- Cell phones on vibrate, and talking done outside the room
- Kindly ask that talking between students be done outside
- Hold questions till appropriate times.
During your class if you have interruptions by any of the above, the way you handle the first one or two will determine how your audience will behave going forward. If you let one person interrupt you, they will assume that they may all do that. If you let one person talk on their cellphone, they will assume they all may do that. And you'll lose control and need a mojito before you can go on.
The reason the Miami crowd got all surly with each other was people were interrupting over and over with their personal questions. It broke up the presentation and made it hard to follow. In many cases the questions would have been answered had the questioners waited. If I had tactfully handled this situation right at the outset it would have quieted the questioners and kept the other class members happier. (And would have lowered my alcohol bill for the evening.)
Most of your classes may be much smaller, but the principles still apply. Your first responsibility is to the group, to teach them the class. Secondly, the individual students have questions and you should try as hard as you can to answer them. I offer free support to my students via email after the class. I have never been sorry for this, and it's a great service to the students.
If you get a question and you don't know the answer, admit it. Don't fake it because you may actually lead someone the wrong way. Besides that, there could be a silent Powerseller sitting in the audience who'll blurt out "That's wrong!" which is highly embarrassing and will cause you to lose credibility.
If you have experienced any situations that you'd like to relate, please feel free using the comments link below.
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