Acting Process for Presenters

In the TV Presenters Workshop, JOHN was doing a ‘piece to camera’ selling a business concept. He was doing well, but we could sense he was trying to sell us something, and so we were cautious about his honesty.  When the audience knows the product is ‘being sold’ they are naturally cautious because we all know a salesman will bend the truth (we know the salesman has one priority). 

After two tries, we redefined John’s task by using Rehearsal Room acting techniques.

I asked JOHN what type of conversation he was having with his audience.  JOHN replied, “It’s a challenge.  I am challenging them to believe they can achieve.” JOHN plainly understood what he was doing.

“How are you going about that challenge?” I asked.  

“I’m going about it ‘Hopefully’ or‘Optimistically’,” he replied.

We ALL agreed that seemed like a good choice.  Immediately he tried again.    The results were spectacularly successful.  No more hard sell.  No more clichéd salesman’s techniques.  Just an engaging and likeable person talking about things he valued and believed in.  As he was now both likeable and committed to his own point of view, we were ready to trust him.  As soon as he finished his piece, one of the onlookers said, “I want to buy that”.   How did John achieve that so simply?    JOHN has done three terms of acting classes, he understands how to apply those choices and he trusts himself to implement them because they are simple, active, and doable.  Instant success and a huge transformation resulted from a simple and functional process.   JOHN had ‘intuitively’ known what he was endeavouring to do.  However, it wasn’t until he clearly articulated and ‘consciously’ identified his goal, that he actually was able to do it.   The acting process used at The Rehearsal Room by actors is a great way to establish practical choices for the presenter, too.  They are very efficient tools.

“Actively label the task and you will then be able to do it with ease.”

Note:    ELIZABETH worked in sales. She attended the TV Presenters course in 2009. After the third Saturday class she was beginning to understand how the concepts worked. So, ELIZABETH went to work on Monday morning (12^th October 2009) and applied a version of this acting/presenting process to her work. Her sales went up by 300 per cent.   

That’s what I call a high-percentage return.

February 2013

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