Where to Stand
Where you put your body changes sightlines, attention, lighting, and the feeling of authority.
Start where the room can see you
Center stage is common for a reason, but room geometry matters. Columns, low ceilings, side seating, cameras, and monitors may change the best position.
Before the show, look at the stage from audience level if you can.
Your feet are part of the delivery.
Stage Movement
Movement should add information, emphasis, character, or rhythm. Otherwise it competes with the joke.
Match movement to thought
A step forward can intensify a confession. Turning away can sell embarrassment. Crossing the stage can define a new character location.
When movement matches the idea, the audience reads it without consciously analyzing it.
Movement is punctuation; do not put an exclamation point after every word.
Eye Contact
Eye contact makes written material feel like a thought being shared with actual people.
Talk to the room, not the floor
Looking down constantly can read as uncertainty. Looking above everyone's heads can make the act feel detached.
You do not need to stare at individuals for long periods. Let your attention travel naturally across sections of the audience.
Share the set with the whole room.
Handling Bright Lights
Stage lights can make it difficult to see faces, notes, clocks, or the light signal. Prepare before the set instead of discovering the problem at minute nine.
Find the light signal
Ask where the time light will appear and what it looks like. If the spotlight makes that position invisible, solve it before the show.
Some venues use a flashlight, wall light, phone light, or booth signal.
Know where the time light and the edge of the stage are before you start.
