Going Off Script: The Art and Craft of Startling Presentation-Performance – Part I

In a Plenary, the Stress Doc analyzes going from presentation to unanticipated improvisation with startling effect.  Grasp and wield “off script” concepts, tools, and techniques for more “surprising” and engaging communication and powerfully inspiring presentations – whether in a conference hall, boardroom, and classroom, as well as in a team meeting, on the work floor, or during a family meeting in the living room.

Going Off Script:  The Art and Craft of Startling Presentation-Performance by Analyzing an Improvised “Power Struggle” Exercise – Part I

Last week, reviewing a Power Point Slide with a group of Agency Executives, Community Advocates, Allied and Mental Health Professionals, Educators, etc., a voice from my subconscious cried, “Just do it!”  (And I’m more a New Balance, cross-trainer kind of guy.)  This subterranean echo occurred during my “Practice Safe Stress” Plenary Speaker presentation at the Virginia/Statewide Refugee Mental Health Summit.  At the time, I was highlighting key items from the “Heart of Letting Go,” such as “Necessary/Universal Life Stage Loss” (death, breakup, downsizing, illness, mind-body mobility, moving away, etc.) and “Existential Loss” (when your sense of identity and meaning in/of the world is disrupted or turned upside down; of course, there may be overlap among loss categories).  Waxing poetic with “Power Struggles” (issues of loss of control and/or pride, status/turf wars, anger, letting go, etc.), nonetheless, my ambient radar was operational.  Picking up on body language, eye focus, and quiet in the room, I sensed the audience was captivated by the “loss and power” subject.  And suddenly a Nike moment:  “I’m going off script.  Let’s try an exercise.”

The Power of Surprise

The atmosphere definitely shifts; there’s a restlessness, an uncertainty:  “Where is this guy taking us?”  I quickly have the group break into forty pairs:  “Find an eyeball partner.”  And for this mini role-play, the quintessential power struggle:  one person declares, “You can’t make me!”  The other counters with, “Oh yes I can!”  And both are thinking about someone “who is or has been a pain in your butt!”  (Hopefully, someone other than their exercise counterpart. ;-)  After a brief, back and forth verbal volley, each participant is instructed to “Say what you’d really like to say” to the antagonist inside your head.  I won’t go into all the details; suffice to say, the room exploded with a mix of genuine-playful aggression, focused interaction, exaggerated body language and gesturing, (I don’t recall if anyone, in this audience leapt from their chair), verbal buzzing, as well as an uproar of laughter.  The room was alive with engagement electricity!

And, apparently, this motivational juice had staying power.  As Dr. Eva Stitt, Summit Coordinator, noted in her post-conference testimonial:  Thank you so much for inspiring our participants with your wit and humor as well as helping set the tone for the rest of the day.

Drive Time Reflection and…Aha!

The drive home from Richmond, VA, enabled the reliving of the sudden shift from poignant presentation to playfully out-rage-ous group exercise/interpersonal confrontation.  While this “power struggle” exercise usually charges an audience, there was something about its surprise introduction and energy-focus transition that amplified “the sound and the fury”…and the FUN!  It was as if we were all on a vital edge.

And then, thirty-six hours later, the real epiphany hit…waking me in the middle of the night:  the “off script” maneuvering was not really unprecedented; for me, a strategy of surprise is hardly random.  While this time spontaneous, mentally scanning the years, Stress Doc ™ “mirth and madness” programs have always featured “surprising” if not purposefully jolting elements, invariably spicing “motivation and method.”

Six Stage-Three Variable Analysis of “Surprising” Dynamic

Let’s examine this surprise dynamic:  as a speaker or workshop leader there are numerous ways to be “surprisingly provocative” and “provocatively surprising,” that is, from the French, provocare, to awaken the mind and arouse curiosity.  Roget’s Thesaurus lists three main verb synonyms for “surprise”:  astonish, take by surprise, and attack, as in surprise attack.  Disrupting expectations and mindsets is a good base for productively shaking-up a learning setting and heightening audience attention.  Not surprisingly, defying expectations while dramatically intensifying (“on the edge of their seat”) anticipation impacts individual curiosity and concentration as well as group energy, engagement, and process.

To illustrate this “unpredictable” or “bolt from the blue” force-field, consider this breakdown of the ”Presentation to Improvisation Transition,” that is, from highlighting a PPt Slide to suddenly enacting the “You Can’t Make Me” Power Struggle Exercise.  More specifically, this analysis will examine “Six Presentation-Performance Transition Stages.”  These are:

1.  Speaker as Expert, Audience as Listeners

2.  Speaker as Observer, Audience as Learners

3.  Speaker as Disrupter, Audience as Uncertain Partners

4.  Speaker as Director, Audience as Actors

5.  Speaker as Facilitator/Debriefer, Audience as More Cohesive Collective

6.  Speaker as Role Model, Audience as Future Adaptors.

And each of the “Six Stages” will be illuminated by examining three variables:  “Atmosphere & Energy,” “Role/Status Positioning,” and “Get FIT – FUN-Interactive-Thought-provoking – Group Process.”

Transition Shift:  Going from Presentation to Improvisation

Highlighting key items from the “Heart of Letting Go” Power Point Slide, especially the power struggle item, I sensed the audience was captivated.  Trusting that inner voice and gut…I shook up the speaker-audience energy, roles and relationships, along with the group process.  Here is the Six Stage-Three Variable Analysis of the Evolving – “Before-During-After” – Presentation-Performance Dynamics:

1.  Speaker as Expert, Audience as Listeners

a.  Atmosphere & Energy:  quiet attentiveness; audience had been previously engaged in opening group exercise; we are presently

b.  Role/Status Positioning:  during this stage of the program, I am the Expert, the audience are Learners; may be perceived as a Leader-Follower or Superior-Subordinate relationship

c.  Get FIT – FUN-Interactive-Thought-provoking – Group Process:  I am the Initiator, projecting ideas and energy to the Audience, who (at least theoretically) are Receivers; while people seem engaged, this can be one-way, Active-Passive information exchange

2.  Speaker as Observer, Audience as Learners

a.  Atmosphere & Energy:  audience’s rapt silence begins to speak volumes; we are at a “turning point”; when people are on the edge of their seat, it’s easier to move them in a new direction.

b.  Role/Status Positioning:  scanning the room, aware of the undivided attention; I’m more keenly absorbing audience signs – alert body language, eye focus, and quiet in the room.

c.  Get FIT Group Process:  now an internal voice gives me a sign; I need to stop talking, to shift away from Lecture-Educator to the role of Interactive Facilitator; I quickly announce, “I’m going off script.”

3.  Speaker as Disrupter, Audience as Uncertain Partners

a.  Atmosphere & Energy:  catching folks off-guard, the announcement stirs up the room, breaking the one-way, Expert-Listener flow; amidst the group murmuring, the unspoken question:  “what’s happening now?” or “where is he taking us?”; I move to a more central place in the conference room, outside the conventional podium “lecture space”; the pending Passive/Receptive to Active/Interactive shift is already impacting the audience’s sense of anticipation and control.

b.  Role/Status Positioning:  unease is also generated because the audience is in limbo, not sure what roles and rules, instructions and expected behaviors will follow; some may feel disoriented.

c.  Get FIT Group Process:  during this undefined transition, it’s not just physical position that undergoes change, but speaker role as well, from Educator to Leader; in addition, suddenly stopping the lecture may not only be confusing, some will feel frustrated by the rupture or lack of closure; in the room, there’s often an increased sense of vulnerability that, paradoxically, heightens both unease as well as excitement; the question of group trust in the leader will be put to the test.

4.  Speaker as Director, Audience as Actors

a.  Atmosphere & Energy:  once announcing the looming power struggle exercise, the buzz gets even louder; and when I say, “find an eyeball partner,” and explain the intra- and interpersonal parameters (“thinking of someone who’s a pain in your butt,” and then instruct the pairs to aggressively or passive-aggressively declare (or whine/tease), “You can’t make me!” (Person A) or “Oh yes I can!” (Person B)...well, the room is getting ready to “act out”; now, decibel levels are skyrocketing with buzzing and laughter (nervous and otherwise), especially when after a brief standard volley, folks are encouraged to “say what you’d really like to say”; also, recalling that “pain in the butt” and the related painful or conflicted interaction just may ratchet up a role-player’s performance angst:  do I want to release all this pent up emotion?; how much of me should I reveal?; in this public setting, can I manage venting or will I lose control?

b.  Role/Status Positioning:  clearly there’s been a profound shift:  instead of all eyes on me, they are focused on their counterpart; each audience member has been turned into a symbolic adversary; and the individual’s mental space has been purposely segmented into past (pain) and present (role-play partner).

c.  Get FIT Group Process:  and once the starting gun sounds, very quickly “the room is alive with the sound of manic!”  However, there is no panic.  Structured surprise (as in an unexpected group exercise) increases uncertainty.  However, the same medium, through clear guidelines and rules, (e.g., “no getting out of your chair”) as well as brief, supervised timelines, also provides for improvisational relief and release.  Each player has the opportunity to step outside of conventional roles and relationships, take on a provocative personae, and express frustration and assert control in a purposefully-playfully absurd manner.  And within each role-play dyad, the risky yet safe interaction along with the informal, post-power struggle discussion, frequently leads to some intimate sharing and trust-building.

5.  Speaker as Facilitator/Debriefer, Audience as More Cohesive Collective

a.  Atmosphere & Energy:  now, through the exercise, all in the room have shared a common experience; the aftermath of playful-aggressive energy, venting and laughter is palpable; in fact, some don’t want the exercise to end, battling through the call for closure.

b.  Role/Status Positioning:  refocusing the group by acknowledging the heightened energy in the room, returning to Lecture as Debrief-mode, I now underscore key learning points:  1) a person can quickly get into a “power struggle” framework, yet not have an ego so wrapped up in winning, 2) though a game, the back and forth verbal volleying often feels somewhat real:  we don’t like people telling us what to do; in addition, many carry around past hurts or frustration with others, 3) it feels good to let out these feelings in a safe setting and in an aggressive yet playful and measured manner, 4) such an exchange can facilitate some post-power struggle “feedback” intimacy, and 5) finally, the response to the exercise was pretty universal despite our many shades of diversity.

c.  Get FIT Group Process:  after hitting the highlights, another decision must be made…and quickly:  the “You Can’t Make Me” exercise lends itself to the presentation of a number of conceptual and applied tools and techniques for disarming “power struggles.”  My favorite, for example, asking trust-building “good questions.”  But, alas, I inform the group that we’ll have to get together another time to explore further the communication-conflict skills arena.  However, this transition is a great segue into the next interactive experience, the “Heart of Letting Go” Exercise.  And this upcoming exercise is more poignant than playful, asking people to reflect upon and share how issues of loss, change, and letting go impact their work with refugee clients.  Clearly, we continue to climb an exercise ladder that progressively increases attendee vulnerability, risk of disclosure, as well as social-collegial intimacy.

6.  Speaker as Role Model, Audience as Future Adaptors

a.  Atmosphere & Energy:  if the power struggle exercise was surprising, my closing number can only be called shocking.  The whole program, I suspect, but especially my out-rage-ous close, performing a “Shrink Rap” ™ (more in Part II), motivated a young woman to approach during a break.  She shared her way of being outrageous and startling people:  normally serious and somewhat shy, she has taken up skydiving!  Friends and colleagues are amazed.

b.  Role/Status Positioning:  I believe numbers in the room viewed me as a role model, both for my style – insightful yet playful, outrageous, high energy orchestra leader, helping others bring out their best music – and substance – conceptual and interactive tools and techniques, especially on stress resilience, burnout, and loss/letting go.  Folks seemed to need and want an infusion of ideas and inspiration from a “Motivational Psychohumorist” ™, a leader also facilitating peer-to-peer sharing and energy transfusion.  Again, as Dr. Eva Stitt, Summit Coordinator, noted in her afore-referenced post-conference testimonial:  I believe you have felt their response – how much they enjoyed it, as well as how much they need it, so they can effectively carry out their job of helping others.  The strength of our initiative depends on these people who champion our cause for refugee mental health.

c.  Get FIT Group Process:  my goal is to educate and entertain, perhaps to inspire; to provide an experience that can excite and fortify program attendees and help them share our collective energy and enlightenment with others – from clients to colleagues.  Consider these two testimonials:  one from the Refugee Summit and the other from the 2015 University of Maryland's Diabetes/Endocrinology Center's Managing Diabetes Conference:

Jul 9, 2016

HI Mark,

It was a pleasure spending time with you and I really appreciated your presentation. I will discuss your presentation with our trainers.  I will keep in touch,

Deborah  C. Moore, RN, BSN, MPH
Nurse Manager II, Senior
deborah.moore@vdh.virginia.gov

Hampton-Peninsula Health Department
3130 Victoria  Blvd., Hampton, VA, 23661
Office (757)315-3779
416 J Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News, VA 23601
Office (757)594-7903

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University of Maryland's Diabetes/Endocrinology Center's Managing Diabetes Conference; 100 + Allied Health Professionals; 1.5 hrs

Practice Safe Stress:  Stress and Change Resilience through Humor

Mar 12, 2015

Hi Mark-

Great presentation. It really inspired me to improve my own presentation skills and brainstorm with my coworkers how to make our diabetes education classes more fun.

Best Regards,

Alison Massye

Alison Massey MS, RD, LDN, CDE
Director of Diabetes Education, Mercy Medical Center
250 N. Calvert Street Baltimore, MD 21202
amassey@mdmercy.com
P: (410) 659-2833

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Closing Concept:  From Aha to Haha!

Finally, there is a micro-surprising dynamic within the macro-surprising transition and process.  And that dynamic mix involves humor and wit.  As Mark Twain, acclaimed author and humorist, noted:  Wit is the sudden marriage of ideas which before their union were not perceived to have any relation.  And according to William Shakespeare, the master of verbal presentation and performance:  Brevity is the soul of wit.  One of the staples for evoking laughter is surprising an audience, quickly defying their expectations, tickling them in a slightly sensitive area, i.e., before they can block the punchline, having them acknowledge, while still saving face, their own flaws and foibles.  Or poking fun at myself by using self-effacing humor, e.g., the old saw, Vanity thy name is Gorkin!  Okay, as a “healing humorist” I also may generically poke surprising fun at unnamed others.  For example, one of my brain-body stress symptoms is the “jaw-dropping” TMJ:  Too Many Jerks!  Remember, people are less defensive and more open to a serious message gift-wrapped with humor.

On a personal note, one of the best compliments as a speaker was from a Training/OD colleague who stated:  Mark, I’ve never known anyone who can take an audience from the serious to the humorous and then quickly take them back again.  So learn to ebb and flow with that surprising comic-tragic connection.  All I can say is, Amen and Women, to that!

Closing Summary

Part I of “Going Off Script” employs a six stage-three variable analysis of the evolving – “before-during-after” – dynamics of a Plenary Speaking Program.  More specifically, an outline format highlights how the Doc transitions himself and an audience, shifting from straight forward presentation to unanticipated improvisation…with startling effect.  Through the three-pronged lens of “Atmosphere & Energy,” “Role/Status Positioning,” and “Get FIT Group Process,” the essay illustrates “off script” concepts, communication tools, and interactive techniques for more “surprising” – on the edge engaging and powerful – presentations.

While this essay examined one Interactive Exercise, Part II of “Going Off Script” will capture a number of Stress Doc exercises and other communicational tools and techniques for startling, awakening, and motivating an audience.  Encourage a large community or small group to interact with you and each other.  Playfully yet purposefully broaden a transformation-inspiration horizon by shaking up the presentation landscape and mindscape.

Mark Gorkin, MSW, LICSW, "The Stress Doc" ™, a nationally acclaimed speaker, writer, and "Psychohumorist" ™, is a founding partner and Stress Resilience and Trauma Debriefing Consultant for the Nepali Diaspora Behavioral Health & Wellness Initiative.  A former Stress and Violence Prevention Consultant for the US Postal Service, he has led numerous Pre-Deployment Stress Resilience-Humor-Team Building Retreats for the US Army.  The Doc is the author of Practice Safe Stress, The Four Faces of Anger, and Preserving Human Touch in a High Tech World.  Mark’s award-winning, USA Today Online "HotSite" – www.stressdoc.com – was called a "workplace resource" by National Public Radio (NPR).  For more info, email:  stressdoc@aol.com.