Audience Effect

Kyoto University researchers in Japan discovered something about chimps that we see in humans. Researchers supplied the chimps with touchscreen computers and put them in front of human audiences. Then they gave the chimps tasks.

When assigned easy tasks, the chimps did poorly. They got bored quickly, became distracted, and didn’t play to the audiences who observed them. The easy tasks weren’t engaging or challenging enough, so the chimps paid little attention to the audience.

But when faced with difficult tasks, everything changed. The harder tasks focused the chimps’ minds by raising the stakes. The stressors drove them to succeed. And even though the audiences were human, the chimps seemed to enjoy performing for them. The researchers say that the Audience Effect even predates human societies. Being observed also made the chimps cooperate better and be on their best behavior-- merely because someone was watching.

Stage actors in long-running shows find it hard to exhibit the expressiveness and emotions they had in the beginning of the run. From repetition, (8 shows a week) their task has become too easy, so they may “phone it in”, or sleepwalk through a performance.

If you experience speaker anxiety, revel in it. You won’t have to pump yourself up, because your upcoming presentation will undoubtedly do it for you. Your mind will be focused and humming. Caveat: if/when you repeat a talk, beware of phoning it in. Change the order of talking points, your open or close. This challenge will activate the Audience Effect and you will be on fire. Thank the chimps for your success.

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