THE PRO-FILE

JULES LUND - THE PRESENTER (Part Three)

Jules has worked in a variety of ways to build his skills as a presenter. For example, over the past 7 years, he's facilitated cutting edge programs for teenagers ranging from the average school student,

to kids in detention centres and those with mild intellectual disabilities. Having worked with over 80,000 teenagers through The Reach Foundation he has spent a lot of time on his feet articulating thoughts and interacting with people. The skills acquired in the process of this work are the skills of the presenter.

What is The Reach Foundation ... ?

Jules: It's an organisation for teenagers of all walks of life. It will help you fly. It gives you a foundation for self-esteem. A feeling of belonging and acceptance so you go after what your spirit wants. I run workshops at schools and put a spotlight on everyone's confidence - which is mostly really low. Then we look at the reasons it has decreased and why we lost the confidence most of us had when we were 5 years old. We explore judgements and negative environments. It can be confronting; often kids cry in workshops because it's the first time they've been able to talk about this stuff. We acknowledge people who are brilliant but get overlooked. Kids often think positively about each other but never say it in a school environment.

Richard: You also train people to fulfill your role as a workshop facilitator?

Jules: With all my committments to Getaway I don't have as much time available for Reach, so I'm training 7 or 8 kids to take the workshops to a bigger audience. I'm teaching them my role and about the workshops I've developed over the years.

Richard: So how have you gone about this?

Jules: Well actually I use Rehearsal Room story concepts as a guide. When you're running a workshop you need to have an idea of the direction you're heading. You've got a short time to convey some messages but you want the audience to own the concepts. To achieve that I run activities that are interactive and then participants reveal issues themselves. They have the opportunity to tell their story. In doing so they discover it for themselves. This reaches them more effectively than dictating it to them. They achieve an understanding. I lead them in different directions and underlying all that is the fact that "a story is to be told." One activity tells one part of the story and that leads into the next.

The Rehearsal room classes taught me the value of 'story' and the discipline of structure. At the end of the workshops we connect each part of the story. The thing that's useful about this is that once I've got my vision and I understand it, I don't go off track too much. The sense of story keeps me on track. If everyone in a team has different stories to tell it can be haphazard and confuse the audience. When we all understand each part of the story, it's incredibly valuable. We all end up doing the same job … telling the same story.

Richard: Story is a really powerful tool, isn't it? Yesterday, at a lecture I was giving I worked with two people who weren't actors. I only used two ingredients - story and 'need'. In three rehearsals, with inexperienced actors we delivered quite satisfactory performances and also delivered the scene - just with the elements of 'need' and the story. And story was a very important part of that process.

Jules: Absolutely - understanding the discipline of a structured story empowers me as a facilitator. These kids I'm training are soaking this up; they understand it and it's not confusing for them. Everyone has so much of their own experience and wisdom that we want to pass on to others. We all do. These kids can now address an issue like losing a loved one as long as the story they want to tell is clearly defined. When they learn that the goal they're aiming for in the workshop is actually the story, they stay focused and keep on track. Other trainers I've worked with were brilliant because they were spontaneous but often they found their way through almost by accident. That way it sometimes gets messy. We miss the through-line.

Richard: So you're finding that understanding story is an empowering communication tool?

Jules: Absolutely. Once I find the story in a scene, the pathway is clear. Knowledge is power. You've got to understand where you're heading otherwise it's just a series of good moments with no through-line. We want to take something away from each scene or else the meaning is lost.

Richard: That was my journey - I discovered story by accident and I've found it an immensely useful tool. Story is a useful tool in many areas.

Jules: Sometimes on Getaway, the producer approaches me with a story; which because of time constraints, and because of the rush, isn't clear to me … the outline isn't defined. This can be confusing and then, when you have to do 'a piece to camera' without quite knowing where it's leading, it can be really difficult. The beauty of understanding 'story' is, once you have it in place, your subconscious takes you there. You instinctively move in the right direction and it gives you the presence of mind to cope … to be confidently in control. Without a sense of story, I reckon your conscious mind is confused and jumping at things and you're always asking questions. If you put it in there, you automatically go in the right direction. So a strong sense of story keeps me on track as a presenter too.

Thanks Jules. Good luck, travel well.