How to Get Your Audience to Chase You!

The Number Five Principal, Getting and Holding and Audience

I know, from nearly two decades and over a hundred productions as a theater director, that it is not that hard to get the attention of an audience. It is only marginally harder to maintain it, but once it is lost, it can be nearly impossible to get it back again. That is true in almost any pursuit in life. Here's a little illustration from life to outline the process.

As a father of eight kids I spend a good deal of time in a folding nylon chair on the sidelines of local Soccer clubs. Last Saturday, while watching my son's team battle to a difficult defeat, I had a epiphany. Well, since there were no Angels, or music, perhaps it was just a realization. Anyway. I watched time and again as our team attempted to regain the ball, only to be outmatched by teamwork, then I noticed something.

One particular young man in the number 5 red jersey (My son's team was wearing blue) was consistently stealing the ball from even our quickest players. I watched a few times, and here is what I saw. This young man would match, then gradually exceed the speed of the player with the ball. When he was ready to make his move, he would neatly slide in between player and ball and continue on in the same direction the ball had been going! After a few steps, he was then able to turn it, or pass it off to get the change of direction he needed.

I watched our boys, including my own son, who is no slouch of a soccer player. With one or two exceptions, they would invariably step in between player and ball and attempt to make an immediate course alteration. Typically what happened was this; a red jersey would intercept the ball as it was being turned, and continue on in the same direction.

It is often said that the way to become a leader is to find out where people are going and get in front of them. While this may seem antithetical to maintaining your integrity, consider the illustration. Once the player was in control, it seemed simple to steer the ball wherever he wanted it to go. Newton's first law of motion tell us that, "A body in motion tends to stay in motion, unless acted upon by an outside force." It think number 5 might have instinctively understood and put this to use.

So, what happens when we attempt to make a big course correction in the thinking or habits of a group of people? Are we effective, does it really get us where we want to be? Or do we end up standing still, wondering where the ball we have so masterfully stolen moments before has gone, as the crowd sweeps by us? Do people pay any attention to the player at the back of the pack, who does not have the ball, yelling, "Wrong way! Over here, over here!"?

So what do you do to get people's attention? Is it working, or are you falling prey to Einstein's definition of insanity? (Continuing to do the same things while expecting different results)