3 Ways to Capture Your Crowd

grab 'em, put 'em in your pocket

When I say “READ THIS” you say “ARTICLE!” 

“READ THIS”… [muffled noise] 

Unfortunately, this happens all too often to performers…

envisioning they will capture the crowd, only to be met with mild resistance, hesitant support, or several backs turned while people use their set to grab drinks at the bar. 

Maybe it’s happened to you. Maybe not. Either way, if you want a few tips to capture your crowd, read on.

For starters, we don’t want to capture them, as the title says. That’s kinda weird.

They aren’t the baby chickens I bought in 5th grade and hid in my room until they started singing too loudly (what?! They were dyed pink at a festival and we were besties. Stop judging).

They are people. We are people. 

We want to connect.

So, these are 3 ways to connect with your crowd. In the process, you may facilitate the safe space to feel their hearts—but not capture them. They’re not chickens, remember?

1.  Give before you get

A widely understood principle. And yet, sometimes we forget this.

So, I’m at a concert.

The rapper runs on stage. Immediately, mic to lips, he shouts “I wanna hear you yell!”

Mic to audience… a mild, disjointed gargle from two people echoes in response.

Back into the mic, the rapper professes his distaste, yelling “that was weak! Let’s try that again! Let me hear you yell!”

Relative silence.

Back into the mic, “okay, when I say Good, you say Music! Good—“… the muffled sounds of a few people mumbling “musiccc” came back his way.

He expressed some disappointment (at this point, I’m cringing for him) and, in a resentful tone, let them know they’d be turned up by the end of the show. Then, he started rapping away (and greatly, I might add).

People bobbed their heads but remained overall unmoved.

Woahhhh. What went wrong here?

This performer lost the audience before he ever had them.

And, mind you, this was no mandatory corporate event where people felt forced to show up.

These attendees paid for this show and chose to attend. Yet he had lost them as soon as he stepped on stage.

He didn’t already have a relationship with the audience. They had never felt from him before, connected with him before, been moved by him before. They didn’t know him. He was new on the scene.

And then, he walked straight on stage and demanded something from them. But…

the audience came to receive, not to give.

And as artists, we come to give, not to receive.

If all goes well, this mentality will generate a give and take relationship that creates a beautiful symbiotic movement of feeling, space, energy and love.

One where, if you ask the audience to yell, they scream!

If this is what you want—this synergy and to have a genuine connection with your audience-- it requires a mindset shift and one or more techniques to give before you get.

Giving comes in so many forms, so I’ll throw out just a few as illustrative examples:

Express gratitude

·      Say thank you to the crowd for coming and supporting. Go figure!

Share an internally felt emotion

In this sense, you are sharing vulnerability with the audience. Something they can connect with. This must feel honest to you in phrasing and expression.

·      You might say, “you know, I thought yall might not come tonight” or even “I don’t know about you, but I feel excited right now.”

·      You could explain (extremely briefly if it’s a live show) the feeling or story behind your album.

Jump straight into the first song

·      Share your first piece of art and perform for the crowd before asking them to do the same.

Ask for agreement

·      You might say, “I’m going to start with X song and move to B song” and “I’d love if you danced with me. Can we do that?” or “are we cool with that?”

We want to create goodwill.

It works. But it starts with a mindset shift from entitled artist to authentic artist. And, if you already vibe with that mindset, ensuring that mindset shines through.

From there, from that space, whatever you say, it should feel authentic.

Now, before we move to tip 2, let’s acknowledge that some artists have huge followings. In this case, the audience may already feel like they have received so much from the artist through experiencing their music. In this case, the artist has a lot more leeway for how to approach their debut on stage each performance.

2. Take up space

The stage, baby!

No space is a space for you to play small, except maybe if you need to fit through a narrow doorway. The stage is not that place.

This is the place for you to take up space in every sense of the phrase—physically, energetically, emotionally, spiritually.

If you are going to stretch your arm out and point—STRETCH YOUR ARM OUT AND POINT. If you are going to turn your head to the side, turn that head.

Stick with me and let’s get real for a second. We’re going to feel into our bodies.

If it feels right and is safe for you to do so:

·      Arms relaxed by your side, lift your shoulders up as high as they can go

·      Pull them back as far as they can go

·      Then push them down

·      Feel your chest expand forward and your whole chest and lungs take up more space in the room with a deep breath

·      Feel your head pull up to the ceiling

·      Feel the tops of your vertebrae pull toward the sky

·      Take a deep breath, and as you breathe out, feel your hips open

·      Feel your feet reach into the floor

·      Begin to sway a bit, remaining open

·      Feel a swell of energy build up from your pelvis

·      Feel your energy now start to emanate out of your pores into the room around you like rays touching every wall. If you’re outside, feel this into the atmosphere.

Practice often.

And when you’re on stage, feel this same energy. Especially in your hips and pelvis for female performers (sacral chakra). Especially in your shoulders and lower chest for male performers (solar plexus chakra).

When you’re on stage, move around the stage.

Dance to your own music. Point to people.

You wouldn’t tip-toe around YOUR bedroom as if apologetic to be in it, right?

It is YOUR stage. Act like it.

Plus, you are sharing a gift with the audience. With the world. Do so with giving energy and open, expansive love.

3.  Acknowledge your audience

Your audience is a group of individuals. Individuals who want to feel seen, valued, and heard.

You have the power to give them this.

If you forgot how to do that in this guarded, automated world, it’s understandable.

The best way to do this is to… relax. Be human.

Imagine this.

You are walking to meet a group of people you’ve never met before.

They are at a round table at a restaurant.

You walk in.

The table group is turned toward you, expecting your arrival.

You glide confidently between the other tables, shoulders back, eyes fixed on the wall in front of you.

Arriving at your chair, you look at it to pull it out and sit down. You look at the table to place your items down and grab a menu.

You look at the menu.

Having selected what you’d like to eat, you look to the waitstaff and place your order.

The group is turned to you still. You smile to the wall.

When your food comes, you stare at it.

You consume and enjoy every last morsel, along with chewing noises and sensual sways for particularly delicious bites.

Then, you look back at the wall. Until the end of the meal. 

No chance you would do this with a group of people and hope to feel connected to them.

Yet, you’d be surprised how many music artists do this with attendees-- never acknowledging their crowd.

Ever. In a room of people. No greeting. No moment of eye contact. And definitely none of that intimacy or even recognition we all so deeply crave.

And maybe you’ve been one of those “many music artists.” And that’s okay! Nevermore.

So, how do we do this?

One way to help someone feel seen and valued is through conversation—the best conversation comes from questions. But we saw how this can go awry in tip 1 when the questions focused on serving you first and not the audience, right?

And it’s a balance. We don’t want to jump straight into questions. WOAH! Relax. Say hello first. And show your value to your prospective supporters before you try to get to know them, or else it feels awkward and forced.

Or worse, boring.

Acknowledge, entertain, then you can ask questions. And make your questions about them first, so it doesn’t feel like a bad first date.

While a crowd certainly can take on a bit of a collective identity—something you the performer will want to foster in them as well—it is also comprised of individuals.

It’s best to connect with the crowd as a collective and then with unique groups within the crowd.

Here are some options:

Recognize the whole crowd 

·      Say what’s up to the audience… “hi!” 😊

·      Recognize when they do something that makes you feel good.

Acknowledge sub-groups

·      Call out where they’re from, based on the city you’re in or the city you’re from.

·      Call out “just the ladies” or the people who “have also had their heartbroken” right before you sing your song on heartbreak.

·      Call out people who like to turn up, right before your club banger.

Connect with individuals

·      Take select people from the crowd and look them in the eye slightly longer than feels comfortable, as if the show is just for them.

·      Throw a free T-shirt to one person or a few.

·      Shout out that girl in the green t-shirt who seems to know all the lyrics.

It’s understandable we want to jump straight into having the people support us.

As insecure as people may sometimes seem, we are all highly conceited and self-absorbed.

So, as music artists, you’ll want to use this same principle to connect with your audience and help them to feel good.

Just like, at the club, we don’t bounce to, “if you love me, bounce” but ladies do turn up for “where my single ladies at,” we want to be acknowledged first for US before showing love. 

We do this for them, and we’ve got people going.

Let’s recap:

1.    Give before you get

2.   Take up Space

3.   Acknowledge your audience

Before I close out, we know there are so many elements of a great performer. Some tangible, some intangible.

There are many tips and tricks to hone your skills, but there’s the deep, core work that is foundational for your performance and artistry. The techniques are layered on top of that.

Because you can employ all the techniques in the world— but miss that core authenticity which can supersede all techniques.

And whether you like diamonds or not, most people will take the unpolished diamond over a perfectly polished cubic zirconia. Not because of its expense but because of its rareness and its genuineness. Because of its essence.

At the core of it all is embodiment—attuning to our body. Feeling the feels. Emanating the emanations. Casting off layers that block our magnetism. This foundational work is a deeper journey, though it needn’t be a hard one or even a particularly long one given the right process, intention, and coaching.

Whatever you do, remember that life is your stage and you have gifts to share with the world.

Keep experimenting and have fun with it!