Bad Buzz - Yeah, I remember my first beer ...

In the search for "How to respond to bad social media buzz", I found a number of comparisons to responding to other social circumstances. Yesterday I blogged about the comparison of Responding to a bad report card vs. Responding to bad social media buzz. Today I'm blogging about a similar comparison of Handling a hecker vs. Responding to bad social media buzz.

Today's title reflects a famous retort by Comedian Steve Martin who in response to a heckler threw back "Yeah, I remember my first beer."

Handling a Heckler
Today my sources are:

• eHow.com by Blake Guthrie,
• Toast Masters by Mary Ward Menke, and
• Wikipedia, by a cast of thousands.

Hecklers heckle for a couple of reasons:

• Some people may just want to participate with the performer, or
• Some people want to to give them something to bounce off of and add humor to the show.
• Of course, the third reason is that they just may be so dumb and drunk that they don't know what they are doing :^)

You have to be very careful about how you respond to a Heckler. Generally, there are three ways you can respond to a Heckler:

• Ignore the interruption and continue,
• Use humor, such as good-natured joking, typically to land a well-placed insult that embarasses them into being quiet, or
  
• Ask them to behave or get out.
  

If you can't control the Heckler through these methods the Heckler can take control of your show, and ruin you!

If you choose to go the route of using humor, then it is critical that you:

• Study some of the greats ... Steve Martin, Andy Kaufman, Jerry Seinfeld, Rodney Dangerfield, and so on. Watch for their responses, and timing.
  
• Be aware of your timing. You can't be too slow, you can't be too fast. You have to allow an appropriate pause. You can't let it sit too long. Your response has to make it apparent that you have a sharp wit, and that the Heckler shouldn't re-arm and take a second shot at you. Your response should also not take over your show or presentation. It must be controlled. It must not be obsessive, but it should be really fun and also make other people think twice about heckling you.
• Have a stash of great comebacks and know how to improvise on them to fit the situation so it seems like you just made it up. Don't copy the comedic greats. Perhaps borrow from them, but don't copy. Also, practice your delivery. But ensure you keep yourself crisp. Every comeback line must seem fresh and spontaneous

The final approach is to simply call the person out, tell them they are rude, and ask them to stop or leave the show. If they won't do either, call on a bouncer to bounce the Heckler the heck out of there.

In comparison to the guidelines for responding to bad social media buzz:

• Be careful - Absolutely. Being careful is key, otherwise the Heckler will own you and your show. Same deal with social media. One badly placed response to a blogger, and you will live with your brand will be flogged on the web in perpetuity.
  
• Contest fraudulent / wrong comments - This is clearly different. In responding to a Heckler you want a one-way conversation. On the web with Social Media, you are trying to engage in a conversation.
  
• Write a response - While with the response to a Heckler you are trying to be inflammatory and make them stop talking, with the response to a Blogger you either want to engage them in a conversation or choose to ignore them. When you engage them your goal is probably to let them know you hear their problem and find a resolution that leaves them singing your praises. On the other hand, when I choose to ignore a Blogger it is typically because their blog is full of profanity or generally their credibility seems really low (that's a judgment call you have to make some times).
  
• Fix the problem & upload a proof (like a picture) to prove the fix - Well - it is kind of the same. When you are responding to a Heckler you fix the problem by making them put a cork in it. Okay, really, the two approaches are not the same. When you fix the problem in a response to bad social media buzz, you need to actually solve the problem and provide proof in a Blog response that the problem is fixed. You may even fix it so well that you blog about the problem and the fix on your own corporate site!
  
• Report findings back into the company - If you fix a Heckler, then the Heckler shuts up or leaves. When that happens it is important to make a mental note of how you did it. What you said, what your timing was, and what the audience's reaction was. Then repeat that in the future! Same sort of deal for responding to bad social media buzz. You should create a stock library of conversational responses that you can use to start your response to blogs. You will probably find a lot of similar social media buzz, and consequently you can customize and re-use responses that have already proved effective.
• Participation becomes content - Ever so true! You only have to think about Steve Martin's "I remember when I had my first beer," Rodney Dangerfield's "Hey buddy you oughta save your breath. You'll need it later to blow up your inflatable date, no offense, " or Jerry Seinfeld actually visiting a Heckler at work.
  
• Bring in a professional - This is parallel to joining Toastmasters or going to a stand-up comedian course to help you learn how to respond.
  

So, there we go, the model for dealing with a Heckler is somewhat similar to the model for dealing with bad social media buzz.

By the way, the Wikipedia entry is great because it lists 30 or more famous heckling responses - including the Steve Martin quote.