It’s the Timing 

It is true in love and business and any career involving you and an audience. No matter whether you are a motivational speaker, keynoter, or breakout speaker, timing can make you or break you. Unfortunately, timing can not be learned, as it falls into that mysterious realm beyond your control - either you are born with it or you’re not. I do believe, however, that timing can be improved - not just through a process or a series of steps, but through a state of mind. Aside from learning some basic tricks (like slowing down, counting, not stepping on your laughs, etc.) you can also learn to see your performance in new ways. Today, we are going to view it as a dance - a dance between you, the performer, and your partner, the audience.

You Take the Lead
As a performer, you have spent years crafting your art - learning the steps to your dance. You are the lead. If your performance art is one like dancing or acting, your audience is on the outside looking in and there is no partnership. In this case I am referring to other art forms - like comedy, storytelling, improv, magic, and music, to name a few - where you are cultivating a relationship with your audience. You lead the dance, but you are taking the audience along on the journey.  So how do we relate an audience to a dance partner?

Each Dance Partner is Different
Every audience you have will be different no matter what the variables. Surprisingly, the mood of the audience will be different at the end of the show than at the beginning. Every audience comes to the dance with different experiences and expectations. There is a definite mood to each audience. Quite often performers will warn each other of the temperament of the audience. I’ve gotten the heads up from other speakers:”They’re worn out from the breakouts today. They just want to get out of here.” On other occasions, I gotten: “Great crowd. They just want to laugh.”  Or, “The guy with the foul content has got them riled up.” Your dance partners change. Each partner has its own rhythm, moods, likes and dislikes.  An audience can collectively change moods based on what happens in the performance. Comedy clubs are a good example, especially in how the comedian handles a heckler. In most cases the audience will side with the comedian, unless the comedian delivers a jab the audience considers too brutal. At that point, the audience will normally side with the heckler out of sympathy.. It’s not something planned, it just happens.

You and Your Partner Must Follow the Same Rythm
If every audience is different, then you must be flexible enough to adjust to your audience. Sometimes you get information about your audience in advance. But most of what you will glean will happen while you are on the stage. As a speaker you not only have the responsibility of engaging your audience, you must also read them - subtle and not so subtle nuances such as facial expressions, volume and tenor of laughter, posture, and other cues that you pick up because of your experience on the platform. You lose your ability to read the audience if you get consumed with remembering your lines, or pushing material on an audience that’s started to fade. You must stay in the moment. You must be able to pick up on the attitude of the audience. If they are laughing, then your jokes are working. If they are looking confused then your ideas aren’t reaching the target. If they are sleeping or throwing tomatoes, you’d better resort to your backup plan. Be flexible enough to change depending on your partner. Remember that you’re not up there on stage to deliver every word of your show if it kills them. It’s your duty to give your audience an experience that they will enjoy and remember. That is your obligation, not theirs. You’re not dancing for them, you are dancing with them.

At times your partner might get distracted, and you’ll have to get them back.Things occur that are beyond your control. A loud speaker in an adjoining ballroom can distract the audience. A door slams. A member of the audience can have a sudden health problem. You can’t eliminate distractions in your show. Handle them when they occur and don’t worry about them. Face the distractions head on and address them if necessary. Remember, you’re leading in this dance. Your partner need to know that you have the situation under control and that everything will be alright. When the distraction has been dealt with, reach into your magic hat and use whatever tricks you have to get them back. For example, if you are coming up on a critical part of your story when a distraction occurs, then delay it until you have control again.

If You Don’t Learn the Steps Your Partner Won’t Know Them Either
Your audience deserves a polished performance. The stage is not the place to develop your presentation. It is not the place to wing it. You owe each audience your best whether they’re paying you the big bucks or giving you chicken and iced tea. There is no room for mediocrity. The best marketing advice I can give you, as an artist, is to be great at what you do.

Sometimes You’re Not a Good Fit - Find Another Partner
No one can please every audience. Deal with it. Aim for 80 percent. Understand that not every group is right for you, and it takes time to figure out where you belong. Sometimes the process can be agonizing. Everyone has a place. Just keep your eyes open and keep working at it. Don’t force yourself where you don’t belong. And don’t think that everyone should be enraptured by what you’ve got. 

Remember, a Dance Should Be Fun
Remember why you do what you - because you love it. Of course you’ll get nervous. You may have just given the worst performance of your life. Maybe the entire front row was asleep. So you were fighting a cold and a case of athlete’s foot. Welcome to the club. We’ve all had days when our passion becomes more work than fun. That’s part of it. That’s nothing out of the ordinary. The key is to find the balance. To stay in touch with your reasons for doing this. Hold on to the part of you that is zealous. Don’t get so swept up in what you think you’re supposed to do that you forget what you want to do, or you’ll soon find that you’ve stopped enjoying the dance.