Your Audience is Your Script                                                      

by Lynn Grasberg

My wonderful students are giving a graduate performance on Thursday as a completion to their Power and Presence presentation skills training. For two months, they've been doing brilliant work in their class and coaching sessions with me. But the approaching performance gives everything an edge. Now they'll be standing on a stage, speaking to a live audience. What if they forget what to say? What if their voices go dead? What if they just plain drop dead?!! What if? What if? What if . . .

Some of them are having trouble getting themselves to invite people. One of them has an easy time inviting neighbors and casual friends but not her husband. One can't think of anyone to invite EXCEPT her husband. We brainstorm, laugh and shake a little, and the list of invitees gets longer.

We find more reasons to laugh, warm up our bodies and our voices, and then each student takes two turns speaking on a small, improvised stage. The first time is "just for fun" (though the camera is rolling). One by one, the speakers put on ridiculous "expert" glasses and expound on randomly chosen subjects for the sheer joy of language and silliness. The second round is more serious. One man delivers a Shakespearean monologue and shows how he has crafted it into the opening and transitions of his keynote speech. Our resident therapist gives a riveting talk about how our experiences in the womb affect us into adulthood. We hear talks and stories about aging, how to delegate and get help when you own your own business . . .

What Was I Going to Say?

One woman has a lapse in memory and jokes about having a "senior moment."

"Nope," I say. "This can happen at any age. It's just fear that can make you forget. Let's review what we've learned to do when this happens.

"First, wiggle your toes or any other part of your body, and make sure your belly button is moving … so you know you're breathing. (This is a reliable proof that you are really NOT DEAD.) Now, while you're pausing, look your audience in the eyes to find the next thing you are going to say. Don't rush the pause – this is when you get to take each other in and that relationship tells you what to say.

"Your audience is your script. You are speaking in relationship and response to who is in front of you. You know what you are here to say and these people are here to hear it. They've been waiting for someone to model simple presence and humanity the way you do naturally when you slow down and notice them."

By the end of the class, faces are more relaxed and everyone is looking forward to the performance. Of course, just as in "real life" nobody can predict what will happen. Luckily, we're tough and tender and ready for surprises.

Copyright © 2005 Lynn Grasberg