When Glazed Eyes are Good!
Why it might be ok for your audience to tune you out - at least from time to time.
It happens. Despite your well designed program and cheerful manner, you notice a glazed look in the eyes of an audience member and realize that they have checked out. Does that mean you are a rotten storyteller and should give up your public speaking and take up pet grooming? NO!
What it often means is that not only have you connected, but something you said resonated with your audience member so strongly that they are now reflecting. As they turn inward, they are reflecting on some memory that connects to your idea or insight. When they do that - they are exposing a bit of 'brain velcro' and giving your information or story a place to land that they will be better able to remember.
Let them have their moment of connection, but keep them coming back by continuing to be engaging. Here are three tools to call back audiences who have looked inward for a moment. (As well as those who might have just mentally wandered.)
Tools to Tune Them Back In
Tell a 30 second story. A story follows a person on a journey. It has a little dramatic tension - “What will happen next? Will it work out ok for the person we are hearing about?”
To craft a 30 second story you just have to answer three questions:
What does my person (main character) think their future holds
What choice do they have to make in their moment of truth (their peak moment of tension)
What happens after they make their choice
Use a Hook. Hooks are sentences or questions that have attention grabbing openings. For example: “Confession time…”, “I never thought I’d say this but…” or even “What’s your favorite…”
Vary your voice. This is both the easiest option and perhaps the hardest. We all have a way we speak by default. Very often, it’s ‘lecture voice’. Which can be a little bit like Charlie Brown’s teacher. Look for places to mix it up with vocal elements like pitch, pace, inflection, pause, crescendo, or even character voices.