Terry Fox Theatre

In the Owning the Stage series, our aim is to bring you tips, tricks, and techniques that will help you to increase your confidence, power, and presence when performing. The very best tips, however, are the ones that can be applied not only to theatre performances or presentations, but to life in general. After all, when Shakespeare wrote the famous line "All the world's a stage," various versions of the phrase, all with the same meaning and connotations, had already seen wide use. We are all actors, presenting a different face or aspect of ourselves to different people, and are often put into positions where we need to perform for fun, profit, or necessity. We strive to put forth the best face that we can, and there has been many a self-help book written to help us do just that.

All we really need, though, is a few acting lessons and the willingness to broaden our scope of vision, applying the transferable skills we learn there to increase our confidence, ability to articulate, and overall performance in life, the theatre, and everything. In this particular instalment of Owning the Stage, we address how to keep your audience listening, especially in the face of lengthy monologues and speeches -- such as the one you just read...

photo by flatearththeatre

We all have moments where we need to speak at length, whether they be in the theatre delivering lines from a brilliant play, a presentation for work, marriage vows, or a heartfelt plea to a loved one as to why they should stay. The key to successfully delivering your particular monologue or speech is so obvious that it approaches the ridiculous -- but it is also so often overlooked that it facilitates the truth of the phrase "common sense is not that common." That key is this: Know who you are talking to -- and then speak to them accordingly.

About now, you may be rolling your eyes and saying things to yourself like "Thanks for that bit of the obvious, jerk..." -- but bear in mind that, when under pressure, and especially when reading, over speaking what is in your mind, it is all too easy to get caught up in the words themselves, forgetting that those words are supposed to draw an action from their intended audience. Your audience. You aren't just reading to them, you are attempting to inform, inspire, and for the love of all that's holy, keep them interested enough to let you get to the end! You want a targeted emotional response, and if you don't know who your audience is, why they should be interested in what you have to say, or how you should speak to them to achieve the best chance of getting the result you are looking for, then you are most likely going to fail. And many people do just that -- every day. Some people are doing it right now, while you read this.

So, before you deliver any sort of monologue or speech, ask yourself the following: "Who am I talking to?" Even more important than the question, however, is your ability to get past the immediate and obvious answer of "the audience" (or your client, potential boss, blog readers, significant other, etc.), and have prepared a mental profile of who they really are. Once you know what they want, need, respect and expect, you will understand your best approach to keep them listening, and will stand a much better chance of achieving your goal response.

How do you keep your audience listening?