Speaking Tip – Blocking

Spenser Tracy once said about acting, “Know your lines and don’t bump into the furniture.”

I recently had a conversation with someone who went to a speakers bootcamp. She was asking me about the importance of blocking. She belongs to a Toastmaster club and they were all making blocking a very important issue in their evaluations. Blocking can be a very effective tool when speaking, doing stand-up comedy and acting. Basically my term for blocking is  a dance term choreography.

In a play the director will help “block” the actors movements so the actors move during the play around the set to seem natural. The same apply’s while doing stand-up comedy or speaking.

Some comedians and speakers use blocking others don’t. It is up to the individual presenter. Steven Wright breaks every rule in speaking and has become a great success. He passes back and forth, without making eye contact with the audience but still gets huge laughs. Steven Wright breaks every rule of public speaking but is still a success. Why? because he does what fits him.

I see people use blocking, but if I am aware they are blocking then they are detracting from their presentation. Blocking should be natural and the audience shouldn’t be aware of the technique. A theatre critic will say if you walk out of the theatre talking about the sets or the costumes, then they didn’t do a very good job with the show. Those elements should add to the show but not be noticed.  The same applies to blocking.