sweeping them off their feet: enhancing your personal charisma to engage the toughest of audiences

8/4/2019 Sweeping them off their feet: enhancing your personal charisma to engage the toughest of audiences.

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Sweeping them off their feet:

Enhancing your personal

charisma to engage the

toughest of audiences.

A workshop handout.

Jos Luis MoralesLima, September 2011.


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Filling the Empty Space.

I can take an empty space and call it a bare

stage. A man walks across this empty spacewhilst someone else is watching him, andthis is all that is needed for an act of theatreto be engaged.

Peter Brook, (1968)


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How does this concern us?

The moment we stand in front of a group of learners,

teachers or parents they become the spectators

and we become the performers. Whether we want itor not, we are in the limelight, and the limelightenhances both the pleasant and the unpleasantfeatures of our movement and voice. We need

become aware of how we are perceived by those weaddress, before we can make any adjustments.


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Movement Workshop Aims To raise awareness of how we move

while teaching/presenting.

To promote ease throughout the bodywhile teaching/presenting.

To share 4 take-away tricks for

enhancing our presence before anaudience.

MOVEMENT


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Where do you belong inthis continuum?

RippleSplash

Whatever your natural movement quality, teachers and public speakers need toexplore the whole range between a ripple and a splash to use the right one

at the appropriate moment and with the right type of audience. This capacity improvesyour chances of commanding attention in different contexts.


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Take-Away Trick 1 Get rid of the clutter.

Clutter is any unnecessary or repetitive movement or

tick that can distract your audience when they faceyou.

The overall quality sought is the fine line betweenover-exertion and slackness, the fine line which is thedesired tension, as in `the stringing of a bow. This is

achieved by not doing, that is, allowing your body toalign itself, rather than trying to align it.

Alexander, F.M. (1932)

MOVEMENT


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Take-Away Trick 2 Shine like a star with The Star!

Use this simple exercise to prepare physically before

you face an audience.

Run this mental check before you do the Star:

Neck free, shoulders free, arms hang freely on both

sides of the body, pelvis free, knees unlocked, feetfirmly rooted to the ground, eyes focused, breathingnormal, no excessive tension anywhere.

MOVEMENT


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Take-Away Trick 4 Switch on your magnetic field

with the tip of your tongue andno more empty gestures.

This makes your face light up and your whole body

radiant with energy.

MOVEMENT


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Voice Workshop Aims To learn to breathe so you dont hurt

your voice. To find your speaker voice.

To share 3 take-away tricks for

making the most of your voice.

VOICE


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For reflection:

Why do we sometimes strain - oreven lose - our voice when we speakin public?

Why dont babies get hoarse fromcrying?

Notice: Most humans can breathe properly from

birth. We tend to lose this capacity as we grow olderthrough stress and wrong use of our bodies. Onlythrough training can we regain healthy breathing andprojection. Consult a voice specialist if you gethoarse often.


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Voice = BreathingHealthy Breathing

=Healthy Voice

Cicely Berry, (1973) Voice and The Actor.


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Magic Muscles

Inspiration Expiration


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Take-Away Trick 5 Warm up your voice before you walk

into a classroom or a teachersmeeting. e.g.

On such a beautiful day,

With all the navy well sail away

To Mandalay and far CathayBut for today, well have to stay,

In Lima.

VOICE


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Take-Away Trick 6 Your Speaker voice is different

from your regular voice. Give itthe right amount of fuel.

Let the air in so that your ribcage opens sideways

and oxigen fills the lower part of your lungs. Emitsound so that it reaches the people farthest awayfrom you, but do not strain your neck or shoulders.

VOICE


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Take-Away Trick 7 Root yourself with your big toes

and find your Speaker voice with aquick chant.

The quality of your voice is affected by your postureand stance. Unless ones body is properly aligned

and rooted to the floor we cannot command theattention of others with our presence and voice.

VOICE


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Take-Away Trick 8 Rome was not built in a day.Developand follow your own warm up

routine systematically. Monitoryourself while in action. Remember

this is a process.

MOVEMENT & VOICE


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Alexander, F.M., (1932)The Use of The Self

,Methuen & Co. Ltd, UK.

Brook, Peter. (1968) The Empty Space, Penguin,Pearson Education, Harlow, UK.

Berry, C. (1973), Voice and The Actor, Harrap,London.

Jos Luis Morales

[email protected] his teaching qualifications, Jos Luis Morales is a

graduate of the Escuela Municipal de Arte Dramtico, MargaritaXirgof Montevideo and of the London Academy of Music andDrama, UK.

References

sweeping them off their feet: enhancing your personal charisma to engage the toughest of audiences

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