Chapter XIV · Principle 5
How to Perform
Sections
- 01How to PerformIn rehearsal, there are no mistakes and nothing can be seen as ‘failure’ – we try things out, and some don’t work as well as others.
- 02Get Psyched UpDon’t sleepwalk into a performance. You should be nervous, so you can turn the adrenaline of stress into the energy of performance. It can be easy to forget that some aspects of our work are, indeed, performances. We go into the situation with little preparation…
- 03Calm DownControl that energy: before you step onto the stage (or into the meeting), take a minute to control your breathing and focus on the things you are experiencing. Be aware of the tension in your shoulders and throat, the tremor in your hands, and maybe…
- 04Stay AwareWhen you hit the stage, try to be aware of your body posture at all times. Top performers control their every gesture; nothing happens without thought and control. A lot of the time, nothing happens, which is a big part of having ‘presence’.
- 05Stay FocusedFocus on one thing only: your performance. If you watch athletes or racing drivers just before a race begins, you will see a kind of inward gaze – they have ‘turned off’ all distractions and are focusing all of their attention on their coming performance.…
- 06Stay ConnectedKeep connected to what is happening around your performance. What are your fellow performers doing? What is the audience doing? React to that. Be there for your fellow performers and for the audience.
- 07Tell the StoryWe have looked at the importance of ‘telling the story’ in everything we do. Make sure that your narrative is clear – that it has a beginning, a middle and an end. Every aspect of our performance must reflect the shape and detail of our…