Read the Room, Dude.

Here’s a peeve of mine. I won’t call it a "pet" peeve because I like pets and I do not like this peeve.

I go to an event. There’s a stage of sorts, whether it be a real stage or just a zone where the people are going to speak. We get settled in our spots to watch the talking, and the talker comes out into the space.

And then… They stand somewhere terrible. Suddenly, it doesn’t matter how pretty the lights are, how many decorations there are, how nice the crest on the podium looks. None of that matters because the speaker is standing somewhere terrible.

Usually, it’s too far back. They think “center stage is good” but they don’t realize that “center” in this room is actually a dead zone.

But sometimes it’s too far forward. “Closer to the people is good for the people!” But nope, because when they’re downstage all the way, the lights can’t hit them.

And then there’s our friend who doesn’t think about it at all, so they plant themselves in a weird zone to the side, usually too close to a podium, wall, or piece of furniture. This is the pit of despair where nothing is satisfying.

So what to do? How do you tend to your body in space so your audience is not distracted and can both see and hear you?

You “read the room!”

1. Get in that space and stand at the very back, looking at the stage area from the audience’s perspective. What is the most aesthetically pleasing place on that stage? What do you notice that you can only see from the audience side of things?
2. Then, get ye to the stage. Flip the whole thing around and feel where you sense the most power in the room. Maybe it’s center stage. Maybe it’s actually downstage left, counterbalancing the podium that’s upstage right. Take a moment to really suss this out.
3. If you can, ask for the stage lights to be turned on. You’ll know you’re “in your light” when you feel like the sun is basking upon you fully - not like you’re half cut off from the sky, with your poor torso cut in twain.
4. Then, finally, look out at the audience and ask yourself, “How far do I need to push my energy for everyone in this room to feel included?” Microphone or nay, this is probably the most important question you can ask when you’re reading a room.

“Ok,” you say. “But this sounds like expert sh*t and all I’m doing is introducing my boss at an internal work event.” Send me a picture of the room where you’ll be speaking and I’ll read it for you. I’ve been reading rooms in this way since 1998 (the year I directed my first play). It’s kinda my parlor trick.

I got you.

ps. I'm serious about this offer - send me a message or email with a picture of any room you'll be speaking in and I'll give you the 5 things you need to know about the space. (Actually, send two pictures: one from back of the room facing the "stage" and one of the audience from the speaker's perspective.)