Connect The Dots 12

			Bismillah Alhamdulillah wa salatu salam ala rasulillah salam aleikum, wa rahmatullah wa barakato.
Brothers and sisters, welcome back to connect the dots, we are rounding out our final module now,
we're still talking about performance and how to make your performance really come to life. Now,
there are a few actual techniques in terms of public speaking that everyone should be familiar with.
The first one, and the mother, really of all public speaking, is body language. Okay, body language.
As we know, research has taught us that the majority of what you say, is not actually what you say,
it's actually how you say it. So I think about 70%, of art of communication is body language. So
		

			it's not good enough for a performance poet, a spoken word artist to stand in front of an audience,
and kind of just read their poem, you know, and this is my phone, it's called, I don't know, I have
a British accent for some reason. But, you know, you, you kind of get into this mode, where you're
just kind of telling your poem in the sky, and blue and earth in the sky. You know, if you're not
engaging your audience, with your body, with your actual eyes, with your hands through your
gestures, if these are not a part of your repertoire as an artist, then unfortunately, you are
failing in the communication component of your spoken word poem. So you need to really take heed of
		

			these things and figure out how to incorporate them if you don't already incorporate them. Some
people naturally speak with their hands, I'm a person who does speak with my hands. For some people,
it's not natural, but it is important to kind of map everything, map these things out in advance. So
what I'll do is I'll actually perform my poem in front of a mirror. And I'll look at times when, for
instance, there's a word that I'm saying, you know, going up to the skies, and I'll point up, that's
a bad example. But if I'm speaking about something in particular, you know, the seeds from the earth
and the sky and the rainbow. And I will actually map out in advance what type of hand gestures what
		

			type of body language I'm going to be using while actually performing this piece. So this is
something that I would prepare, just as I would prepare my banter, as I prepare my introductions, as
I would prepare memorizing my poem, there. Again, this is all part of the performance, everything
you do in this regard is part of your performance. And it is something you have to keep keep an eye
on. And actually, while I'm speaking about eyes, the number one component in body language is eye
contact, right? eye contact, something very, very special, if I can look at my audience in the eye.
And this is a very special technique, if you can point out people in the audience and actually give
		

			them eye contact, genuine eye contact, there is a sense of connection, they will feel like none of
it. And it's so important, you know, we say that the eyes are the gateway to the soul. And that's
part of the reason why, you know, you shouldn't, for instance, look at someone maybe from the
opposite gender directly in the eyes, that's what we're taught to lower our gaze, and you don't want
to see something maybe you shouldn't be seeing because there is such a strong connection through the
eyes, that it can conjure up many different emotions. So just like it can be used for bad It can
also be used for good if you're doing it correctly with the right purpose. And Charlotte connecting
		

			with your audience, definitely employ eye contact and eye contact, there's something very special
because in our cultures, in Western culture, people look at eye contact, as a sense of confidence,
when you're able to give eye contact, it means your confidence in what it is you have to say, it
means you're not lying. Right, they always tell you that, you know, it looked me in the eyes and
tell me that that's something we would say to somebody who is not giving eye contact. So eye contact
can do a lot. And if you're not using it, definitely something you should employ. And if you're
nervous, if you can't look at people directly in the eye, if it distracts you. Another trick or
		

			technique that I use is I kind of look not at people but kind of past people. So I look at the kind
of last row of people in the room and I scan the room, I make sure I give equal amount of attention
to both sides. And I do it in such a way that the people in the middle kind of think I'm looking at
them, but I'm really not, I'm just looking at the things in the background. That's only if it's
really distracting. And for whatever reason, I can't give genuine eye contact. But still, the height
of performance means that you should look people in the eye, because that's what will take your
performance to the next level. facial expressions are another big thing. I mean, it's not good
		

			enough to just smile, if there's a reason for you to do otherwise a reason for you to frown or
reason for you to you know, kind of show kind of remorse or sadness, then your face does a lot as
well Your face is a gateway to what's happening inside of your heart. So your face should not
contradict what it is you're trying to say. If you're talking about war, you're talking about you
know, the the sacrifice people are making across the world and dying in these different, you know,
catastrophic events and the whole time you're laughing and you're smiling. You have this big, big
people are dying and the world is such a horrible what people who
		

			suffer suffering from a mental health issue, right? You want to make sure that what you're saying
your face your body language, your tone does not contradict the message you want to say that's
important because you might not be conscious of what's happening on your face and what's your body
language is doing, but it can say a lot and if it's not, if you're not careful about it, it can
actually contradict what it is you want to say. Now a few things we should also keep in mind are two
particular forms of expression through the body and through your through your voice and how you
actually projecting your voice.
		

			All these things are paced and pitch, okay? When we say the pitch of what it is, you're saying, we
talked about the tone, right? There is a way of saying something that can either be happy, sad,
angry, your tone can actually dictate the emotion of what it is you want to say, again, it should
not contradict the message you're putting forward. So if you have a happy tone, you know, if you're
happy, go lucky, and you're talking about something that's, you know, very sad or distressing, then
that will throw people off or vice versa. If you're talking about something which is very happy,
you're talking about the day you are married. And it was such a fantastic occasion. And you're
		

			talking to like this, you know, the day I was married was fantastic. And everybody was there happy
and congratulating, you can write man that she must really be crazy, that chick Rico's really
driving this guy nuts, right, you don't want to contradict what it is you're trying to say. So make
sure your actual tone is important to be regulated, you have to make sure you keep an eye on your
tone, so that it's in unison to what it is you want to say. And the pitch as well. So there are
different types of pitch, you know, and people, the classic mistake they make is they speak in
monotone, monotone, where everything sounds the exact same, I'm going to be speaking in monotone.
		

			And the thing that I'm going to be speaking about is not very important, because it's going to be
done in monotone. monotone, is a cop out for showing emotion or having your audience actually, you
know, empathize with the message you're putting forward and monotone will kill any good writing
very, very quickly. If you stand up and present a poem and you sound like the Terminator, I'm sorry,
but you've lost us. So you have to keep an eye on these things and actually prepare in advance what
type of tone what type of pitch you will be using. And again, pace is something that is so important
that once you have a good kind of once you have a good grips on your on your pace, and how you're
		

			the pacing of your form, and how you know pacing is not just fast or slow. Even within pacing, you
could employ something which I love, I love to use. And I think if you're able to use it, it'll make
you 1000 times better performer, which is the power of a pause.
		

			You see that? That's cool, right? When you can use a pause in the middle of a poem, to emphasize
something a pause can say so much, you can say so much without saying a single word. And it's about
knowing when to put the pause in the right place.
		

			And you can that wasn't a good example. But you can understand that the audience at that point, you
know, I've done polls where I'm talking, talking, talking very fast paced, fast paced, fast paced
paths, people like I'm saying, like, you're kind of floating in this moment where you have the
audience now, right where you want them, right, you've manipulated them enough so that they can
actually feel what it is you want them to feel, and put forth your argument in a way that they
cannot deny at this point. And that is the power of performance. You know, there's a lot you can say
about a very good public speaker, you know, and and if we look at it, some public speakers, they can
		

			actually hypnotize their audience, they can manipulate the audience so much so that they can cry,
they can make you laugh, they can make you give money, they can make you do anything. Once you're
able to control your audience to performance do presentation. It's a very, very amazing skill to
have. And it can be very dangerous if the wrong person is using it. But in our case in sha Allah,
we're using it for something fair, and it is something that we're going to try and perfect
inshallah, you're going to have to practice it again and again and again, because not going to be
perfect the first time with practice inshallah you only get better. Now, in summary, I'm going to
		

			focus on a few points that I want you to walk away with, from this performance module, things that
you can tangibly implement in your writing today in your performance today to make you a better
stand up performing Sharla. Number one is do memorize your poetry. It is a huge pet peeve of mine
that people do not respect their own work enough that they actually memorize it. Don't be one of
them, memorize your work. Number two, offer body language and specifically, eye contact to your
audience. Trust me, they will appreciate it. Next, make sure you speak loud enough that people can
hear you. But do not yell at your audience. There's a big mistake. people confuse being loud. With
		

			yelling, you do not need to yell. But you do too. You need to make sure that you're projecting your
voice in a way that people in the very far back can hear you possibly without even having a
microphone present. also perform with emotion and passion. But don't go over the top unless of
course the poem calls for it in some sort of satirical piece. But definitely employ passion and
emotion in your performance. Be aware of your body language, be aware of your facial expressions and
how they are working with your presentation or contradicting what it is you want to say. And lastly,
practice, practice, practice, practice is really the only way you're going to overcome any type of
		

			stage fright you might have and it's the only way you're going to really perfect that presentation.
And make sure you're giving it your all every single time in show brothers and sisters. If you have
not downloaded the PDF, make sure you do so following in the description box. And you can read
everything else I've prepared. There's a lot I mentioned in the book that I didn't actually get a
chance to mention the videos I want to try and keep these videos as succinct as possible. There's a
lot more I could add to I hope in sha Allah that
		

			People out there will benefit they will look at this video series and they will think about how they
can make themselves better performers better daddies better people who are calling to head in this
world goodness in this world. And I really pray and ask that almost without accepts this effort and
makes us heavier on my scale and on your scale on the Day of Judgment. And I have to give thanks to
this craft, you know, I don't know how to say it. I don't know if I can really think poetry per se
but it really is something that has changed my life and has made my life so better, so much better
in so many different ways. It's given me opportunities I never could have imagined and just for the
		

			love of this craft, I wish you all could feel what I feel and the power that can come about and how
much fun you can bring to this world through just the spoken word. And spoken word for me is just an
extension of storytelling. I love storytelling. I'm getting more into film and video and and I'll
never even though I'll hopefully inshallah, you know experiment with many different styles. I'll
never forget this style because this has done so much for me. And it's connected me to hearts all
around the world. And so I think this craft and I thank you all for watching in sha Allah give me
your feedback. Let me know what you thought. Any questions you have. I'll try my best to answer
		

			botica Luffy for watching us and I'm on the line he will dockets