Sean D'Souza: Crowd control - it's about sticking to the game plan

If you're conducting a workshop, you're going to have one big problem. The moment you let your audience out for a coffee/lunch break, you'll have a hard time getting them back. And then you become a sheepdog, having to herd the sheep back into the pen.

How on earth can you get an audience back into a room without saying a word or issuing ominous threats?

Crowd control is a matter of: 1) the pre-sell, and 2) following through.

The presell involves several stages:

Precise time that's not rounded off

The biggest mistake many presenters make is giving rounded-off timings. They say: "Be back at 1pm". It should never be rounded off. It should be 12:57pm. That's specific. That immediately gets the audience to pay attention. The non-rounded timing creates urgency. And specifics.

Anchoring the crowd to one song

When they come into the workshop, I get the crowd to stand up (after they're already sitting). At this point, I tell them to listen to a specific song, eg Simply the Best by Tina Turner.

Then I tell them that when I play this song, they have to come back in the room. And then I make them all leave the room. And then turn on the song. And they all stream into the room. This is anchoring. Now they know they aren't just listening to music but that they have to pay attention to Simply the Best and that's a signal.

Use emails and slides over and over again to emphasise time

At least two or three times before and during the introduction, I mention time as an important factor. I will do this in the emails and any introductory sessions. I will make a big deal about them not showing up.

I say: "I don't tolerate or condone late behaviour, because by being late you are disturbing the presenter and disturbing the rest of your colleagues."

Get the crowd to tell you when they'll be back

When I let the crowd go, I almost always tell them to tell me when they're expected back. I say: "We're going for a break. You're due back at 12:58 pm. So what time are you due back?" And the crowd responds: "12:58." They said it, and they understand it. No confusion and they now have no excuse.

Be clear on how you'll act

I have this stock statement: "I will start on time. If there are five of you in the room I will begin. If there are three, I will begin. If there's no one, I will talk to myself. And I never, ever, ever wait. I will always start on time." (Once a managing director of marketing was five minutes late. And we didn't wait. She told me later she was amazed that I wouldn't wait, and made sure she wasn't late after that.)

The key isn't to get the crowd back on time. It's to never start late, no matter what the conditions. Sure it's raining cats and dogs. But hey, the presenter made it and the group that's in front of you made it. If you reward the latecomers, you're instantly setting a bad precedent. You simply do not wait for latecomers. You do that once, and they'll expect you to do it again.

Create a cliffhanger

The TV soaps do it. When you finish the episode for the day, they leave you on a cliffhanger. The evening news does it, too. They tell you what's coming up. This concept can be used just as easily in workshops. You end on a cliffhanger. Or you give the audience a tiny taste of what's to come in the next "episode". And then you start right on time, with that cliffhanger. Anyone showing up late will instinctively know they're going to miss an important "episode". And will make sure they're back in time.

Never reward expected behaviour

The most important factor is to make time part of the deal. Never give any rewards for being early or on time. That's just a bribe. They didn't earn it. It sends out the wrong message when you reward someone for what they should be doing anyway. So no reward whatsoever.

And those are just the pre-sell.

The second part is the follow-through. You must do what you say. You can't say one thing and do another. You can't be afraid of the crowd. You're the maestro. When you raise the baton, the music begins.

But for that to happen, you have to set the rules, create the setting, and then stick to the game plan.

Crowd control isn't hard to do, but you need to have specific steps that you take in advance. If you do that, you will get the results you seek. If you don't, the crowd controls you.

And that's no fun at all. For the crowd. Or you.

Sean D'Souza is chief executive of Psychotactics and an international author and trainer. He is the author of The Brain Audit - Why Customers Buy (And Why They Don't).

www.psychotactics.com