55. Gerald Pauschmann on Defusing Difficult Audiences

May 12, 2020

Gerald Pauschmann, a seasoned presentation skills coach recognized for his expertise in defusing hostile situations, joins the conversation. He shares strategies for handling difficult audience interactions, emphasizing effective communication and the importance of preparedness. Gerald humorously contrasts his personal passion for animal welfare with his professional life. The chat also dives into the art of engaging presentations, revealing how storytelling and body language can significantly impact audience connection. Expect laughter, insights, and practical tips for anyone facing a challenging crowd!

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Gerald’s Cruise Ship Presenting Start

Gerald started his presenting career accidentally on a cruise ship as an assistant cruise director.
He transitioned from no skills to speaking to thousands with storytelling rather than formal presentations.

INSIGHT

Understanding Disruptive Audience Behavior

Audience members sometimes disrupt to assert intelligence or due to self-interest.
People's minds wander during presentations; not all disengagement is intentional or hostile.

ADVICE

Dealing With Challenging Audience Members

Use respectful, clarifying questions to redirect challenging audience members.
Calling out behavior gently encourages engagement without aggression or embarrassment.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

We're having a chat for episode fifty-five of The Presentation Boss Podcast. Today we have on the show the very first presentation skills coach that Kate ever had as a mentor. Gerald is a unique individual with a presence both as a presentation coach, a successful YouTube series and his expertise of defusing dangerous and hostile situations. All that gets brought together today in this show that will be super beneficial to anyone giving presentations or facilitating workshops. Not to mention he's also not afraid to have a laugh, follow a tangent and generally have a good time. He also manages to make Kate and Thomas slightly uncomfortable and as promised, push buttons. As a result of this deep conversation, we have a little bit longer episode than normal, with all the good stuff left in. Pull up a chair, headphones and listen in to another communication expert because at some point everyone will have a disruptive person appear in an audience or in our workshops. About Our Guest Gerald Pauschmann is the guy who will push your buttons to ensure you only get told the facts about how people behave under extremely stressfull situations. He has delivered dynamic presentations to the corporate world, in countries including the United States of America, Canada, Fiji, New Zealand, PNG, Honiara and Malaysia. In the past five years, he has been the guest speaker at 60 national conferences and specialises in providing an understanding of human behaviour in the business context. What You'll Learn • How and where Gerald and Kate started their speaking careers • The psychology and motivation of disruptive audience members • Exactly how Gerald recommends defusing difficult audiences before things get bad • Concentration habits of listeners you ought to be aware of • Similarities between dealing with children, and dealing with adults • The power of using questions • Considerations for the opening of your presentation Mentioned In The Show • Find Gerald online • Gerald's cider skit video Resources and Links • Email us: podcast@presentationboss.com.au • The Presentation Boss Podcast: https://presentationboss.com.au/podcast/ • Kate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-norris/ • Thomas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-krafft/ • Presentation Boss on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/presentationboss/ • Presentation Boss on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/presentation-boss