"Make your audiences remember your magic shows."Interactive Approaches to PerformancesBy J C SumMake Your Performance More Interesting Let Your Audience Remember You and Your Performance Does the above look like an advertisement for some ‘miracle’ performance tool? Well, actually, it is what an interactive approach can do for your performances. Regardless of whether you are performing a stand-up act, kids show, illusion show or close-up mingling act, these tips can help you improve your performances. In general, people prefer to play an active rather than a passive role. With audience’s spoiled for choice, used to speed and instantaneous results, attention spans are much shorter than before. Interacting with the audience can be very effective and powerful in enhancing performances and making them more effective. Interaction need not be Obvious Most people think that interactive approaches to performance involve drastic measures to involve the audience. This is simply, not true! Interaction can be as overt as calling for volunteers on stage but it can be as subtle as stimulating mental responses in the audience. Audiences who are attentive to your presentation and acknowledge their understanding of your points through body language, is in itself a subtle form of interactive presentation. Interaction is a dialectic relationship between the audience and the performer. Communication is a two way street and as a performer, you must be aware of your audience’s responsiveness. Reacting to audience’s responses is part of the interactive approach. 5 Tips to Increase Interaction in your Performance Here are 5 Tips to Increase Interaction in your Performance * Enthusiasm * Dynamic Movement & Gestures * Eye Contact * Walk toward the audience/ Move into the crowd * Humor Enthusiasm Enthusiasm is contagious. If you are enthusiastic about interacting with the audience and listening to their responses, the audience will soon be equally enthusiastic. The audience can pick up on your enthusiasm and will respond positively if they believe you are sincere. Dynamic Movement & Gestures Dynamic movement and gestures help to express and emphasize your enthusiasm. In addition, gestures can be used as clear indications that you are looking for responses to your performance. Body language on the performer’s part, such as open hands with arms spread apart can visually include the audience in your 'performance scope' and help captivate them. Also see our article on Applause Devices. Eye Contact This is an essential technique that a performer must master. Good eye contact establishes rapport with the audience and is an interactive technique. Audience members feel respected and appreciated when they are talked to, rather than talked at. Eye contact also helps the audience respond better. When they feel you are talking to them, it is natural for them to respond to you. Questions asked will be answered; not necessarily out loud, but by nods and other means of communication. Here is an additional tip to make it seem as you are looking at everyone in the audience. It is the T/V model. Look out at the audience and draw an imaginary letter T and letter V on the audience. The top of the 'T' is the back row of the audience and the vertical stroke runs down the centre of the audience. the base of the 'V' is you and the two strokes run 45 degrees through the left and right of the audience. This is the direction your eyes should be looking in throughout your performance. This T/V approach will give the impression that you are looking at most of the audience. Walk towards the audience/ Move into the crowd This is one of the easiest but most effective ways to increase interaction in your presentation. Gain rapport with your audience by walking towards and talking to the audience. Walk towards your audience without being too intimidating and do not invade their personal comfort zone. Physically moving in the crowd is a step further. This can be very effective as well if the seating arrangement permits and if you have a purpose to do so. For example, if you are looking for volunteers, going into the crowd to ‘pick’ candidates will be more effective than looking for friendly faces from the stage. Humor Getting the audience to laugh is an interactive approach as the audience’s laughter is a positive response to you humor. Adults like good humor. You don't have to be a comedian to incorporate a bit of fun into your presentation. A true story about yourself can lend credibility and show you to be human. Either your visuals or your speech may be used as vehicles for incorporating some humor into a presentation. However, do not tell a joke or show a cartoon just to be funny. Instead, use them to get across your message. Using situational comedy is a great way to create interest in the presentation. A cardinal rule is to never make fun of others. Never get a laugh at the expense of anyone, except maybe, yourself. Experience will teach you how to create humor out of situations. Adlibbing to interruptions, unexpected questions and accidents can be very effective in maintaining interaction with your audience. Beware!!! In all of the above 5 tips, a potential tendency is to overdo it. Don’t! Moderation, practice and experience are the keys to have a good balance in your presentations. An Important Consideration An important consideration to factor in when using interactive approaches is the profile of the audience. Different audiences may react to different type of interactive approaches. Age, gender, culture, race and professional position are all factors that may hinder and increase the effectiveness of interactive approaches. Be sensitive to your audience.
We hope that all this information will help you in staging a more effective performance. Get Them Involved! © Copyright 2004 by Concept:Magic. No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, now known or to be invented, without permission in writing. This article appears with written permission from J C Sum Privacy Policy & Terms of Service  |