Actors learn about the “fourth wall” in Acting 101 classes; it is the invisible wall that separates the actor’s world from that of the audience—the imaginary boundary between a fictional work and its receiver. Once the actor speaks directly to the audience through this imaginary wall, he or she is “breaking the fourth wall,” and the boundaries are deconstructed. An example of this occurs in the classic Thornton Wilder play, “Our Town,” in which the narrator steps out to the very edge of the stage. For a few moments, the narrator is not representing a character; rather, the narrator is just another person giving us a quick synopsis. Then backing away, again becomes a character in a fictional reality, and “fourth wall” is imagined again and “Our Town” comes to life.
We as presenters, facilitators, and speakers also set up a “fourth wall” between ourselves and our audience. Once we are up in front, we still set up a boundary between “us” and “them.” The sooner we break the boundary by involving them in some way, the sooner we connect, involve, and engage.
This is why the traditional hour speech is not really so convincing or useful for today’s audiences. Even politicians have begun to adopt the ’town hall’ approach to indicate that they are more accessible to the electorate. Consider as part of your program interviewing someone the audience want to know and do it Larry King style with the audience asking questions too. When the content expert comes to update your team, don’t let them ‘present’ instead just have your own ‘town hall’ so that the question the audience really wants to ask are asked first.
When presenters don’t break the fourth wall, the audience observes the content. You, however, can take a step forward, breaking the fourth wall, so that the audience is focused on applying and connecting with the content.
It is not about your speech…it is about the experience of your time with them.