Over the years, these are what I find to be important things to consider. You'll find they don't differ much from the usual laundry list.
Emotions (especially humour)
This is far and away of the most important thing to infuse in a session. Taking time to find humourous bits to inject in a story helps make it memorable and keep the audience's attention. People who have drifted off will also be brought back by the audience's laughter. Humans remember experiences laced with the more extreme emotions. So our choices are either to make the session a happy and humourous one or a sad and touching one. And on rare occasions, both
Delivery
Voice - the voice needs to be expressive with suitable variations in pace, pitch, volume. Variation is needed to convey the intended emotions and atmosphere and to avoid monotony. Humans pay attention to differences. Babies consistently take their attention away from the norm to seek out new things. Additional qualities to consider are variations in tone (breathy, strident, nasal, etc...) and connectedness (staccato vs legato).
Facial expression - use a congruent expression.
Body movement - this should be consistent and hand gestures should not be distracting (eg, sudden and out of the typical visual field). Ideally, you should face your audience unless you feel your rear looks better and is more expressive than your face. One exception to this is when different performers take to the same stage. Then at times, it may be possible to place attention on a single person by having him/her as the only one facing the audience and down stage (closer).
Awareness
Audience - Always be aware of what is happening in your audience and make suitable adjustments. But there's no need to be unduly bothered by the odd person who seems bored. Few performances can please everyone. Sometimes there are things beyond our control. For example, some may have been absolutely tired but still want to catch your session - that's a compliment. Others may just look that way and be inwardly thrilled. But I usually make an effort to pay attention to people at the back and by the sides. Otherwise, only people directly infront will be getting attention.
Self - Sometimes, you may be losing your voice or form without realising it. (at times, you can also guess from audience reactions). It is best to film or record yourself. Do it till you don't cringe on playback. By then, you've either reached a good level of competency or an inordinate level of self-deception. eg. Using recordings, I learned to develop vocally, found bad habits such as having my voce trail off, and also discovered how often I slouch.
The above are the main qualities that should be present in all programmes, for all audiences and varying venues. I am of course, assuming that the voice is audible/pleasant, the story makes sense, and audience contact is maintained. The following are some additional things to throw in:
Interaction
Interacting with the audience can come in the form of questions or activities. This is basically audience involvement. It can also help to make the programme immediately relevant to them. Some may thing this is essential but I would place the previous qualities above this.
Making voices
Using character voices is an art. It is an outgrowth of vocal expression. Without it, this becomes a senseless gimmick that will grab you attention but you won't be able to keep it.
It is also harmful to your voice to consistently use it out of your usual pitch, volume, tone. Developing your vocal range gradually helps make it more resilient as does using proper voice support. Ideally, character voices should be accompanied by appropriate body language and placement. Used that way, I find that often an understated difference in vocal quality is enough to convey a different character. Simply highlight the differences between each character. You're not going for an Emmy (or Oscar).
Energy
I actually consider this an important thing. Bobby Norfolk has changed my mind about many stories to the effect that I now think, given enough thought on delivery and putting in the right amount of energy, we can make any story entertaining. But I won't be trying the phonebook just yet.
Miscellaneous:
Costumes,
Props,
using different tools
eg drawing, balloon modelling, paper cutting/folding/tearing, magic, slides, dramatisations (solo, group, audience involvement, music, songs, etc...
As fundamental as the above are, I feel that this quality below is the one that pulls it all together:
Your brain - my best sessions have either happened by luck (when I simply tried a few different things and stumbled upon a good approach) or by deliberation, taking time to consider:
- which are the points of interest in a story
- which are the humourous bits
- what questions can I ask the audience and when
- what areas may need explaining or simplification (eg elements of a different culture)
- which parts would be better with dramatisation, character voices or sound effects
- is the story appropriate (age, culture). Is the delivery method appropriate? eg Visual aids are certainly needed for the very young and some intellectually challenged folks.
- are there any pictures that are essential or add to the story (eg shark in the park, stephanie's ponytail)
I have never used slides but have tried a document camera (no preparation needed). This is useful is the size audience is very large huge. I have succesfully told stories to assembly hall sized audiences with just voice and body movement. And sometimes, even if you wish to try something off beat, you may want to start out matching their expectations so they are not turned off immediately. (incidentally, this is a common persuasion technique.)
You will find that I have not included anything on choosing the right story. This is because the usually inaptly named commonsense fares fairly well here. And with more experience, I find that the range of stories I can tell effectively expands.
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