The Answer to Performance Paralysis

I was in New York - leading my Compass debut in the Soho loft of my adopted elder brother Bill Walsh. I’d been leading this workshop in Europe over the last month, but I had not previously incorporated into it my interpretation of Bennett’s Enneagram.

I had used Bennett’s “Enneagram Studies” to develop a “ Compass” which neatly summarises the process FM used to make his discoveries.

So I started to workshop that… BUT.

Staring back at me were severe – confused? – faces.

Buz Gummere – who trained with FM and AR his brother – was there. So was Debra Caplan, who’d had lessons from FM as a child. And other local luminaries – these were all heavy hitters in the AT world.

I was nervous. I wasn’t doing well.

Finally I stopped talking and looked at everyone.

I couldn’t stand the feeling I had of failure, disconnection and alienation. I told everyone what I was feeling. Then - in a grand, theatrical gesture - I pulled an imaginary veil aside: to give permission to see each other. I asked:

“What is going on for you?”

Their answer was not what I expected!
***

When is comes to imagining how an audience feels about your performance, you are mostly off the mark. Paralysis, fear, discomfort while performing all arise by running a pointless fantasy through your mind. The fantasy is always the same: to will an audience to behave in a way that will please you, the performer.

It’s a selfish point of view. It is dictatorial, violent and disrepectful to the audience.

Audiences do not want to be manipulated, audiences want to be engaged.

Babies and animals have an electric stage presense because they are engaged in their process. This fascinates an audience, it draws them in. Engage your audience by being engaged in what you are doing. 

If you can’t do that, you’re under-rehearsed!

***

Which was my basic problem in New York – I did not have a clear plan on how to do what I was doing. So I took a risk, pulled aside an imaginary veil and asked my participants how they were feeling about this workshop…

The answer they gave was 180 degress from what I had imagined!

It was so surprising – and different – that I laughed out loud and felt delight.

Then I felt nauseous – because their answers suggested leading a different kind of workshop. It stretched my abilities beyond what I believed I could do, and led to a whole new adventure in Washington D.C.…

***

The process of the Compass is a core theme of both my ThinkingBody courses. You can read more at the link below and purchase either course:

https://bodychance.mykajabi.com/store/TGFBWut4/