Are Theatre and Professional Speaking Really that Different?

Recently I adjudicated at a youth theatre festival in New Hampshire.

As an adjudicator I was there to offer professional feedback on 5 performances over the course of an 11 hour day.

As an executive leader you speak a lot, you lead teams or perhaps entire companies, moulding vision and direction, and as such, you’re actively involved with communication all the time. I’m curious to see if what follows resonates with you…

Here’s a list of the most repeated feedback I gave to performers at the festival:

➡️ If we can’t hear you we miss the key story points - when actors do not have the skill or the awareness to know how to fill the theatre with their voice, the audience simply can’t hear the story. When the audience gets lost they check out. Audibility is key to a successful performance.

➡️ When your delivery is too fast we cannot understand you - Actors sometimes play with quick tempo as a character choice or for emphasis on specific lines. This can create humor and bring attention to key points, but quick tempo with no clarity is wasted energy because the audience cannot understand you. This requires a targeted warm up to make sure the points you make with a quick tempo don’t get lost.

➡️ Your body is a part of every line you say, every choice you make, every reaction you have. Don’t get stuck being a talking head - the audience is seeing the whole picture of you, so your body must be engaged in everything you do. Our eye goes to where there is movement, so when you speak, your body needs to wake up too so that we know YOU are the person we need to look at.

➡️ How do the stories and lines you say AND hear impact your inner world? When you invest in the story you tell and let it move you, the audience will go with you, they will invest more in you when you show the vulnerability to be moved. When you react authentically to what’s being said, the story of the play becomes more clear, more truthful, and more impactful, and you help the audience know how they should be responding.

Every one of these points applies to professional public speaking and presenting.

Do you agree?

Which one resonates most for you?