Catching Up with Some Personal Notes

An old headshot of mine, California-style from the eighties.

Before anyone gets any ideas, I have to tell you I like most music done well. I even like some Country, but wife, Amy, and son, Aidan, are the real fans. We all like Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles. I still remember days going to classical concerts, even opera, and jazz clubs in days of old. I listen to 90.9 (National Public Radio), 92.5 (Country) and occasionally 98.1 (Oldies, but not too old), but mostly I listen to NPR. I was actually fascinated by a recent discussion and samples of Cajun music.

After being a DJ throughout college and listening all day long to top 40 whatever, you tend to drift to something else in your spare time. I went through an R&B stage, and knew enough about the music in telephone interview to be offered a job as a DJ at an all-Black radio station in Kansas City. The in-person interview was a hoot. The Station Manager couldn’t help laughing and called in his staff to meet Jack Shaw. Felt a little like Buddy Holly when he played at the Apollo, not knowing his audience. The Station Manager and I agreed I could definitely DJ, but personal appearances might be difficult–certainly unusual, but mutally decided it was a no-go. I probably could have made all kinds of discrimination complaints, but eveyone was so nice and respectful even though jaws dropped when I announced I was hoping to be the new afternoon DJ. (The interview was really more a meet-the-boss-before-you-start sort of thing.) I left smiling and I hope they were, too.

Here I am as “Candy” in a recent version OF MICE AND MEN in New Jersey.

As concerts go, I’m not the fan of raucus large crowds, which you tend to get at popular music concerts, although I do like to watch people.  I don’t get the rush some people get when their “star” walks on stage, or the “happy feet,” or feel like bumpin’ and swaying when the music starts. Guess I’m just not made that way. Probably would hurt my back, but I try to be respectful and at least I abandon my seat and stand there because it’s the only way to see what I paid to see. No offense to anyone that it thrills–just not my thing.

I like baseball, too, but I don’t like to go to the games like I used to–mostly because of all the people, the hassle of parking, and over-priced food.  Used to be a huge fan when I worked in radio and played the games on the weekends and was treated with free media passes for the Kansas City Royals, but today I find myself just too busy. But I do enjoy film and reading, more introverted stuff, I guess. I don’t hold it against you if sports is your thing; just don’t hold it against me that it’s not mine. Not now. I wrestled and ran track in High School, albeit not to stardom. I played some tennis in college for fun, not competition. I like the Olympics and seeing folks achieve personal bests. Maybe, that’s why following the big team sports aren’t my hobby. Maybe being a bit small made me only eligible for the sports I played, and disinterested in those in which I felt “discriminated” on the basis of size.

I still haven’t figured out if theatre audiences are mostly there in serious theatre to be intellectually stimulated or just be entertained. But there are always enigmas; I guess this is one for me.

I believe we should all go with our strengths, not dwell on our weakness in all things–including theatre. I’m officially a senior now, having lived more that half a century. I’ve worked to survive rather than love what I did for work, but now I want the passion to drive me. I find most things interesting for awhile. Theatre, public speaking, interpersonal communication, training and development, and psychology have hung in there, and are so incredibly linked to my life. I am faced with some incredibly hard decisions if I have to change what it is I do in my life because all things are important. I no longer am the Performance Examiner for the Wilmington Examiner; that decision came easy since I didn’t live there but was trying to localize stories, which is easy to do with peformance in general. Frankly, it was taking too much time I wanted to devote to family, and pursuing my efforts to embrace a new career in coaching business and nonprofit professionals in the art of public speaking as well as pursue my theatre blog and columnist role with STAGE Magazine.

On a slightly different note, I have started to make in-roads with potential gigs, partners, and even adjunct teaching. I still act occasionally and I hope to be moving back into directing shortly–one of my favorite projects in the offing.

If I Am An Actor, Why Am I Here?

“I y’am what I y’am, what I y’am.”

Now, I am an actor, a speaker, and a trainer–as well as a writer.  When I act, I act. When I speak, I speak. When I train, that’s different, too.   As I said earlier in my previous blog, acting is more than “being someone else” or “a scripted performance.”   Keep in mind that there is a huge difference between those actors on film and those on stage–so don’t give me the unprepared actors’ speeches at the Academy awards routine.

Here’s something to think about: I use acting coaching methods to help speakers and trainers to better know how to interact with their audience. Why?

While some people believe actors need a script to act, the best do not.  Just between us, there is a lot more to acting than some people think. Some actors can make it look so natural.  Actors do interact with their audience and they damn well better be aware how they are affecting them. Actors need to be sincere and real in their delivery as well; if they are not, believe me, they will get told by me as a performance critic that they are not doing their jobs.  So, it goes for anyone who is communicating with an audience.  Trainer and public speaker come to mind.

There were some great comments and, unfortunately, some not so well-informed ones made in response to the LinkedIn question on actors and speaker differences that prompted the blog above.  The very fact I come from an acting background and use “Acting Smarts” as the title of my company and blog may make some “business professionals” think I teach only acting. I teach communication. I don’t make a speaker become someone else to deliver a message; I help that person use who they are–the best of who they are–to present his or her message.  The ability to act only makes me more comfortable at connecting with my audience in a personal way.  We, actors, often reach deep inside and are willing to share those truths.  But the same can be said of many people and many professions, yes?  It just happens to work for me and entertain as well.

By the way, my background includes a masters in social psychology as well as an interdisciplinary dual masters in English and Speech/Drama with an emphasis in performance criticism.  As for practical application, I have 30 years in government and the military as a spokesperson, trainer and writer.  Actors are not only actors, speakers not only speakers, and trainers not only trainers, but a polygamous marriage and more; each are communicators in his or her own rights, and the best of us do whatever it takes and learn whatever we can to get the job done.

This makes me think of a great follow-up:  What makes a great trainer?  What is the difference between a public speaker and a trainer?  A speech or training session? Next time.  I invite your comments and questions.  And, if you are looking for someone to communicate to an audience any of these things, please let me know.

Taming the Big Lions–or Something Like That.

While I love the smaller groups, I have more experience with the larger groups of 250 to 500 at national and regional conferences.  I am an introverted actor, if you can believe that, but I still love doing public speaking.  You can’t be quite as intimate as you can with smaller groups, and you need to be a bigger you.  Like an actor on stage versus the actor in front of a camera.  The bigger the area, the bigger the facial expressions and the gestures.  I try to connect with people in various locations in the room so I can spread my wings and move a bit, and concentrate my talk in their direction and in the other focused directions as possible without making it really obvious.  Notice I said I wasn’t talking to them directly but about twenty people seated around them think I’m speaking to them directly as well.

Still, it’s like being a lion tamer–only with more lions.  You can still tame them with your charm; your charm just has to be bigger to fit the room. You can’t be demure.  And, you may have to get a read on your audience when you’ve said something important or profound by turning to the other side of the room and ask, “Right?”  “Do you see?”  Something like that.

Actually, I think the best way to get started is to have a partner you feel very comfortable sharing the stage with, follow your partner’s lead with the audience, and then your own as you feel more comfortable.  Soon you won’t need the partner.  I happen to like the dynamic of two speakers working a group this size because you can more easily keep the audience engaged and surprised from time to time.  For me, that’s fun.  If you need a partner, give me a call.

Jack Shaw-On Memorizing Speeches & Presentations

My first rule about memorizing a speech or presentation:  Don’t.  Unless you are an actor who has never missed a line or misspoke a word, and I don’t know any.  I actually give a presentation on presenting. I worked with someone who used note cards, but that was his style of presenting and it worked for him. It is also the standard for college public speaking. 

Most important, be yourself.  I also use the note pages on PowerPoint to, imagine this, take notes.  I write down what I want to say about a particular slide as a way of making sure I’m on track.  When I want to have something exactly right, i.e., a quote, I will write it down exactly or if I think I wrote something especially well or memorable and will impress my audience with these exact words, I will memorize them (or have it down on a note card because an audience will understand I want to get it right just for them). 

In front of my audience I use my slides or internal organization to guide me.  Not a bad thing.  The key is to be natural.  Be yourself.  You sell both yourself and your subject matter.  If you can’t sell “you,” they won’t listen.  If you can’t sell your subject matter, it means to them you don’t care so why should they.

Here’s your mission:  Be welcoming, charming, caring, passionate and knowledgeable because that is who you are.  You’ll knock them dead–even with note cards–with your confidence.  If this doesn’t work for you, call me. It won’t cost of thing.