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ASSESSING YOUR AUDIENCE
CHAPTER 7
ment assistance was to those who had nothing. His themes related to the themes
of those he was trying to persuade. By contrast, Joseph McCarthy stirred
Americans’ fears of communism by playing to their baser instincts of hatred
and exclusionism. He lowered the level of debate rather than elevating it.
When you relate to an audience, you do not need to tell it what it wants to
hear. You strive for the truth, but you present it in a way that is credible and
understandable. At the same time, you need to avoid preaching or talking
down to the audience. Both can be equally irritating to an audience.
OVERCOME OBJECTIONS WITHIN THE PRESENTATION
Facing a tough audience is not easy. But let’s face it, sometimes it must be
done. Management must talk to unions. Politicians must face voters. School
boards must face parents. And so on. Not everyone wants to hear everything
that you as a presenter have to say. Anticipating objections is part of the pre-
sentation process. If you follow the Toulmin argument process, you can for-
mulate your rebuttals using the claim-reason-warrant methodology (see
Chapter 6). With that in mind, here are some tips you can use to prepare your-
self for those tough situations (see Figure 7-1).
Determine the objection. Isolate the “hot potatoes.” Before you stand in
front of the audience, find out possible issues or concerns the audience
may have with you or the organization you represent. Vince Lombardi
was a hard-nosed coach. He knew that players would initially resist the
kind of discipline and hard work he would impose, but this did not stop
him from getting his message across. He would deflect objections
through implication: If the individual players did not adhere to the regi-
men, they would be gone. If you are a salesperson, you need to know
the account history before you try to sell. For example, if the salesper-
son before you was a jerk, your audience may harbor negative views
about you. You need to know this before you walk into the room. Like-
wise, if you are an executive addressing a group of frontline employees,
you need to know their concerns about their work, the management
team, and possibly yourself.
Acknowledge the issue. Say the issue out loud. If it is poor product
quality or a tough question regarding management, spell it out—e.g.,
“I know you have an issue about this.” As a former prosecutor, Giuliani
was accustomed to dealing with objections. As mayor, he would freely
give voice to the opposition as a means of acknowledging dissent. In
doing so, Giuliani demonstrated that he was informed on and involved
with the issues, even if he did not change his mind.