Quick. Which is the most annoying character you faced while giving a presentation?
Is it that brat chewing gum and bursting bubbles?
Or the one busy texting on his cellphone and grinning to some naughty reply?
Or one that puts even those two to shame!
I have faced many such annoying characters in my presentation career. Let me briefly share one such annoying character I encountered.
It was a class presentation. My professor and my classmates were the audience. Since I knew everyone there and most of them were friends, I presumed it would be a smooth sail. Wrong!
After making a terrific start (I knew it from their faces) and feeling so good about it, I found a girl on the last bench quickly turn to the girl next to her and whisper something into her ear. The girls shared one ugly laugh and phut…my self-confidence bubble broke. For a split second, I was stunned with doubt clouding my mind “Did I goof up somewhere?” Fortunately, I had the sense to turn that thought away, focus on my presentation and do a wonderful job with it.
Audience can be very mean at times and just when you feel you have the most annoying person on this planet in your audience, you are proven wrong in the next presentation. So why do presenters face the flak all the time? Since the last post covered 5 types of annoying presenters and their habits, in this post the heat is on the audience. Here are the most annoying audience members I know of:
Who do you think the award for the most annoying audience should go to? Tell us in the comments below. And if you have an unpleasant experience to share, please do so in the comments below. It will surely have a cathartic effect, trust me.