Tune in to Your Audience

Communication is a two-way street. A live performance should be a dialogue between the artist and the audience; not a monologue.

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Way back in one of my very first posts, I talked about communication. I shared the the communication break down from the audience’s perspective is:

10% - Verbal / Musical (Song Lyrics, Words Spoken, The Music)

30% - Emotional (Tone of Voice, Your Heart, Passion)

60% - Visual (Body Language, Visual FX)

It is essential to communicate effectively to your audience, but also to tune in to your audience. Communication is a two-way street. A live performance should be a dialogue between the artist and the audience; not a monologue.

Similar to relationships, a lot of times a girl can be screaming signals to her guy, but just like most artists onstage, he’s oblivious to what’s actually being said. 

How do you tune in to your audience? Listening to their applause is one way. In the duration of their applause, there comes a climatic high point. After the applause reaches its climax, you now can move forward with your show – start a new song, speak to the audience, etc. 

Also, notice the audience’s body language and facial expressions. Are they with you? If they aren’t, wait. Attract their attention and get them involved before you start rolling again. You need to learn when they want you to stop and linger a bit, and when to keep it moving. 

In addition to working with BNY and my drumming with Bread of Stone, I also share the wheel as one of our bus drivers whenever the band is out.  On our bus, and on many other tour buses on the road, Rule #1 is: No Number Twos. Whenever I’m driving and we need to stop for that reason, I immediately look for a rest area coming up on the GPS. We typically utilize those facilities, to be quick in and out and back on the road. However, the GPS will also show me any nearby Walmart stores as well. There are times when we are running low on certain food items, so we’ll stop at Walmart for (pardon the pun) these two purposes – to drop and to shop. 

These Walmart visits are more time-consuming, but are a necessary part of the trip.

During a live show where the audience isn’t with you and seem like they’d rather be anyplace else, it might serve well to keep the bus rolling, so to speak. Like a quick pit stop at a rest area, just put the pedal to the metal, drive through the night and get to the destination. Later, look back on what may have gone wrong and try to make the necessary adjustments and improvements to prevent a similar occurrence. In the better shows – when the audience is along for the ride with you – slow down, linger awhile, as if making a grocery trip out of it. Perhaps stop at a park you see along your route, try a local restaurant or go see a movie.

Don’t just play songs to a seemingly one-size-fits-all audience. Start providing an experience for them. A great place to start is by tuning in to what they are trying to say to you. 

Are you interested in diving deeper into these areas for YOUR show? I’d love to get to know you and learn about your journey in music! Let’s schedule a FREE discovery call today!

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