Warming Up Your Audience: Engage and Captivate Like a Pro

Talking to a “cold” audience is like trying to bite into frozen pizza.
It’s not gonna work.
Here’s what to do instead.

Always warm up the audience before, during and after your presentation.

Did you know before every single live TV show, a “crowd warmer” gets the audience’s energy going?

These are people who have spent hours lining up to be there.
They really, REALLY want to be there.

And yet, the producers cannot just rely on that.

They know that a warmed up crowd is the most responsive.

And a responsive crowd gives the performer motivation to perform at their best.

Here’s how you can warm up your audience, even if you’re not a late night TV show host:

𝟭. 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀:
Use humor to ease into the situation.
And observe how the audience responds.

You can do this in 10 seconds.

Say something they can relate to:
“I just got drenched in sweat in this wonderful heat wave we’re having – anyone else enjoying that as much as me?”

Say something they know to be true:
“I know we all just had lunch so I’ll try to keep this light so it doesn’t interfere with your digestion”

I use this technique to see if the crowd responds to humor.
If they don’t, I know right off the bat what not to try.

I also then throw in a self-deprecating joke to acknowledge their lack of response.
If nothing else, that will get a few chuckles.

Do humor your way.
But trust me, humor can lighten up any situation.

𝟮. 𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:

This is a no-brainer but most people don’t do it.

Engage with your audience throughout.

Don’t make your presentation a lecture.

Make it a dialogue.

But make it super easy for the audience to participate.
Ask yes or no questions.
Take time to listen to their response.

They will feel like you’re invested.
You will be rewarded with their attention.
Win-win.

𝟯. 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀:

Keep your audience engaged by leading an “inclusive” Q&A.

If someone asks multiple follow up questions, let them know you want to give others a chance to ask too.

If no one wants to ask questions at first, don’t worry.
Be prepared with a few questions that you can respond to:
“Something I get asked all the time is XYZ…”

Have a time limit after which you can ask the audience to ask you questions directly through email etc.

How do you warm up the audience and keep them engaged when you present? I’d love to know.

PS – Today, I’ll show my newsletter community how to create a 1:1 connection when you’re speaking to a large audience. Join us there. Link below.