Five Kinds of Amazing, Part 5: Hypersight and Vision
Five Kinds of Amazing, Part 5: Hypersight The fifth of the Five Kinds of Amazing relates to another branch of mentalism effects which I’ll group under the umbrella term “hypersight.” This category is distinct from the prior one in that while it includes apparent psychic abilities, this specific type of inexplicable knowledge is not derived from mind-to-mind telepathy, but rather from apparent knowledge at a distance without a direct telepathic connection to another mind. What kinds of effects or experiences might be included in this genre? In my own performances, I sometimes call out the serial number of a bank note volunteered from someone’s wallet or purse. This is information that wouldn’t exist in anyone’s mind, waiting to be telepathically read. The information simply exists in the environment and must be sensed through some kind of unusual remote vision. Likewise, a performer who can somehow tell you what items are in your purse, briefcase, or glove compartment would be demonstrating this kind of effect. Examples outside show business might include the “psychic detective” who somehow knows where the body is buried or where some other lost item can be recovered. (I don’t personally believe in the real-world validity of such examples, but they are common enough stories in the popular culture that they serve as a clarifying example.) There are even tales of Cold War experiments in which the concept of remote viewing was explored for the purposes of espionage. I also include in this category any apparent knowledge at a temporal distance – that is, the apparent ability to see into the future. As an example, I have frequently predicted (in the theatrical sense) local newspaper headlines or sports scores that would be reported on the day of my performances. Outside show business, figures such as Sylvia Browne, Jeane Dixon, Uri Geller, doomsday cult leaders and others have taken the prediction game to an extreme, leaving the theatrical framework aside to attempt to convince gullible or heartsick people that they really could see into the future. As a result, these and thousands if not millions of other unethical individuals have made livings and sometimes fortunes by monetizing the misplaced hope of others. It goes without saying that any skill – theatrical, technological, or otherwise – can be used for purposes either good or ill. The underlying concept of precognition or second sight, though, is a truly compelling theatrical idea. It is a startling and amazing thing to think that someone could know in advance the outcome of a crisis, challenge, contest, or any other question or endeavor. So what business competency can we develop that gives our audience this kind of experience, in a positive, inspirational, and ethical way? Vision To answer that, I go back to management consultant Peter F. Drucker’s well-known turn of phrase, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” While perhaps a bit clichéd now, this is an empowering and illuminating idea in several ways, all of which revolve around the concept of vision. First, the direction to create the future assumes a fundamental ability to create. Creativity is an invaluable asset and, while some may demonstrate it in higher degree than others, everyone has the ability to increase and improve their creative output. Once a new product, service, technique, or idea becomes accepted and embedded in the environment, the person, group, or brand that put it there will retroactively be credited with uncanny vision of the future. Second, creating the future assumes a clear goal. Does your brand define clear goals and make it clear that they have been achieved? The pattern of declaration, achievement, and celebration is convincing evidence that there is an evolving but clearly intentional vision for the future of the brand and its relationship to its audience. Third, creating the future hinges on the ability of a leader to inspire action. Whether dealing with a large organization, a small team, or even oneself, the most innovative creativity and the clearest vision are of no use until action is taken. Vision, as a corresponding competency to hypersight, relates to the ability to identify, anticipate, and create trends by innovation and thought leadership. Creativity, clarity, and leadership are the tools that allow you to amaze your audience in this mode.
Five Kinds of Amazing, Part 4: Contact
Five Kinds of Amazing, Part 4: Contact We all want our audiences to perceive our brands as “amazing,” and the “Five Kinds of Amazing” model provides a way to organize our approaches for making amazing experiences happen. In reviewing the first three elements, the magic metaphors all relate to primarily visual experiences. – Talent/Expertise: relating to open and frequent knowledge sharing – Science/Process: relating to embedding unexpected positive experiences in standard processes – Mystery/Empowerment: relating to the overt contradiction of an established process In this article and the next, we are going to shift gears a bit. In the final two categories, we’ll be referring to effects within a particular branch of illusion arts known as “mentalism.” I’ve written about mentalism before, and you may find it helpful in understanding the metaphor by reviewing that article. To summarize, though, mentalism is a branch of the illusion arts that deals with experiences that are more psychological than visual. Instead of more traditional conjuring effects such as objects appearing, floating, changing colors, or being destroyed and restored, mentalism relates to experiences of supposed ESP, mind-reading, mental influence, ability to affect the physical world through the power of the mind, and predictions of future events. Some mentalism effects or experiences relate to the concept of mind-reading. The “Contact” category corresponds to this kind of illusion, in which one person seems to be able to communicate with another person solely through mental power. The apparent ability to read minds or to influence people mentally is a powerful theatrical experience. Classic performers like Alexander and Dunninger and more modern figures like the Evasons and Max Maven have created sensations with their ability to seemingly get inside the minds of other people. Communication In business, contact equals communication. The key factor here is that there are two minds involved – someone is sending the message, and someone is receiving and, more importantly, responding to it. If someone could really read your mind – and let’s say that they can only read it to the extent that you permit them to read it – how do you think you’d feel? Let’s leave aside the possible negative aspects for a moment and just think about some of the other implications. You might feel as if there were a direct and unfiltered connection, and that the communication was practically instantaneous. Depending on how they handled that information, you might develop a deep trust. You’d certainly feel that you had their undivided attention if they were peering directly into your mind. If you want your audience to feel like you’ve made the best possible connection with them – that is, an amazing connection, then it’s up to you to make sure you communicate with them in similar ways: Regularly So that there’s an expectation that you’ll be in touch consistently. Quickly So that there’s an immediacy in the engagement. Honestly So that there’s an establishment of trust. Attentively So that there’s a clear prioritization of that communication. The faster you respond, the more amazing they’ll find that interaction. The more you share honest, useful, information with them, the more amazing they’ll find your brand. The more attentive you are to them in the moments when they are reaching out, the more amazing the story they’ll tell their own audiences. Next time, we’ll wrap up the five kinds of amazing with a look at another type of mentalism experience and how it relates to your brand’s audience!
Captain’s Log: NetFlix Customer Service Boldly Amazes!
4 Great Lessons from NetFlix’s Amazing Customer Service Interaction When I speak to conferences on how to create amazing brand experiences for their audiences, one of the key points is to create amazement within the very processes that your audience would normally consider the most boring or irritating. Tom Cheredar’s post on VentureBeat last week illustrates this in multiple ways. The story describes how a NetFlix customer service representative, Mike, did exactly that. In an online support chat session, he assumed the character of a Starfleet Captain, asking the customer for information as if he were a member of the starship crew. The customer played along, and their subsequent conversation about temporal loops and damage reports became a great example of an amazing brand experience. Make sure to read the entire post here: https://venturebeat.com/2013/10/11/awesome-netflix-customer-service-conversation/, then consider my “lessons learned” below. [spacer size=”50″] 4 Takeaways from Captain Mike and Lieutenant Norm’s Exchange “Captain Mike” is a real person, not a robot or an over-trained, over-regulated customer service android (with no offense intended to Commander Data). His choice to engage the customer in character was bold and a little risky, but he retained the power to abandon the character if the customer didn’t respond positively. The decision to make the interaction fun demonstrates point 2 of my “Five Kinds of Amazing,” namely, the Science/Process experience. This was not really a breaking or rethinking of the rules, but rather an unexpected result that was embedded within the natural processes of the business environment. (Note that while the incident demonstrates that NetFlix empowers their reps to take some liberties with customer interactions, this specific interaction did not demonstrate the Magic/Empowerment experience as it is present in my “5 Kinds” model. This is because there was no coloring outside the lines of policy to the direct benefit of the customer at some cost to the brand; there were no exceptions, extensions, refunds, etc. This doesn’t mean the experience wasn’t amazing; it just means that it was amazing for point 2, not for point 3.) This experience cost NetFlix nothing. It was a direct result of the unleashed creativity of an individual, not a policy. Individuals who act and communicate create cultural influences that lead to more of these experiences more effectively than policy edicts. As a result of the amazing experience, “Lt. Norm” didn’t just want a copy of the transcript to keep, but to share with his network. This is the real evidence of an amazing brand experience – the customer is motivated to tell others about what happened.
Remembering John Calvert
Remembering John Calvert Last Friday the world became a little less magical. John Calvert, a man who was regarded in many entertainment industry circles as “a real-life Indiana Jones,” died on September 27 at the age of 102. Mr. Calvert – despite our friendship, I could never bring myself remotely close to calling him “John” – was legendary in the magic community. He had an enormous illusion show that toured the world repeatedly in the 1940s and 50s. Mr. Calvert would fly the show on his own plane, transport it on his own yacht, and perform it for thousands of people in venues literally spanning the globe. In addition to magic, he was a Hollywood film star. He played “The Falcon” in a number of films, later producing and directing his own movie, “Dark Venture,” set in Africa. His biography, John Calvert – Magic and Adventures Around the World, is the true story of his life and career. If you track down a copy and read it, you’ll realize why I considered him the closest thing to a real-world superhero I ever knew. In July 2002, I booked the then 90-year-old John Calvert to lecture for IBM Ring 9 – The Georgia Magic Club. The lecture venue was the fellowship hall of First Baptist Church of Tucker, a suburb of Atlanta. He and his wife Tammy would arrive at the venue several hours early to load in and set up. I planned to meet them there to assist. As they traveled in a large RV, the plan was for them to simply stay in the parking lot that night before driving off to their next engagement. As was Mr. Calvert’s nature, he arrived a bit early. By the time I got to the venue, he was already in the church office charming the staff with coin tricks and his captivating personality. Nearly 91, Mr. Calvert had driven and parked that giant RV perfectly, and together we unloaded the show and loaded it into the hall. He was a racehorse of a man – tall, broad, muscular, statuesque. He seemed to lift and move heavy loads not just easily but in fact gracefully, doing it without a bit of strain, never getting a hair out of place or wrinkling his clothing. It was almost as if his mere touch caused the curtains and tables and cases and carts and boxes to get out of the RV and move themselves inside by themselves. Once inside, he and Tammy set up the curtains and other pieces of the show. Mr. Calvert took me aside and showed me a case containing about two dozen cassette tapes, each of which was cued to the next piece of music in his show. He explained how I was to play the cue, eject the tape, insert the next one, and play it on the next cue as indicated in his script. He was admittedly not an early adopter of new technology in his later years. After the show and the lecture – during which he mesmerized laymen and magicians alike – he broke down the show and we loaded out. With everything replaced in the RV, we began to settle them in for the night. Except that the power to that outlet wasn’t working. Whether it was a blown fuse or some other problem, I don’t know. But there was no way to power their air conditioner in that parking lot. In July in Atlanta, that’s a significant problem. No worries. I suggested they drive to my home and we’d plug them in there. He drove the RV into my neighborhood, parked it in front of my house, and… that wasn’t working either. The extension cords I had weren’t rated high enough to power what he needed, apparently. It powered some of the things in the RV, but not the air conditioner. So I invited them inside while I worked on a solution. It was rather late, but it was not so late that Mr. Calvert didn’t want to talk about magic. We went down into the basement where my books and props were stored. We talked about performing and traveling. We talked about the business and the art of magic. We talked about relating to audiences and interacting with people. He gifted me with notes and pictures and wisdom from his rich career. By now it was late enough that the idea of driving to a hotel was not appealing to anyone. My wife was out of town, so I suggested that the Calverts take the master suite. I would be honored to have them stay there. We had no guest room furniture at the time, so I planned to take the hide-a-bed in the sofa in our family room. Mr. Calvert, the Hollywood star and globetrotting magic legend, looked me in the eye and flatly refused. I was afraid I had offended him, but that wasn’t the case. To my amazement, he said that he and Tammy would sleep on that couch and I would sleep in my own bed. This was not an acceptable solution to me. John and Tammy Calvert… on our hide-a-bed? It seemed insulting and beneath the level of hospitality that I was determined to show them. I strenuously argued my case, but it was like arguing with a mountain. The decision was made and the subsequent conversation was nothing more than Mr. Calvert’s exercise in seeing how long it would take for me to accept it. Tammy and I made the bed in that fold-out sofa, and there they slept until morning. The next day, I resolved to overcome the previous night’s travesty and take them out to breakfast somewhere nice to give them a great send-off. It was not to be. Tammy had risen before me and had plugged in the extension cord. The power was now working, including the RV’s air conditioner. Who knows why, but everything was now in order. I came downstairs and Tammy was
Five Kinds of Amazing, Part 3: Mystery
Five Kinds of Amazing, Part 3: Mystery In our previous articles we’ve established the “5 Kinds of Amazing” model for delivering brand experiences that create audience amazement. We’ve discussed the first two pieces of the model: – Talent/Expertise: relating to open and frequent knowledge sharing – Science/Process: relating to embedding unexpected positive experiences in standard processes In this article, we continue with the third kind of amazing, the experience of Mystery and its counterpart, Empowerment. Mystery, as we use the term here, relates to the apparent contradiction of a natural law. Most traditional magic falls here – people are cut in half and put back together, or birds appear from nowhere. Even a signed card vanishing and reappearing in a wallet fits here. This is an enormous category but the characteristic of all the effects is that the laws of nature are being visibly contradicted. When an illusionist, either a magician or a mentalist, creates amazement by convincingly appearing to contradict the physical laws of nature, they will elicit a strong response. This response will be proportional to the directness and blatancy with which the law seems to be broken. Earlier this month I saw a show featuring the exceptional South Korean card magician Yu Ho Jin. He stood at the center of a large stage in Las Vegas and, using props that would fit in a lunchbox, he captivated a huge audience. Although he performed at the end of a dynamic, high-energy show full of motion and flash, he stood planted center stage, looking out at the audience with a beatific smile. He transformed a white scarf into a single playing white card. That card was transformed into a pink card, then it changed to blue, then to green. He then reached into the air repeatedly pulling fans of cards from nowhere, dropping them and instantly producing fans of other cards. In a key moment, he visibly tore a playing card lengthwise and held the barest sliver of it in his right hand. The left hand made the other, larger piece vanish completely. The music stopped. In silence, the piece he held expanded visibly, growing at his fingertips until it was a completely restored card. It was as if it were being materialized and reconstructed from the atoms in the air as we watched. That moment was a complete refutation of reality. A gasp went out from the audience. A huge stage, over a thousand people in the crowd, and the defiance of physics in a space of about six square inches caused an honest, uncontrollable emotional response. This was a beautiful experience, and it beautifully illustrates a remarkable point: the power to alter reality in ‘impossible’ ways is charged with emotional potential. So what does that look like on your stage? Empowerment and Brand Engagement In a business, your “laws of nature” are your business processes. These processes describe how your universe is supposed to work. If you choose the right moment to break one of those rules, however, you can create an unforgettably amazing moment for your audience. Most of us can think of a time when a policy was ignored, a rule was broken, or we received some other special dispensation. It makes us feel special when exceptions are made to accommodate our needs or wants. Certainly Ritz-Carlton’s work in going beyond normal expectations is legendary, with a policy that formally empowers every employee to spend up to $2,000 to solve a guest’s problem or rectify a situation. I have personally witnessed how free first class, hotel room, or rental car upgrades can change a bad travel experience into a good one almost instantaneously. Even if upgrading to first class isn’t possible, I still feel special when the flight attendant pops an extra pack of Biscoff cookies in my hand. But just as Yu Ho Jin didn’t need a full stage illusion to break through to his audience and deliver an unforgettable experience, you don’t have to have a Ritz-Carlton budget to create amazing against-the-rules moments. If free gifts aren’t in the budget, there are other ways to show the ability and willingness to color outside the lines. Extending a sale price for a day or two after a sale can create loyalty from a customer who was just price-shopping. Merely going above and beyond in the interest of service can be almost as impressive as a policy break. Earlier this summer, I was on the leadership team for a convention at a large hotel in the Southwest. One of the activities during the convention required a full-length mirror. Rather than charge us to locate or rent a mirror, one of the hotel staff offered to loan us his mirror from his own office. That was unexpected, outside the normal rules, and made a positive impression. Are your employees, managers, or other brand representatives empowered to break the rules if needed in order to ensure that your audience gets an amazing experience? The mysterious, logic-defying feeling of magic is a brand-engagement power that you don’t have to be a wizard to wield.
Miley, Justin, and Personal Branding
Miley, Justin, and Personal Branding I didn’t watch the MTV Video Music Awards last night. I spent the evening listening to old ragtime music on YouTube. But like a man sheltered safely underground while the tornado passes over, eventually one has to come out and walk through the wreckage. So this morning, like many Americans, I turned on the television and the computer and got a massive, if filtered, retelling of the award show escapades. Of course the Miley Cyrus “performance” at the MTV awards was the lead story in multiple outlets. This week we’ll see plenty of editorializing about this young woman’s choices and what they say about her, her family, and the culture in which she has achieved her notoriety. For now, though, let’s just look at two elements of the MTV Video Music Awards and consider what they mean for brands. The obvious story is the Miley Cyrus story. Her hyper-sexualized attire and movement got her in the news, probably in exactly the way she intended. Like Lohan, GaGa, Madonna, and a long line of others going back to time immemorial, she is happy to be discussed regardless of the content of the discussion. Her brand is (currently) built on notoriety and shock value. Rather than being damaged by the incident and the disapproving headshakes of commentators including myself, her brand is probably being strengthened in the eyes of her target audience. However, it will take a constantly increasing level of shock value to break through the ever shorter and more desensitized attention spans of that audience. Whether her body and her psyche are resilient enough to withstand that in the long term remains to be seen. We all know that this kind of behavior has limits and eventually, those limits will be reached. Was she amazing? In my model, she didn’t demonstrate an overt expertise, and she didn’t exploit any hidden properties of natural laws. She didn’t demonstrate an inexplicable connection with the thoughts of others, or the ability to predict the future. What she did – and what all shock performers do – is break the conventional norms. The spectacle of contradicting normal processes and accepted social mores is engaging, even though in this case it was done in a superficial way. So her act may have qualified as amazing on that basis, but because the message associated with that amazing act is questionable, the effect on her brand in the eyes of the public at large is mixed at best. In other words, that “twerking” is basically a conjunction for “not working.” Why JT Got It Right The other big story from the VMAs, though, was Justin Timberlake. His performances managed to break through much of the Miley Cyrus noise to get some positive press. Was Justin Timberlake amazing? He demonstrated quality skills and expertise, and he appealed to nostalgia by putting together a (somewhat) unexpected reunion with N-Sync. By reuniting a group that doesn’t officially exist anymore, he tapped into the “impossible experience” and gave people a fleeting taste of something they can’t really have anymore. He touched on two kinds of amazing – expertise and mystery – and elevated his brand in the process. Contrast this approach with that of Miley Cyrus, who gave people a look at everything and practically begged the audience to take it. Which approach elevated the brand more effectively? Which approach diminished the brand? Be amazing, but for heaven’s sake, be careful!
The Missed Opportunity
The Missed Opportunity for Sales and Branding A few weeks ago I learned firsthand the self-inflicted pain of the missed opportunity. Drawing on both my entertainment career and my formal education in science, I was asked to speak at a science museum on the subject of the relationship of science to the art of illusion. As a former physics major, this obviously sparked memories of many wonderfully mysterious physics demonstrations. There are many such experiments which, as I pointed out in an earlier blog post in the 5 Kinds of Amazing series, reveal hidden but unexpected outcomes in what seem to be predictable, normal situations. I encourage brand managers to engage their audiences by embedding unexpected moments of amazement in their regular business processes. Because amazement is sometimes produced by the unexpected, though, it’s fair to say I was amazed by the turnout for that event. Very nearly 500 people were on hand to see this lecture, which I had originally thought might draw a crowd of 50 to 80 people. Who would have thought so many adults and kids would be interested in the conservation of angular momentum? I certainly didn’t! It should be noted that the museum expected the turnout. I just didn’t do as good a job as I should have done in understanding their plan. An early discussion of the event involved a lower crowd number, but I failed to ask them whether it had grown over the months since we planned the event. They had had a few hundred at a recent event, and they were expecting 400 at this one. Flawed Assumptions Are Costly Because I made a decision based on an assumption and I failed to ask important questions, I made a poor choice that had an even poorer outcome than I expected. Because I expected maybe 75 people, I decided not to bring product to the event. At that time I had only about 20 copies of my book remaining in my personal stock, and I decided not to bother bringing them since they weren’t particularly relevant to my topic anyhow. This meant I had no product available for sale at the event, but I shrugged it off as a small loss. “How many of those 75 people would have bought anything, anyway?” Instead, I missed an opportunity to have hundreds of people leave with a tangible, branded product reminding them of me and the experience I delivered. It was, frankly, a blisteringly dumb move on the part of a brand engagement expert. I struck out looking when I was thrown a fantastic and utterly hittable pitch. I strolled to the platform and watched the train doors close. I bowled gutter balls. I jumbled metaphors with wanton disregard for taste or human decency. The truth is, though, I’m not alone. Many of us have shrugged off what seemed to be small potatoes, only to miss exceptional opportunities on which we should have capitalized. It’s one thing to be unready for an opportunity because you haven’t developed to the required level to seize upon it. It’s quite another thing to be unready because you were lazy or because you underestimated an opportunity. What are you doing to be ready for the opportunities that are already staring you in the face?
7 Tips for Microphones and Meetings
Planning for and Using Microphones: 7 Tips Here are a few lessons learned about planning and using microphones at meetings and events, gleaned from my own experience and experiences from other meeting planners. I hope you find them useful! If you’re a planner, consider the Rule of 30: If your event: – involves more than about 30 people, – has a layout with more than about 30 feet between the speaker and the most distant audience member, or – will last more than about 30 minutes, then you’ll find some degree of voice amplification will help make your meeting or event more effective. When establishing the agenda, consider whether there will be people in the audience that will need to make statements, ask or answer questions, or be recognized. Does your speaker (or panel) have a question/answer session planned? If so, put at least one microphone on a stand in the audience, or have a runner with a handheld microphone ready to move around the audience. Some people feel resistance to using the microphones, but if the meeting is being recorded most of them will go ahead and use the mics. Encourage people to use the microphones so that their questions or comments will be on the recording. By default, try to get your speaker to wear a lapel mic. Infrequent speakers have a tendency to look away from a fixed lectern microphone to see slides while commenting. As they move their heads away, the sound level drops. Likewise, inexperienced or distracted speakers may unintentionally go off-mike while gesturing with the hand holding a handheld mic. Lapel mics help keep speakers consistent in both volume and distance away from the microphone. Experienced speakers almost always prefer the freedom of movement that comes with a wireless microphone, but note that they may wish to use a handheld wireless microphone if they intend to interact with individuals in the audience. The pros put fresh batteries in their equipment for every show for a reason: it’s worth it. Start with fresh batteries for each microphone or transmitter pack. Have a replacement set on hand for every microphone. It can save your meeting from disaster. If your group is in a room with large bare walls, or if you are only taking up half of a large room, consider adding some noise-dampening materials to the walls. Even pipe-and-drape can be effective. Closing off part of a room not only helps the event to feel better attended, it also helps the acoustics of the room and can require a lower gain on the microphones. This reduces noise and the risk of feedback. You can easily avoid the most common sources of feedback. First, performers should remember not to walk in front of a speaker with a live microphone. As a planner, you can help your platform presenters by getting to the venue early and putting down tape to establish a “no mic” zone. Your AV team may be able to tape off some areas in front of the speakers so that there is a visual reminder. Also – if you can’t get the presenter to wear a lapel mic, remind her to hold the microphone within 6 inches of her mouth and speak in a conversational tone. The audio technician will adjust the gain, but if the mic is too far away then the elevated gain makes unpleasant feedback more likely. (You can find more helpful conference audio tips here.)
Reasons To Use a Microphone
Always Use the Microphone Planners, speakers, networkers, on behalf of your audiences and attendees, I beg you: if there is a microphone in the room where your event is happening, use it and make sure everyone else does, too. Plan for it, use it, enforce it, and remember that it’s not just for the others – it’s there for you, too! – Just making a quick announcement? Use the microphone. – Just introducing another speaker? Use the microphone. – Confident you have a loud voice? Use the microphone. – Think it’s inconvenient? Use the microphone. People who are introducing, people who are speaking, people who are transitioning, people who are just making announcements… everyone who is speaking to a group in a professional setting should use a microphone if it is available. Why? Consider the following. Reasons You Should Be Using That Microphone Your job is to make it easy for your audience to get your message. Whether you’re a planner or a speaker, you bear responsibility for communicating your message as effectively as possible. An inability to hear easily, without strain or distortion, is an unnecessary hurdle. Your voice isn’t as loud as you think it is. Many people think their voices are loud and use that as a reason not to use a microphone. A loud voice, though, seems louder to the speaker than it does to the audience. Often, the person who claims “I have a loud voice and don’t need a microphone” is simply making an excuse to cover their fear of using a microphone or of hearing their voice amplified. Even if your voice is loud and you know how to project well, the change in sound makes the presentation disjointed. Good diction and projection are great, but not everyone’s voice has the same volume or timbre. If most people are using the microphone and one person insists on not using it, the drastic change in audio quality is jarring to the audience. Meetings and events run more smoothly. Microphones grant a perceived authority to whomever is using one. The nature of a group is to listen to what is being said on the sound system. This makes a big difference in the dynamics of a meeting, when you may have interruptions or a group discussion that needs to be reined in. You will strain your voice. Unless you are a trained singer, you are likely to strain your voice when trying to sustain the increased volume you need to be heard clearly by even a small group. Most people do not like the feeling of being shouted at or “projected to.” The microphone allows the speaker to maintain an easy, conversational volume and still be heard clearly. Your brand will be perceived negatively by an audience who cannot hear your message. Your personal or organizational brand is not strengthened by an audience experience that includes strain, discomfort, or the intermittent dropping out of the information you’re trying to communicate. Next Blog: Tips on Microphones In our next post we’ll share some helpful tips on the effective use of microphones for planners, speakers, and entertainers.
Costume, Character, and Respect
Costume, Character, and Respect Much has been written on subjects of professional attire, costuming, image, and character. Whether you’re a professional making a business presentation, a performer on a stage, or even a member of a crowd, your choice of attire speaks to the people who see you. Your costume speaks to your audience. What is it saying? Let’s start by allowing the word “costume” to mean not just what we might wear at a masquerade party or in a play, but all the attire we choose to wear in all circumstances. If you are wearing clothing and other people see you, that is a costume and you’re on a stage. Your objectives will vary from stage to stage, from audience to audience, and from costume to costume. Your objectives on your “stage” while getting your tires rotated will be different from your objectives on your “stage” when pitching your business idea to a group of investors. But in both cases, what you’re wearing is your costume for that audience. Costume and Character The first and most important role of costume is to help the audience understand the identity of the character. Before the actor speaks, the audience is judging him based on his shape, movement, and costume. These assumptions will linger and, if incorrect, will become obstacles in that character’s quest to communicate with the audience. Likewise, in our own personal and professional lives, our costume must help our audience understand who we are and what our intentions are. There is a wide spectrum of choices, of course. People making presentations may wish to be seen as authoritative, safe, innovative, trustworthy, or eccentric. People may wish to appear more or less financially successful than they really are, based on their objective or their environment. Performers on a stage may have different or competing objectives. Their director may wish to conceal something about their character for later revelation. A solo act, like a magician, may develop different costumes for different audiences and environments. It’s important to remember, however, that all the choices count whether you intend them to count or not. Whether the choices were made consciously or unconsciously, wisely or unwisely, the audience can and will take your clothing into account as they process your performance, whether you’re pushing a grocery cart at the supermarket or speaking at a TED Talk. Respect for Your Audience, Respect for Yourself Because costumes speak to the audience, we must be careful to ensure that the messages they carry show respect for the audience. Some time ago I attended a show where a performer took the stage with a thoughtful and artistic performance. She was skillful and creative. Her performance, however, was almost completely undermined by her choice of costume. Without going into graphic detail, she was too large and too top-heavy for the clothing she chose. She seemed to want to communicate that her character was mysterious, feminine, and powerful. Instead, she came across as insecure, unaware, and perhaps even a bit deluded. Her failure to recognize that her clothing was not suitable for her performance wasn’t just an indicator of a lack of understanding of her own body, but also a demonstration of a lack of respect for her audience. An audience of people who wanted to love her were uncomfortably awaiting a wardrobe malfunction, wondering if the families with children present were going to make it through the show, and silently rooting not for the performer to be successful, but for the containment to hold everything until the act was concluded. Some may think it insensitive or sexist for me to notice that, since the performer in this example was a woman. The fact of the matter is this: I myself have been the performer on the wrong end of this equation. I gained some weight and insisted on cramming it into my suits. Even though I could see that I was too flabby for my costume, I pretended to myself that I was close enough and that it wouldn’t matter. I have my friend Bob Sheets to thank for taking me aside and telling me, in love and in honesty, that I was diminishing my performance by wearing clothes that were too small for the body I had chosen to put on that stage. I had to respect myself and my audience enough to look at myself honestly, and make decisions about costume and character from that true starting point, not the starting point I used to have. Perhaps we have all been guilty of looking in rose-colored mirrors, but if we want to have an amazing impact on our audiences, we must make choices about costume and character based on reality. Simply put, our audiences should only be asked to suspend their disbelief for our illusions, not for our delusions. There comes a time – or better said, there should come several times – in every performer’s life when he or she takes an honest look at his or her body and assesses it realistically. What we choose to wear is a reflection of our character, our respect for ourselves, and our respect for our audience.
