Following our brief visit to the Middle Ages, I wanted to talk a little more pragmatically, about how you build community from your audience. I want to cover three things. One is, using the introduction to literally get to know your audience. The second is dividing the space up in your mind, so you feel that you can move amongst them even if you can't leave the stage. The third is how you use ancillary materials in your presentation. But my one compelling point here, the thing I want you to take home is that you can control the room. Even though the room is filled with variables, you can control that room. So I've said before that the introduction is critical to building community. And we've talked about how the introduction is your chance to establish the tone. And if that tone is sincere, whether it's generosity or ferocity, the tone will allow you to build trust. And from trust comes authority. I've also said that it's a chance for you to literally learn your audience's names. If you're in a small enough room, I would advise you to take the time to let them introduce themselves. Ask them why they've come. That will give you a strong sense of what your talk is focused on, what they want to hear. If the room is larger than a small group, a lecture hall for instance or a conference presentation, you might arrive early and talk to people. Or you might simply study their faces as you walk out on stage. Remember, one of the first survival reaction is to target fixate on one person, to make the whole experience about them, or alternately to see the whole room as just a mass, an unapproachable group. So to that end I want you to divide the room in your mind's eye. If it's a conference room or a lecture hall, a big room, then divide it into quadrants, left, right, center, forward, middle, back. By dividing it into these quadrants, you can begin to think of groups of people, and you can move from them in a studied and disciplined fashion. If you're in a conference room, a smaller room, or sitting in a circular table, think of it as a clock. That will allow you to move from number the number, even if you can't remember people's names in a disciplined fashion. The point here is that you're building community, and your presentation materials also need to build community. They need to be part of that. So slide decks are very effective, especially slide decks made by Dave Underwood. Slide decks can be effective because they focus everyone's attention in one direction. And they can present images which you can't present verbally or physically through your body. But the problem with a slide deck is it's always behind you, or it's on an individual screen. A slide deck either focuses people to look at your back or to look away from you at the screen they're studying. This is a problem because it necessarily alienates them from you. It's a double problem if you have a slide deck with a lot of words and you have to really spend time with your back to the audience working those words. That alienates your community. Alternately handouts are great. Handouts, they act as a intermediary between you and your audience. If you handout a bunch of handouts, then it's like you're sharing a meal. You're all focused forward, looking down or looking together. Handouts create a sense of community. But the problem with handouts is they put all your information up front. And of course, some people will go forward ahead of your talk. That will be distracting to you, a little bit unnerving. And other people will go back. After you've left a point behind, they'll be studying number one. That will make you nervous because maybe there's something you misspelled or perhaps missed otherwise. Handouts and slide decks are both compromised, neither is perfect. In this MOOC, I've used slide decks that have taken you away from me. And I've used handouts which we've shared even thought we're not in the same room. You need to use them both. Like everything, you need to think about the stakes of using them so that you can use them in a smart and calculated fashion. The point, the point of all of this is that you need to listen to your audience. You need to imagine your audience ahead of time and think about how you want to present to them. And when you're in the room, you need to actually listen to them. You need to think about their names, and you need to think about the moment. If you can listen to your audience while you are talking, then you are truly a master presenter.
