Public Speaker Rich Hopkins suggests there are two types of audience distractions:
- Audience vs. Technology - people in your audience struggling to use their technology (PDAs, phones, etc.) instead of listening to you - to handle this, give people break times when they can work out any technology issues they have
- Audience vs. Themselves - people getting so focused on their own world that they forget about the speaker - to handle this, keep your speech moving and change your speech in some way about every 10 minutes (e.g., move to a new topic, change your position on stage, etc.)
Tim Wilson
Professional Speech Coach
Free speaking tips at: http://speakingquicktips.blogspot.com
