How do you adjust your speech for hostile audiences?

As a former felon, I speak to natural enemies when I address law enforcement about financial crime. I was used to disapproval and folded arms from in-person audiences, but the first time I spoke remotely I saw negative chatter onscreen that previously would only have been whispered among attendees out of my earshot. It takes ice-breaking to reach an audience who doesn't want to hear from a guy like me. But the common ground we occupy is a desire to thwart fraud. So I stick to facts from my history or other cases I examine, and with those facts in common I talk about how each side looks at them differently. I then move on to how investigators can use the different perspectives to their advantage.

Speaking on most of the topics that I do, most of the time there will be some hostility; however, just like on your suggestion, knowing the crowd in advance, backgrounds, interests and background/geographical area is my go to to minimize trigging conflict. Another thing is that I address from the beginning that everyone's opinion is valuable as long as is with facts and respect. Building a rapport and being as genuine as possible, knowing my topic/s very well and feeling confortable with the information provided on my speeches allows me to have a better grasp of any situation.

Using relatability to establish trust is vital. You don't want to overdo it but you do want to reference anything the audience might be familiar with or use humor to break the tension.

Use storytelling and examples: Use engaging stories and real-life examples to illustrate your points. Storytelling can capture the audience’s attention and make your message more relatable and memorable.

Address objections directly: During your speech, anticipate potential objections and address them openly and honestly. Acknowledge different viewpoints while presenting evidence and examples to support your message.

Encourage different perspectives, but remain in control of the content and time. Tactfully redirect objections and/or acknowledge valid points. Consider any objections received when preparing for presenting the same content to a different audience.

When facing a hostile audience, I've found it helpful to find common ground between the content I'm presenting and their concerns. It's a bonus if you can get the audience to recognize each side has a similar end goal in mind, but the path to get there may look different.

Ask them what they’re hostile about. Don’t ignore the elephant in the room. Don’t discount their feelings and perceptions stop acknowledge and work through it together.

Remaining flexible will allow you to address the audience's concerns directly. Be willing to listen and acknowledge challenges the audience members may be facing.

One thing I’ve always found useful is to let the audience participate and share their own perspectives- it allows for the spotlight to be off your topic and to gain insight to what’s driving the hostility by listening to what they say.. then they start discussing among each other and the hostility dissipates as the crowd starts to see that there are many differing opinions among themselves. All the while a your role is simply to facilitate that conversation amongst them