It’s not often that you leave a performance and as you exit the theater all you can say is, “Wow!” I recently saw the Broadway show, Hamilton at The Fox Theater in Atlanta, and the impact of the performance is significant. How is it that the cast is able to make each of us in the audience feel as if we are present with them in the scene and that they are singing directly to us? The time flies by because each of us is so involved with the characters and story. How can we make a similar impact? What can we learn from the cast of the hit Broadway musical Hamilton to apply to our next presentation?
The cast engages the audience with their presence. But what do they do that causes us to feel they are authentic? They face and look at us and share the emotion of the situation. The impact is that we feel drawn in during each scene and a part of the action on stage. I found myself clapping along with others for several actors during the opening song, thinking he was Hamilton as each one has such presence on stage.
They appear so confident. But why? They know why they are there, what they are going to say (actually sing) and do. They rehearse (a lot). They probably were unsure when they first started practicing, but that was replaced by familiarity and, finally, confidence.
Even though some of the songs are sung quickly, I could understand every word. The actors are clear and concise. It also helps that it is very hard to insert an “um” when you’re singing – that’s right, there are no fumbling filler words throughout the whole production!
They have a lot of energy in their performance and it reflects off the audience and back to the actors on the stage. The energy in the audience is palpable, and the whole level of the performance is elevated, starting with the actors. They show up with enthusiasm and passion. There is intensity in their dancing as well as their movements and this serves to exaggerate their passion.
We can up our presentation game by following some of these very effective strategies:
- Have an open posture to your audience
- Speak clearly and concisely
- Show some variety of emotion
- Act like you’re happy to be there
- Have passion for your topic
- Practice, practice, practice
Please message me if you have any questions or want some help honing your skills!