Episode #133: How Do You Follow On From Really Bad Or Really Great Presenters

Why do so many presenters lose the audience in Japan — and what does that mean for you?

In Japan, it is common to see audiences quietly “check out” during long, monotonous talks. People may fold their arms on the desk, rest their head, and sleep—sometimes even in front of senior leaders or professors. In many 日本企業 (Japanese companies) and 外資系企業 (multinational companies in Japan), this is simply tolerated, especially when the speaker drones on in a dark room with endless slides.

For you as a business leader, the real problem appears at a specific moment: your name is called, and you must follow either a speaker who has put the entire room to sleep or a “superstar” who just received a roaring ovation. If you have no plan for these two extremes, your presentation — and your personal brand — are at risk.

Mini-summary: In Japan, audience sleepiness or over-excitement is normal, not personal. The real issue is whether you have a strategy to follow a boring “audience-killer” or a high-performing “superstar” presenter.

When you are one of several presenters at a conference or internal meeting, you may be waiting in the Green Room, backstage, or in the audience. As you watch the current speaker drone on, you can literally see the audience wilting. In Japan, the “wilt factor” is high and the “wilt speed” is fast. Once the lights are dimmed and the slides appear, many participants slip into sleep with no social pressure to stay alert.

For Japanese audiences, there is usually:

• No sharp elbow in the ribs from a colleague.

• No whispered reminder to “stay awake.”

• No sense that sleeping is a serious breach of etiquette.

By the time your turn comes, part of the audience may be “brain dead” — physically present but mentally gone. If you start your プレゼンテーション研修 (presentation) in a normal, polite tone, you will often disappear into the same fog.

Mini-summary: Following a dull speaker in Japan is dangerous because the audience may already be half asleep, and a “normal” opening will not bring them back.

When you inherit a sleepy room, the first rule is simple: do not start talking immediately.

The previous presenter’s monotonous voice acts like white noise. The audience’s brains have adjusted to the low hum, and many have slipped into slumber. Your job is to break that pattern deliberately.

A practical sequence for Japanese business audiences:

1. Start with silence.

   • Walk confidently to the center of the stage or front of the room.

   • Say nothing for about 20–30 seconds.

   • Look at the audience with calm, composed eye contact.
     This silence acts as a powerful pattern interrupt. It feels like “something has changed,” and sleepy participants begin to surface.

2. Hit them with a strong first sentence.

   • Use a clear, energetic, higher-volume opening line (without shouting).

   • Example: “In the next ten minutes, I’m going to show you how to keep your clients awake, engaged, and saying ‘yes’ to your proposals.”

3. Pause again briefly.

   • A short pause after your strong opener doubles the pattern interrupt effect.

   • The room recognizes that a completely different speaker is on stage.

4. Deliver a truly professional talk.

   • Use vocal variety—not a monotone.

   • Maintain eye contact across the entire room.

   • Use purposeful gestures and pauses.

   • Keep your content structured, relevant, and concise for business people.

5. Avoid high-risk audience interaction.

   • Asking people to raise hands or stand up often fails in Japan because “出る杭は打たれる (The nail that sticks out gets hammered down)” — “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”

   • Instead, refresh the audience with strong visuals, especially photographs of people and real business situations.

   • Use storytelling to pull them into your message, rather than forcing them to perform.

Mini-summary: To wake a sleepy audience, start with silence, deliver a strong opening line with energy, and then maintain engagement through vocal variety, visuals, and storytelling — not through risky interactive stunts that many Japanese participants will avoid.

How should you present after a “superstar” speaker who just wowed the room?

The opposite challenge is just as stressful: the previous presenter was brilliant. The audience laughed, leaned in, and rewarded them with a big, satisfied round of applause. Then your name is called.

Many presenters react badly in this moment by apologizing:

• “I’m not as good as the previous speaker…”

• “I feel really nervous after such a great talk…”

This immediately signals “loser” energy and damages your credibility as a leader.

Instead, here is a professional, culturally sensitive approach for 日本企業 (Japanese companies) and 外資系企業 (multinational companies in Japan):

1. Publicly appreciate the previous speaker.

   • Turn toward the direction they left the stage.

   • Say something like: “Wasn’t that a fabulous talk? Suzuki-san, thank you very much — that was really great.”

   • By doing this, you form a “team” feeling with both the speaker and the audience. You align yourself with their positive emotion.

2. Show confidence, not insecurity.

   • Praising another speaker does not reduce your status.

   • It shows you are comfortable in your own skin and confident enough to highlight others’ success.

3. Use a powerful question or a respected quote to start.

   • After a short pause, launch directly into your content with a carefully designed question:

     • “What happens to your client relationships when your team’s communication fails under pressure?”

   • Or open with a famous quote from someone your audience respects, then immediately connect it to your topic and their reality.

4. Redirect the audience’s mental channel.

   • Your question or quote acts as another pattern interrupt.

   • It gently shifts their mind from the previous topic to your message without sounding jealous or defensive.

Mini-summary: When following a superstar, never apologize. Instead, compliment them, align with the audience, and then pivot with a strong question or quote that redirects attention to the high-value content you are about to deliver.

How does this connect to leadership, sales, and executive presence in Japan?

Every presentation is part of your leadership brand. Whether you are engaging in リーダーシップ研修 (leadership training), 営業研修 (sales training), プレゼンテーション研修 (presentation skills training), or エグゼクティブ・コーチング (executive coaching), your ability to follow weak or strong speakers with confidence is a critical capability.

For senior leaders and high-potential talent in 日本企業 (Japanese companies) and 外資系企業 (multinational companies in Japan), this skill:

• Protects your personal credibility in internal town halls and strategy briefings.

• Strengthens your influence in client pitches and cross-border meetings in 東京 (Tokyo) and globally.

• Supports your organization’s DEI研修 (DEI training) by modeling inclusive, confident communication that respects both high and low performers.

Dale Carnegie has over 100 years of global expertise and more than 60 years of experience in Tokyo helping professionals handle exactly these real-world presentation challenges in Japan.

Mini-summary: Your ability to follow any speaker — boring or brilliant — is a core element of executive presence and business impact in Japan, and it can be trained, practiced, and mastered.

• Always prepare two plans: one for following an “audience decimator” and one for following a “superstar” speaker.

• Use silence and a strong opening to wake up sleepy audiences in Japan without relying on risky participation activities.

• After a top performer, praise them confidently, then refocus the room with a powerful question or respected quote.

• Treat every high-stakes presentation as part of your leadership, sales, and executive brand within Japanese and multinational organizations.

Founded in the U.S. in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported individuals and companies worldwide for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. Our Tokyo office, established in 1963, has been empowering both Japanese and multinational corporate clients ever since.