Effective Evangelism?

1Cor 9:16  For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

How effective are some types of evangelism?  I ask that because the other day I was scheduled for jury duty.  While I was standing in line with a large number of "citizens" waiting for the courthouse to open and go through security, a well-dressed man began to preach to all of us standing in line.  All the while another man passed out tracts to everyone standing in line.  It was obvious that they had done this many times before. 

So here we were a captive audience (there was nowhere to go, but wait).   I began to watch people in line.  Most didn’t pay this guy any attention; others carried on conversations with others in line, some laughed or talked on their cell phones.  After the preached was finished I didn’t see anyone respond to his follow up.  It made me think about how effective is this guy in evangelism?

I am not against street preachers at all and I realize everyone has a calling from God and they have to be obedient to that calling.  I am just wondering is this really effective?  And if the street preacher is obeying God, then he has done his job and he did it well.

What do you think is effective evangelism?  Do you think the scenario that played out at the courthouse was effective?  The verse above states, "Woe to me of I do not preach the Gospel".  Do you think we can miss God's call to preach by not taking advantage of scenarios like this?  Do we miss an opportunity to evangelize because it may seem "inappropriate"?