Does Size of Audience Matter When Giving a Presentation

As a speaker and author, I give presentations to libraries, service organizations (Rotary, Kiwanis, Optimist), retirement communities, book clubs and other groups. Does size of audience matter when giving a talk?

My objective is to give the best speech I can no matter what the size of the audience, It’s always good to have a large audience, but some of the best groups I’ve spoken to have had a small number of attendees.

So what do I get out of giving presentations? Some organizations pay an honorarium but most service organizations don’t have a budget for speakers. My only condition is that I’m allowed to sell books at the end of the presentation. The number of books sold may vary wildly. I recently sold 24 books to an audience of 11 people. I have also sold only a handful of books to large audiences. But there are secondary results as well. Some people later order e-book editions. I’ve also had numerous follow on requests for presentations from people who heard my talk. And by building readership through presentations, word-of-mouth about my books gets around. Another important aspect for me is that I meet wonderful people and give them a chance to have a good laugh with my humorous and entertaining talk.