This is the first of a 3-part how-to guide on public speaking: part 2 will focus on small groups, part 3 addresses online, Zoom-style meetings.

How to Communicate Effectively to a Large Group

By Alison Ramsey
IAHPC Pallinews Editor

Actor, acting teacher, and speaker Ron Cameron-Lewis has trained many thousands in the art of public speaking, including adjudicating more than 2,000 theater productions. There are indisputable elements of showmanship whenever someone steps to a podium. We asked for his tips when addressing a large group—a how-to guide to for successful presentations.

Assess the room

Study the layout of the room to assess if it is as good as it can be. Speakers may hesitate to ask that chairs be rearranged, but remember that "you are the authority figure," he states. Moving chairs around can vastly improve attendees' experience. 

For instance, a long, narrow room with the speaker at one end makes it hard for those in the back rows to see or hear. Instead, create a speaker's space in the middle of the room and have half the chairs turned around. That way, those in the back rows are closer to the action. When speaking, mimic the back-and-forth movement of a water sprinkler by facing first one group, then the other. Just be sure to complete an entire thought (not just a sentence) before swiveling. 

If the seating is fixed, ask those in the back to move to the front, or constrain your audience to just one section, so that you can address everyone more directly.

Understand your mic

The best option is a body microphone attached to a jacket lapel or the button strip of a stiff blouse: those mics follow your movements so that no one misses a word.

The most important thing to do to prepare for a handheld mic is to practice your presentation while holding a hairbrush in front of your face as you speak and move.

When using a fixed mic, either seated or standing, you need to be aware of its placement, and keep your face in front of it—but not too close, as that can trigger feedback screech. If the mic is at the wrong level, adjust it to your height. 

Nerves sometimes cause people with a body mic or holding a mic to wander around aimlessly. "Plant your feet!" Cameron-Lewis advises. Nerves sometimes make people wander around aimlessly. Imagine that your feet are tree roots, and if you are motivated to move, go to the next spot and plant those roots again." Pacing around without a clear purpose is distracting, he warns. "Actions are stronger than words, so unmotivated movement takes away from what you are saying."

Prepare your voice

"The larger the audience, the more you realize that your breath in important," says Cameron-Lewis. "Get your power by breathing four inches below your bellybutton." Can't figure out how? Try jumping jacks, he recommends. 

Then, "do dive bombs." That's when you take a deep breath, then release it with an audible "aaaaaahhhhhmmmmm," lowering the pitch of your voice as you exhale. Do this several times, to relax your body, limber your vocal cords, and hit your optimum pitch note (avoid a nervous squeak). No place to do it privately? You can also do dive bombs silently, and still feel your body relax, adds Cameron-Lewis.

Food for thought

"Don't have a large meal before speaking," he notes. "Snack, if necessary."

It's showtime!

When speaking, find a word in every thought that merits emphasis. "If you really want to make it special, put a slight pause before the word," says Cameron-Lewis. "It helps the audience get that key thought."

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