Speakers always need to listen, assess and calibrate the response of their audience. When addressing a large room, the expectation is that you will deliver a solo, rather than an interactive presentation. It is still your responsibility to read body language, e.g. the positive signals of leaning in, smiling, or nodding in agreement vs. shifting and rustling, checking Blackberrys, or dozing off. And when you assess negative signals, experienced speakers nimbly adjust their presentation to engage the audience.
However, one-on-one or with a small group, speakers must keep the flow of energy and dialogue immediate and constant. Interactivity is particularly critical when pitching for new business. If you talk too long, are unobservant when others want to enter the conversation, or make it about you rather than them, you may well end up with polite, passive receivers. And when a potential client has not participated in the meeting and ends with a cool “thank you”, don’t expect business, referrals or a relationship to ensue.
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