My father moderated a panel discussion of Nobel Laureates at Arcosanti. When he looked out into the audience, he noticed that everyone seemed bored, tired, hot. So, he moved the panel off the stage and into the audience. By changing the space, he changed the dynamic, and the speakers and audience came alive! My dad owned the space and used that sense of ownership to enhance the audience’s experience. Whenever I walk into a new performance, presentation, or training space, I explore every nook and cranny: the back row, the balcony, the banquet tables, the risers, the stage, the conference table, the backstage, the orchestra pit, the closest seats, the farthest seats, the exits and entrances. I sit, stand, run, hop, inhale, and allow myself to inhabit the space. The Ariel Group has a wonderfully simple exercise we used in our corporate trainings: …Read on.

Have you ever given a talk, told a story, or had the same conversation one too many times? Although I will always push people to do Extreme Preparation, there are certainly situations when the content is so old it might become stale. In these moments, we can easily disconnect from our audience or partner or team and just, “phone it in” as we say in the theater. Meaning, we turn on the inner tape recorder and get back into bed mentally.

What are the skills we practice to keep communication alive? We trick ourselves into being present by changing things up, adding an element of abandon and play, welcoming disaster, moving to a new place physically, using a new intention, and, as always, reveling in the unknown that every person and audience brings.

This week, keep communication fresh by inviting in the unknown!

Here are my favorite examples of keeping it fresh! Read on…