Quora Answer: How Do You Manage Audience Laughter if You are the Speaker?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “How do you deal with the public’s laughter if you are a public speaker?” 

It depends if they are laughing with you, or if they are laughing at you.  If they are laughing with you, you have succeeded in getting an attention.  If they are laughing at you, you have succeeded in getting their attention, but you manage it differently. 

A speaker who can laugh at himself is comfortable with who he is.  When people laugh at you, then roll with it, and turn it into self-deprecation.  Depending on the nature of the speech you are giving, you can seize upon it and make a point.  People have the shared fear of public ridicule.  They laugh at others, they may feel embarrassed for them, and this is an opportunity to get them to reflect on it, and emphatise.  Just as a good speaker is able convince the audience that he represents their collective aspirations, he is also able to make the audience walk in his shoes.