In this series on rehearsal techniques, we are focusing on using the five senses as a way to play with our content. When we prepare for a talk, an interview, a training, even a tricky conversation, it’s important to surprise ourselves by using techniques that bring out the unexpected. We often think of preparation as simply “looking over” or “running through” the content. This is great for familiarizing ourselves, but keeps our relationship with the content pretty superficial. In rehearsal, we deepen that relationship, giving the content an aliveness, a spontaneity. We’ve talked about hearing the sound of the words, tasting the language, and this week we use sight: we use our bodies to show the words, to move them. We’ve all seen speakers who seem divorced from their bodies, their arms, faces, breathing held tight, rigid, as if they are more electronic speaker than human speaker. By showing the content in our bodies…Read on.

“I know you bought airplane tickets, got a sitter, and booked a hotel, but DO NOT COME. It sucks. I’m awful. Really. It’s embarrassing. My performance is forced and boring and lifeless. I know it started off great, but trust me, it’s the worst thing I’ve ever done.” My family and dear friends have all received that call from me in the week or two before opening a show. In response they laugh and say, “Aha! You must be in tech week when everything falls apart. It’s going to be wonderful. I can’t wait! See you opening night!” They understand the rehearsal process and know that this phase, where everything falls apart and each line comes out like a thud, is a critical passage on the way to a free performance. It cannot be skipped. This is true for all rehearsal processes, whether we are practicing for an online power point presentation, a TED Talk, or a heightened conversation. But many of us do not know how to rehearse…Read on.