There are situations that you want to have a group discussion with your audience. To have an effective group discussion you should not be “before” or “above” your audience but you need to be with them. You need to “level the playing field”. You can imagine it is going to be difficult to have a group discussion if you are standing on a stage. However, if you are standing on a stage or standing in front of the group it will give you the automatic authority that will support you to direct the group discussion. So what best to do to build your authority and have a group discussion?
This is a tip that has worked very well in practice. It works if your audience does not consist of too many persons (i.e. no more than +/- 20 persons). Start your presentation when you stand in front of the audience. The set-up of the room is that your audience is sitting on seats in rows. As you stand in front of the audience you can provide them with the introduction for the group discussion (use the CORB model as described in the book that is part of the Public Speaking Kit).
After your introduction, explain to your audience that it will not work to have a group discussion if your audience is sitting in rows like they currently are. Ask them to move the chairs so that you will sit in a circle. It will create some movement in the room as people will have to move their seats and therefore this will form a nice transition to the group discussion part. Sitting in a circle will level the playing field.
You have build the authority during your introduction, so your audience will naturally look to you to start the discussion and direct the group discussion. For more practical tips and tricks on how to improve your public speaking skills it is highly recommended to have a look at the book Public Speaking Excellence.
