Today’s topic is inappropriate passersby. Usually, when you are doing a presentation, people will be walking in the background. Most of them will be polite and quietly walk out of sight of the camera, but sometimes you will come across the goofy ones who notice that they’re on camera and want to do something stupid or inappropriate. Sometimes they lift up their shirt, say a swear word, start yelling, or even try to interact with the one giving the presentation. This can obviously be an issue because you only have so much time for your presentation, and you may feel like it’s your fault, especially if they do something not suitable for younger people who may be watching the presentation.

If someone tries to do something stupid or inappropriate, the best thing to do is ignore them. They will hopefully see that no one is paying attention to them and walk away. If what they are doing is impossible to ignore, you can politely tell them to stop or make a mature comment that shows you are still the one in control of the situation, such as “The people here are obviously really excited today about ____”, whatever it is you are presenting. This is a really good mature and impressive way to show that those things don’t faze you and you are still in control of the situation even when those things happen. Also, don’t think it is your fault, because some people get goofy in front of the camera and it has nothing to do with you. Just show you are still the one in control of the situation and you will be fine.

What about you? Did someone ever inappropriately interrupt your presentation? What did they do? What were you talking about? What did you do? Let me know in the comments.

Don’t forget to tell all your other friends who are pursuing a communications career to visit this blog for the answers to all their issues!