I recently had to give a speech to a tough crowd.

I had already known that they were a tough group to deal with. But I wasn’t aware that my speech would be last. In fact, my speech was the last in a series of speeches that were delivered at the audience and not to them.

People had already begun to leave.

They were tired, hungry, anxious and really bored.

And the speech I prepared was information packed. It had to be… for the purpose of the subject I was invited to speak about. But the audience had had enough.

They desperately wanted to get out of there. Few people were paying attention to the speech that was delivered just before my speech. There was a lot of chatter going on and some looked like they were having a full on conversations.

It was noisy in there. It was a distracting environment. And to make matters worse, we had no microphone.

This was a bad place to be at. I should’ve said no to the invitation.

But I had to do something about it.

I had, if I could, to save the day…or more precisely to save myself.

1. The Power of Humor

I had prepared a proper introduction to my subject.

But I knew, given the audience and given that my speech was last, that my introduction wasn’t going to work.

I had to use some humor.

It’s really tough to come up with something funny 15 minutes before you deliver your speech. I didn’t test that piece of humor and I didn’t know if it was going to work.

But I knew that if I made fun of myself, people would tune in more. They usually find this sort of humor to be good humor.

So I began to make fun of my grey hair and how I was able to pluck it out back in the day but how I no longer can do that.

I also shared with them my old purpose in life; that of wanting to play professional basketball in the NBA. I don’t have anything resembling the built of basketball player, and people got a good laugh out of this.

I quickly had the audience. They were interacting with me.

I also knew that this wasn’t enough to keep their attention.

So I had to do something else.

2. The Power of Stories

In addition to humor, you absolutely must use stories in your speech.

In fact, you will be better served by creating your speech around a central story. People love a story they can relate to. And the more vivid, the more details, the more colors and characters you add to the story, the more you’re going to captivate your audience.

So instead of delivering an information packed speech about the specifics of research methodologies, I began to tell them the story of how I ended up on that very stage.

I told them where I grew up and the different goals and dreams I had for myself when I was still in high school. I explained to them how my journey changed when I got to college. I even told them about some people that made an impact on my life.

I also told them about people that didn’t believe me and about people that wanted to see me fail.

Everyone in the audience had probably experienced something similar.

Everyone has been told “no” in their lives. Everyone has had a rejection at one time. Everyone has been disappointed. But everyone also had some success, had a change of mind, and had a change of heart.

So talk about your story next time you’re facing a tough crowd. Just dive in and say it. Don’t overthink what you’re going to say.

People identify with people and that’s your best tool to get your audience to listen.

3. Be Extravagant

We are told that we have to show humility when we deliver speeches. I understand that and I think it’s a good rule of thumb to go by.

But don’t be like a robot. Different situations demand different things. And you have to calibrate your speech accordingly.

When you face a tough crowd, you must be animated. In fact, you must be extravagant. Speak loudly. Speak boldly and do so passionately.

You just have to be loud with this kind of audience. In fact, you have to overpower the noise in the room with your voice and presence.

A lot of people don’t use their gestures enough. But with a tough crowd, you have to use you entire body. Open your arms wide…close your hands together with purpose. Move around the stage. Or get down from the stage and walk through the tables where your audience is sitting. Do something different for god’s sake. To be another speech.

You can also point at members of the audience and say thank you for coming today. Thank you for being here.

You really have to do this sort of stuff. You must control the room and everyone in there. Stop being laid back and think that this speech is designed for those that want to listen.

Stop forcing your audience into a pre-made paradigm. Your audience is just an audience, and they come in all shapes and sizes. And for each group, you have to employ a different strategy.

I should also stress the need to be confident. You should speak and do as though you know every single bit of detail about your topic. People respond to confidence more than they respond to anything else. So stop rethinking everything. Stop hesitating. You must convey confidence and authority.

4. Be Fun

Laugh with the audience and laugh at yourself.

A lot of people hold their laugh back. They want to look professional. They want to look serious and authoritative. This attitude has a place, but it doesn’t have a place with a tough audience.

A tough crowd that is not interested in listening anymore needs to see a person who’s above and beyond average. And the best way to do that is to go in there wanting to have fun.

Sometimes you have to be one the of the guys or gals.

You just have to speak to your audience like you’re speaking to a group of friends at a party. Be casual, informal, and just be you.