How can an audience member make the speaker feel at ease?

Question

How can we make them feel less nervous and jittery?

Answer 1

Meet the speaker's eye, smile, nod when appropriate, pay attention... Those things help a ton. Nothing is worse than speaking to a room of people who won't even look at you...

Answer 2

I was only twelve when I was asked to be the moderator at the Indiana State Teachers' Convention program featuring our seventh grade square dancers. My music teacher advised me to step up to the microphone, pick out an audience member three or four rows back and look at them and smile. What good advice it was! That person, and forty others, smiled back and I was immediately at ease. Since then I've given many speeches and I always remember to use that tip learned many years ago!

Answer 3

the audience can help by not looking directly at the speaker. but this is not easy. as speaker is only one speaking hence attention is all focussed on one person. it is up to speaker to decide who to look at or dont look. some speakers r so nervous they end up looking at only one person or look down at their notes or the lectern only and avoid eye contact. the speaker, if nervous shld instead focus on the hair of as many audience as possible so as to avoid eye contact. move head around as much as possible from left to right -hence not focusing on one but many. yah tts right, look afar hence u dont really see them and tt will ease your nervousness.

Answer 4

Don't heckle them, and don't talk while the speaker is talking. That is so rude.