Original subtitles

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The thing to remember about speaking in public is that,

for most of us, it really is a nerve-racking experience.

There is a phrase that I love using-- fear is simply

suppressed excitement.

We all have nervousness.

I'm nervous every time I speak in public.

I'm going to say that again.

I've been doing this for 45 years.

Every time I open my mouth in public, I'm nervous.

But here's the thing--

I have developed the ability to not

allow my nervousness my fear to paralyze me into non-action.

Okay?

So I actually use the fear as information.

I know, if I'm nervous, that I'm engaged.

What I'm about to do is important to me.

I think the day that I stop being nervous before I speak,

I will recognize that there's something wrong.

I'm disconnected in some way.

So it's all just energy.

The energy of fear can be transformed by recognition

into the energy of suppressed excitement,

and suppressed excitement is a lot easier

to deal with intellectually than our fear.

So the framing of how you are being impacted by your energy

is really key-- how you allow the mind to interpret it.

It's good to remember, when performing

or public speaking, that--

should you ever feel like you are

in a place where you are overwhelmed by your fear,

overwhelmed by your nervousness?

Go back to the breath, really.

Just go back to the breath.

Conscious breathing is the quickest way

I know of to bring center back to yourself.

To bring yourself back to center,

just simply take a couple of deep breaths.

Oxygenate your lungs.

And if it helps to make a sound, that also releases tension.

[VOCALIZED EXHALE]

It is hard to be tense when you are making a sound like that.

Children make sounds like this all the time.

They are free in their expression.

Pretend you're a child for a second.

Forget about the judgment.

Forget about the tendency to self-judge.

Just let it out.

It's all okay.

So allow it to just be okay, and move through it.

Move through it.

Just move through it.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

So performance for most of us is very anxiety-producing,

and the tendency when we're in anxiety is to tense up.

So it's really important to make sure

that you can be as relaxed as possible in your body.

I like to start with a couple of deep breaths.

So we'll inhale, and exhale.

Inhale, and exhale-- through your nose--

in through your nose, and out through your mouth.

Inhale, and exhale-- great.

So now we're just going to loosen up

the face, and the neck, and the jaw area.

So just gently stretch to one side

ear towards your shoulder-- not forcing anything,

just letting it fall back to center to the other side,

very gently, here to your shoulder, and back to center.

Let's move the head forward.

And dropping the forehead, back to center, and back--

again, not forcing-- just allowing

gravity to do its thing.

And back-- excellent.

Now, let's massage the throat a little, and the jaw.

A lot of us hold tension in our jaws,

so let's really give it a little massage action.

If you sense any tension, rub it out--

good.

Now, let's get the mouth wide open.

You can make a sound, if you like.

Move the tongue in and out there.

When I was in drama school, I learned

a ton of these exercises.

Vocalize-- fiffy, fluffy, fiffy, fluffy--

concentrating on the consonants-- fiffy, fluffy--

the lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue--

the lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue.

These are all exercises designed to loosen up and get

you ready to perform.

All right?

If you want to do a little stretching--

always good.

Yes-- just to make sure that you have access,

that you are in touch, you are in communication

with your instrument.

Ready?

Now we're ready to perform.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Whole point of the body being your instrument

is it is your delivery system for story.

And the more access that you have to your body,

the the better you are able to use that delivery

system in your favor.

As a performer, there are a few elements

that are generally in common in most aspects of performance

arts.

Sometimes there's a text.

Sometimes there's not, but generally, there's a text.

There's the space that you occupy.

That's pretty much a constant.

And then there's as the performer,

whether you're alone or acting or performing with others.

So as your body is the tool that you use to communicate--

your voice, your gestures, your attitude and body posture--

all of these things are ways to communicate what you are trying

to get across to the audience.

And so chief among the tools that a performer needs and uses

is their own body.

And so it's really important to have access, to be loose,

to have communication with your body

so that it is a facile part, not an awkward part,

of your performance.

I think the key to approaching movement in storytelling

is to recognize that everything's good,

because if you have a natural inclination

to make a movement to sort of a choreography

that you invent yourself in the moment, it's all good.

If you're somebody who uses your hands, like I am, have at it.

If you don't express yourself that way so much,

it's still important to be relaxed.

Using your body to create a character

can be as simple or as complex as the situation requires.

I remember, when I was at USC, I auditioned

for a play that was really being performed by the master

class, the seniors.

And I was I was a freshman, I think.

And I played a role that had no lines, and he was a waiter.

And I remember thinking, so how can I

infuse this character who doesn't

speak with a back story, with a life that

would give this character depth, for me, in my mind,

and that would give me the ability

to communicate his the fullness, the richness of his life

the few times that I walked on stage to deliver a tray?

So I decided that this guy had a limp,

and so the technique was simply straightening--

stiffening my right leg and moving just as one would

if there was something wrong with that leg.

So in that just simple adjustment to my body,

I was able to communicate to the audience,

this man had a history.

And they didn't even to know how his leg got injured, or why,

but they were able to sense that this man--

there's a life that began before he came on stage

and there's a life that he will inevitably

experience when he leaves.

That's how powerful the body can be

in terms of our storytelling.

You've heard of a "Hunchback of Notre Dame," right?

Nobody would dare play the Hunchback of Notre Dame

with a straight spine.

It's just not okay.

So just know that the body can be a tremendously powerful ally

in your storytelling.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

One of the things that I want you

to remember about storytelling is that the human being--

our bodies, our senses--

we are predisposed to storytelling.

So a thing like your rhythm, your timing,

in terms of your delivery--

think of it as music.

If you think of your delivery in terms of a song or music,

it's easier to understand how the ebbs and flows, the highs

and lows, the way you use your voice in connection

with your body can help communicate your text,

help communicate your story.

We are all predisposed to really enjoying music,

and the human voice is a really musical instrument.

Even when speaking just in our normal speaking voice,

there is a rhythm to it.

If you listen closely, there's music there.

So tone, intonation, rhythm, emphasis, and silence

are all tools that we can use to enhance our communication.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I use pauses a lot when I'm speaking,

or reading, or performing, because for me, a pause causes

the audience to really pay attention.

And I'll use pauses in the most unusual and unlikely ways.

I have a habit of pausing on or after the word and a lot.

And-- there you have it.

That break in the rhythm--

the audience would be expecting, after and--

a word like and--

the audience would normally expect

for whatever comes after and to come right away,

but I like punctuating and with a pause,

because I know that that pause is causing the audience

member to--

where's the rest?

Where's the rest is what you have to deliver.

So keeping the audience on its toes,

keeping them engaged with methods

like that-- there is a definite tension that

comes in the pause, and the release is the continuation.

Remember the pause.

More happens in the silence than you really think is going on,

because in the silence, you're really inviting the audience

to fill in the blank, you see.

So don't be afraid of the pause.

Don't be afraid to use the silence to your benefit.