Occasion's Impact on Performance

People react in a different manner depending on the situation they are involved in.  The situation impacts their performance and how they interact with those around them.  The mood of the situation plays a role in how the message is delivered and the type of audience will also influence the information being presented. 

One performance I gave was at my parents’ fiftieth birthday celebration.  My entire father’s side of the family was present, which consisted of about forty people.  It was the largest audience I had spoken to at the time, and despite them being my family, I was still nervous.  However, the occasion was one to celebrate, and the speech I gave my family was full of humor and memories that everyone could relate to.  It was more a conversation with a large group of people than a formal, structured presentation.  My voice was loud and full of enthusiasm since there was n entire room full of people that needed to hear me.  It gave everyone an opportunity to share fond memories they had of my parents and the whole performance was very light-hearted.

A very different conversation took place though with my grandfather before he passed away.  Sadly, his battle with cancer was coming to an end and everyone in the family knew it but it was a fact they were trying to ignore.  The last conversation I had with my grandfather was much less jovial than that of my parents’ birthday.  I noticed I spoke in a much softer tone and at a slower rate than I would have in any other conversation.  It was obvious I was at a loss of words most of the visit, and I knew it was painful for my grandfather to speak.  In this case, it didn’t matter as much what was said but rather enjoying the company of each other and speaking when we both felt it was necessary.

In my previous examples it is clear how the situation impact the performance.  Somber occasions call for a more serious conversation where your audience will hold on to every word that is said.  More festive occasions are more fun and put everyone in a good mood.  It is the delivery of the message.  Softer, slower speech will draw an audience closer while a loud joking manner will release any tension there is in the room.  Finding a way to relate to the audience is the most important way to have an effective performance.  It is about the quality of what is said more than how many words are spoken.  Each individual situation influences the performance of the speaker because each situation calls for a different attitude and way to convey the information and emotions.