How to Quiet a Large Group

Sometimes event organizers may experience the problem of getting the attention of a large group of people to finally start the team building event. This is especially the case when they may be eating or drinking during a lunch break. What are some ways to quiet a large group of people to finally get started? Different techniques will be mentioned and these techniques will be divided into two different groups.. those that need the use of a microphone, and other creative activities that don’t require one!

 

With the use of a microphone you can:

·       Simply ask them politely.. “Can I have your attention please?”

·       Using a clapping activity through picking up the microphone and saying: “If you can hear me, clap once.” “If you can hear me, clap twice.” “If you can hear me, clap three times.” You can go on as long as you want.. at some point in time, you will have the attention of the entire room and you can begin with your message.

·       Get the attention of the public by using Knock Knock jokes. You, as a moderator, say Knock Knock and the audience will say who’s there, and then you tell them the joke.

·       Using your own mouth and begin to whistle with the use of a microphone

·       Using the “Balloon technique” by popping a balloon in front of the microphone. Used only for extremely radical situations.

 

If you don’t have a microphone, you can do the following:

·       Play music which gets played every time something different is about to happen. You may even want to let the public know beforehand that every time they hear this music, it means that something important will happen. Some recommendations are songs that are funny or songs that everybody knows, such as Mission Impossible or The Adams Family.

·       Create Trivia questions for the public to answer, and then giving them rewards for the right answers.

·       Create visual brain teaser communication puzzles. For example, you may ask the public to draw a box with the word “thinking” that should be placed somewhere outside the drawing.  Some of what has been drawn can then be displayed on the overhead screen to the public, but still leaving some un shown. Once they go for a  lunch break, you can place the rest on the over head screen as they are finished eating to gain their attention again.

·       Use a countdown clock

·       Raise your hand up in the air and wait for everybody in the room to raise theirs with you. A great “shushing” technique without actually telling them to be quiet.

·       Create a fun energizer with the use of hands

·       Using a sharp blast on a referees whistle

·       Get a group of 5 people on stage, from the public, up front with you and give them the challenge in getting the audience to be quiet. This avoids you from doing it, and makes it another fun activity for the public.

·       Going to the tables of each group and placing your own hand on someone’s shoulder and asking them if everyone is ready to start. This technique is perfect for smaller groups of people.

However techniques may differ according to certain factors such as the size, the activity, and the context of the activity. So, choose wisely!