Present Beyond Measure

32Master Your Audience and Overcome Challenging Communication

"The art of communication is the language of leadership.”

—James Humes

“How can we be confident in these spend and efficiency projections?”

“Why do these ads (that we do not control) look like that?”

“How do these results compare to Q3-2016 (or some other random date very far back)?”

“Can't we just skip to the X,Y,Z sections?”

“How do we stack up to our industry benchmark?”

Any of these questions sound familiar? I'm often asked why our decision-makers say the darndest things during presentations—asking impossible questions, repeatedly interrupting, and even undermining our authority on the subject. It can make presenting data feel pretty darn unfulfilling.

No matter how skillful we are at analyzing, designing, or speaking, true mastery of the presentation experience comes from how we handle the dialogue inspired—or incited—by our insights. Our first instinct may be to fire back clever and searing retorts at the peanut gallery, but that never leads to anywhere productive.

That's why this chapter's going to feel a little different from the rest; it isn't going to teach you how to gain the upper hand on an antagonistic audience member. You'll learn what's at the root of confrontational commentary so that you can do two things during challenging moments:

• Cultivate compassion and empathy
• Deftly maneuver the conversation and come out a winner

I begin by shelving preconceived notions about why audiences challenge us. ...