3 Tips for Speaking with Audiences

In an age when we want to have “behind the scenes” access to everything, audiences at concerts don’t want artists to simply walk on stage, play music, bow, and leave.  They want to hear from you – they want to hear something, anything, about why you love this music, where it came from, how there is this captivating moment of peace in the middle of complex music, SOMETHING. They want to see behind the tuxedo and be able to relate to you and your craft.  So, here are three tips for speaking with audiences:

1. Have a story.  People love stories.  Period.  Tell a story about the music or yourself or both and don’t worry about making it educational or witty or complicated.  Just be yourself and tell a story.
2. Keep it simple. Sometimes, less is more.
3. Practice it.  Musicians practice their music a lot – why shouldn’t we practice speaking if we know we will have to speak to a large group of people? Create an outline (do not write out full sentences) for what you want to say, and practice speaking out loud, by yourself or with a friend. Keep your outline as simple as possible – maybe just 3 points – and memorize those so that at any point during your talk, you can call those three main points up in your mind and remember where you are and what is left to say.