Own the Stage
In my previous post I was talking about the importance of non-verbal communication, involving gestures. This time I thought I would mention some other aspects of physicality which are worth remembering.
Stance
In the BBC comedy series ‘Blackadder the Third’, George IV as Prince Regent, portrayed by Hugh Laurie, hires a couple of actors to teach him public speaking. Their idiotic advice includes the stance of a hero, with legs splayed ridiculously far apart.?
The actor proclaims, “Your very posture tells me, here is a man of true greatnessâ€
To which Blackadder interjects, “Either that, or here are my genitals, please kick themâ€
In reality, legs should be roughly shoulder width apart.
View Point?
Remember that from the point of view of the audience your left is their right. Sometimes this requires you to reverse your movement. For example, if you’re depicting something involving the passage of time, logically the audience would expect you to move from left to right. (i.e. right to left from your point of view).
Spatial Positioning
Comedian Eddie Izzard (one of my heroes) is a genius at using space. He can effectively portray having a conversation playing both roles. His sketch on frustration with computers is very clever…
You don’t have to go to his extremes but, never the less, remembering to use space when story telling lifts it to a new level.
?
Small changes can have a big impact. What non-verbal strategies do you employ when speaking?