What to do if they aren't listening?

Have you ever done a speech or presentation and while you were speaking, certain people started to look at their watch, others were yawning enough to swallow an elephant, and still others — horror! — were actually sleeping?

What was your reaction? If you are like many others, you may have started thinking, “What's going on? Am I boring? Is everyone bored? Are they all going to get up and leave?”

After a while this can become an obsession. By obssessing too much on the people who aren't paying attention, you forget the ones who are. If you forget the people who are listening, they will notice it and they too will stop paying attention. This will only compound the problem!

What can you do if you realise that you are losing your audience's attention? Here are a few suggestions:

Don't take it personally: too often, we think it's our fault if one or two people stop listening as we are speaking. It's not the case. There are as many reasons for not listening as their are people in your audience. It's not about you.
Don't do anything: if only a few people are not listening, don't pay it too much mind. It is often temporary. If the majority of your audience is paying attention, chances are the few lost souls will come back soon enough. If you can, speak to the “bored ones” during the break and ask them how they are feeling and what they are getting out of the presentation.
Add more interaction: in my experience, I have noticed that people get bored more easily if they have nothing to do.
When I was a student, I had trouble staying awake more than thirty minutes in a course, no matter at what time I took the course. I still have the same problem today when I am in a meeting, doing nothing but listening. However, in an interactive session, I can stay alert for hours on end because I spend very little time only listening.
If you find that your presentations lack liveliness, a good technique to use is to ask a lot of questions. This introduces interaction with the audience, it adds movement, and will keep their attention longer.
Take a break: unless you are dong a very active session, where the audience is moving around a lot, try not to speak for more than 90 minutes at a time. After 90 minutes, you will start to lose your audience's attention. If you notice that many people are looking at their watch, looking at the ceiling a lot, or are fidgeting on their seats, it's time to take a break.
Ask questions: if many people are not paying attention and it is not yet time for a break, their may be something going on. Ask questions to understand what the issue is. Questions such as “How is it going?”, “Is there something you don't understand?”, and wait for the answers. You also can ask, “Are you bored?”
That last question can act like a whip. Since it is an unexpected question, it may startle some audience members into paying more attention, because they will feel that they have been “unmasked”. You might also hear, “Yes, we are bored.”
If this happens, stop your presentation immediately and ask questions to understand why they are bored. Listen very closely to the answers. If you can, adjust yourself to the audience's feedback and keep going.
If there is nothing you can do about it, let them know so but get their agreement to cooperate and listen to the end.
If you can do nothing for now, try to schedule another time to repeat your presentation. Take advantage of that time to adjust yourself to your audience's needs. Then, go ahead with your updated presentation, making sure you pay attention to the needs that were expressed.

I recently was listening to T. Harv Eker and in his speech, he recommended not taking anything personally. Like many others before him, he says that the reaction of others is a reflection of who they are, it is not a reflection of who you are.

If someone finds you boring, it can be for a number of reasons, none of which have anything to do with you. Their opinion is not an accurate representation of who you are.

When I first started speaking in front of groups, I used to get distracted by the people who were sleeping or weren't paying close attention. It bothered me and I spent my time looking in their direction to see if things got better.

Of course, by doing so, I paid less attention to what I was doing and the other audience members started to lose interest also. At the end of my speech, I was upset with myself, thinking I was no good, that I was boring, and that I just wasn't very worthy.

In fact, the problem wasn't that I was boring. The real problem was that I kept losing my concentration and I became less focused. Since emotions are contagious, my audiences became less focused also.

If you pay attention to signs of boredom, if you don't take them personally and if you adjust yourself during your speech, few members of your audience will ever leave your speeches saying, “My goodness was that ever boring!”