One of the cardinal rules of public speaking is Never Confuse Your Audience.
There are a number of reasons why you shouldn’t confuse your audience.
First, if you confuse an audience, you lose them.
People will do their best — for a while, at least — to follow your logic, to ferret out your main point, to understand what you’re getting at.
But when they can’t make sense of what you’re saying, they’ll tune you out. They’ll stop listening. And you’ll have to do something dramatic to win back their attention.
Second, if you confuse an audience, you risk making them mad.
They’ll resent you for making them feel stupid or for wasting their time. And then there’s almost nothing you can do to win back their goodwill.
Third, if you confuse an audience, they’ll oppose you and whatever you’re proposing.
When you lose their attention and their goodwill, you lose their respect as well as their willingness to cooperate with you.
Fourth, if you confuse an audience unintentionally, you’re inept, but if you confuse them intentionally, you’re ethically challenged.
But intentionally confusing an audience can be an effective rhetorical strategy.
