Understanding the Energy in the Room; Part 1

"I'm only happy when I'm on stage. I just feed off the energy of the audience. That's what I'm all   about- people and laughter." Larry David

Among the many hats a speaker wears is one that reads “Energy Manager.” We know, as do the planners who hire us, that the attendees at a program experience one of two energy flow states. At just about any moment, they're either being energized or they are being drained of their liveliness.

Whether or not the participants remain alert and interested depends on many things, not the least of which is how we understand and direct the flow of their energy, particularly that energy which flows between the audience and ourselves up on the platform. When we say we “connect” with our audience, we are referring to the energy stream flowing between them and us. The quality of this connection with the speaker determines the level of our own success, because the state these attendees find themselves in often determines the level of success the meeting achieves. When the audience is charged by our presence and the attention is directed toward us, we are where we want to be and they are where we want them! This is what is meant by “holding the audience’s attention.”

Understanding the Energy in a Room

The energy level of the audience defines the emotional state of the group in the same way lighting sets the tone in a theater production, where changing lights indicate a shift in mood. In the theater, the illumination fills in the holes and occupies the spaces between characters, events and sets. During a speech in front of an audience, which consists of sets of human relationships (between us and the audience, among the audience members themselves, and between the audience members and the people that are on their minds), the energy illuminates the dynamics of the group. Energy is what fills in the psychic space linking the people who are present in the room.

So it stands to reason that the way we orchestrate the energy in a room essentially has the effect of working like a thermostat, controlling the emotional climate among the attendees. We wouldn’t let the room get too hot or too cold because we need to keep the participants alert and interested in order to make the meeting successful from the point of view of the meeting organizer. Our platform poise serves a purpose similar to that of a thermostat. We are managing many different relationships and people to make a program successful. In essence, we are directing the audience without them knowing it.

The Value of “Authenticity”                                                                                                   The proficiency in developing the ability to “hold the audience” comes from developing that ubiquitous presenters’   buzzword: authenticity. Common wisdom at workshops, conventions and business meetings holds that if you are authentic, the audience will be interested in you. Indeed, authenticity is like a dose of caffeine for the attention span. Being authentic on the platform has the effect of holding the audience’s attention as surely as a magician’s hands do as he weaves the set-up story before the trick. With a magician as with a speaker, we use laser-like intensity to try and find something we know we won’t see. We don’t see how it’s done; yet we enjoy it anyway.

The 3 Components of  Platform Authenticity                                                               Therefore, it makes sense that many a hard-earned speaker dollar is spent on becoming authentic. But what exactly are we buying? After all, being “authentic” means being true to one's own personality, spirit or character. Is that something we need to purchase? Isn’t our source of genuineness always within us? Developing authenticity is a matter of understanding what makes us real on the platform. We can break authenticity down into three elements. We can then nurture the three elements that help make us real, the three fundamental aspects of authenticity that make us attractive to the audience: vulnerability, presence and spontaneity.                                                                                                         

“Understanding the Energy of Attraction, Part 2: The 3 Essentials of Attraction” will be our next months post.

Izzy Gesell (Izzy's website) is an organizational alchemist who helps individuals and organizations transform their thinking from commonplace to extraordinary. Through his keynotes, trainings, coaching and facilitated sessions, Izzy offers imaginative, intuitive and immediately useful insights and programs. He is skilled at delivering meaningful material in a way that makes participants enjoy their time with him.

Izzy was one of the first to use Improv Theater concepts as tools for personal and organizational learning. He is the author of Playing Along: Group Learning Activities Borrowed From Improvisation Theater, a co-author of Cancer & the Healing Power of Play, a co-author of Humor Me: America’s Funniest Humorists on the Power of Laughter, and a contributor of a chapter on Improvisation as a facilitation tool in the IAF Group Facilitators Handbook. "His video course  on Applied Improv for Leadership" for Lynda.com was their first  course shot before a live audience. A second Lynda.com course, "Humor in the Workplace" was recently rele

Ready - Set - Jump

A Flying Finch

What a beautiful fall it has been. Once again, the Northeast has been alive with a vivid array of colors, both on the ground and in the air. I’ve always loved watching clouds.
As a Keynote speaker and presenter, I’ve flown over the tops of the clouds many times. I’d look out at those big fluffy puffy clouds and imagine what it would be like to be in them. They just looked so soft and inviting.

After years of hearing me talk about clouds, my husband surprised me with a gift certificate to go skydiving. Since I am beyond young and daring, I did a tandem jump and was completely hooked. I trusted my guide, so it was nothing but exhilarating and exciting when we stepped out of the plane,leaping into the air. We went into free fall at about 120 miles per hour, feeling the impact of both gravity and the wind. As soon as the rip cord was pulled, everything changed. It was quiet, and I had time to marvel at the landscape below, brimming with color and beauty. The whole experience reinforced my love of nature and life, but it also reminded me how different our views of an experience can be. When I told people what I’d done, many said, “I could never do that.” But what’s fearful to you may not be fearful to me, and vice-versa. 

 

It’s been proven that the number one fear is Public Speaking—not skydiving. The number two fear is meeting strangers. Maybe that’s because we were taught not to talk to strangers when we were growing up. For speakers, that means conquering the two biggest fears known to man—at the same time! Before my jump, I learned that proper preparation is the only way
you can jump with confidence. If you don’t prepare well, it truly is like jumping out of a plane without a parachute. Likewise, taking the time to properly prepare for your speech will increase the confidence you need to jump on stage.

It starts with a proper pre-assessment of your audience. Reach out to your event contact and ask for an introduction to 2 or 3 members of the audience so you can contact them ahead of time. Getting an idea of their expectations will reduce the fear of jumping into a new experience with an unknown group of people. Prior to the event, schedule a few minutes to stand on the platform you will be speaking from. Without the audience there, you will be able to get comfortable with the space you have to work with. Some speakers prefer quiet time before they speak, while others enjoy connecting with attendees, event planning staff, and other speakers before they take the stage. People always feel privileged to meet the speaker ahead of time. As a speaker, the more connection you have with your audience beforehand, the more likely you are to feel comfortable and confident when you stand in front of them.

One must be clear, precise, and active when  jumping out of a plane. Make sure you are clear, concise, and active during your speech. Make sure you have command over the ideas, knowledge, insights, and wisdom you will be sharing. It is a choice. You can let your fears interfere with your ability to jump onto your platform, or you can confidently prepare yourself to jump with both feet. When you chose preparation, you’ll experience that rush of adrenaline and feel free as a bird. 

 

Carolyn Finch is the CEO of Electrific Solutions Inc, the author of Oops! Your Body Language is Showing! and Universal HandTalk, and is a Body Language expert. You can email her at carolyn@carolynfinch.com or bodylanguagexpert@gmail.com. You can also stop by www.carolynfinch.com.