Objection handling is a common challenge in public speaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s not surprising: even if you\u2019re really well prepared, an unexpected question, heckle or interruption can really throw you off your stride. If handled badly, heckles or objections can escalate into arguments, which will diminish your credibility and reputation. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n However, by employing these objection handling techniques and adopting the right mindset, you will be able find opportunities to understand your audience\u2019s challenges much more deeply, and collaborate to find a mutually agreeable solution.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n So how can you defuse the heckles assertively<\/a> and move towards having better conversations?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n While objections and heckles can sometimes feel like the same thing, there is an important difference. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Objections are essentially a disagreement with something in your content, whether that\u2019s a strategy or plan, update or discussion. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n A heckle<\/a>, on the other hand, does not necessarily have to be related to your content or communication. The aim of a heckle is to disrupt your flow and to throw you off your game.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n However, both objections and heckles are rooted in emotion.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n We all know the logical way to handle an objection. You:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The challenge is that this emotionless way of responding to people won\u2019t win over the person who objected. Instead, it will likely lead to a point-scoring battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After more than 20 years as a professional public speaker and coach, I\u2019ve had my fair share of people object during a presentation. And I\u2019ve found that instead of handling these situations robotically, I remember to treat the objector as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if a five-year-old comes to you with a dead hamster, you aren\u2019t going to say, \u201cI acknowledge the hamster is dead, I will verify this by shaking it. My response is to get you a new hamster. Issue solved!\u201d That\u2019s going to reduce the child to tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What you\u2019d actually do is listen with empathy and try to help the child through the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, as frustrated as you may feel when people object, interrupt or say something negative, I encourage you to pause. Aim to connect with them and hear more of their voice and less of yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The following tips will help you to deal with the emotions that sit behind the objections or and give you advice on how to handle hecklers.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n As stressful as objections can be, having a powerful strategy to deal with them will equip you with the skills to manage the situation in a cool and composed manner. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s take a look at some essential tips to help you navigate these challenging moments as a professional speaker.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Some topics or presentations will be more contentious than others, but sometimes even the most neutral of topics can elicit an unexpectedly emotional objection.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n When you\u2019re preparing your speech or presentation, try to think carefully about your audience\u2019s profile and if there are any parts that they are likely to object to. Ensure you have any information or data prepared that people may ask about, even if you\u2019re not planning to talk about it in your main presentation. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The more prepared you are for objections, the calmer and more in control you will feel when they happen.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, if you are sharing information that is likely to elicit a highly emotional response, such as redundancies or budget cuts, ensure that you demonstrate genuine empathy.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the biggest challenges about objections and heckles and the reason they can often end badly, is that we take it personally when people object to our content. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n However, if we\u2019re not careful, our own emotional response can get in the way of successful business communication.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you do get heckled, avoid losing your temper or snapping back: this will damage your reputation even if you have been unfairly treated.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/span>Instead, enter into a friendly discussion with the heckler or objector. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Stay calm, keep your words slow and measured and invite the other person to tell you more, discouraging personal comments and keeping the discussion on topic.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n If the objector is determined to discuss something else, then put it to the rest of the room. Is this something that everyone would like to talk about right now? If so, be prepared to push your agenda to one side. If not, ask the objector if they would be prepared to discuss it afterwards, so that everyone else\u2019s time is respected.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n You may be thinking, \u201cGreat, empathy, yes, I can do that. I\u2019m a decent person. I probably empathise all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But you may feel differently when you pitch an idea you care about and people start objecting. When this happens, we immediately try to convince our objectors that we are right and they are wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, empathy is only easy when you agree with people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s much harder when you\u2019re in front of a room of twenty decision-makers, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s blue, it\u2019s blue, it\u2019s blue,\u201d and one of them says, \u201cNo, it\u2019s not, it\u2019s red.\u201d The public rejection of an idea you care about hurts. You have to stay calm. You have to listen. If you don\u2019t, your idea can die in the cross-fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember: empathy is about seeing life through someone else\u2019s eyes, walking in their shoes, showing that you care. You don\u2019t need to agree with them, just understand them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some people say they don\u2019t have time to nurture objectors through their interruption, because when there are only twenty minutes to talk, they have to finish their content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is fool\u2019s gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can email your content. You can\u2019t handle objections by email. You must <\/em>handle objections while you\u2019re in the room because that\u2019s the best way to show you understand. Once your audience feels heard and understood, you\u2019re far more likely to gain their commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, empathize like you mean it. See the world through your objector\u2019s eyes. Let them talk while you aim to understand where their pain comes from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine walking into a doctor\u2019s office with a pain in your leg. After the doctor empathises for a few moments, they say, \u201cOkay let\u2019s chop it off then!\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you think they truly listened to you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n People do this in business all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They pretend to empathise, but they never listen long enough to find out what the real problem is. Instead, they jump into solution mode. You have to try to resist this urge to fix things quickly. After you\u2019ve listened and empathized, you need to clarify, in order to fully understand what the person needs from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t shy away from asking more questions to find out what your objector really needs, even when you\u2019re speaking to a large group. If you don\u2019t clarify the issue before announcing your solution, the person who asked the question just feels dismayed. Your solution doesn\u2019t help them achieve a desired better future \u2014 how could it? You didn\u2019t find out what your objector really<\/em> needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think of it this way: most objections are like the tip of the iceberg \u2014 you need to delve beneath to find the extent of the problem. And handling a challenge at a deeper level gives others confidence in you \u2014 the other people in the room will see it as a true strength, whether there are 10 or 10,000 of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n As well as giving the other person the opportunity to speak, it will also give you valuable thinking time to help you craft your response as a proposal. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine you want to surprise your partner with an engagement ring. Would you do the following?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n You might perhaps book a fancy dinner in a romantic location, order champagne, get down on bended knee and say, \u201cYou will<\/em> marry me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nope. Not gonna work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All the champagne and nice food in the world won\u2019t help you pull that one-off. Even a person who was feeling ready and willing to be your partner forever would feel annoyed if you said that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The same is true in business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember that it\u2019s not your job to fix everything, create a big solution, and answer every problem. You just need to collaborate. Rather than telling someone else what to do next, try proposing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWill you marry me?\u201d works so well because it implies free will. The person has a choice. In business, you can achieve the same thing by saying, \u201cSo if\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, you might say, \u201cSo if you had delivery by Christmas, would that work for you?\u201d If your idea meets resistance, you haven\u2019t lost anything. You haven\u2019t put this suggestion forward as your one and only solution. You\u2019re still investigating options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may need to empathize and clarify some more, but you\u2019re still part of the discussion that will enable you to reach a solution that works. If they like your suggestion, though, you\u2019re almost done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to be sure that you have covered everything in the objection, you must always check-in before you move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The last thing you want is any lingering uncertainty that may fester and raise further objections to your ideas later. Better to get it all dealt with straight away. Everyone in the room will respect you for your ability to stay with the issue to a full resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A short but sweet way of checking in can be a quick question, like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n If the answer to any of those questions is no, then you can clarify further and work together to reach a resolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, no objection handling process is going to resolve absolutely everything, but it will help you begin your event in the spirit (and state) of collaboration. And that will give you the best chance of a positive result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\nThe difference between an objection and a heckle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Emotions v logic when handling objections<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Objection and heckler handling techniques <\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ensure you are prepared<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Don’t take it personally<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Empathise with the objector<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to show empathy<\/span><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Clarify the issue<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Ways to respond calmly to a heckler\/objector:<\/span><\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Respond to the objection with a proposal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Check that everyone is satisfied before moving on<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Coaching courses for objection handling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n