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Borrowing from the Actor’s Playbook: Shared Secrets of Masterful Performance

These similarities between acting and speaking can help you shine under the spotlight.

On Stage

Public speaking

Stage performance

Russell

Ewing

Creative Director, Lead Performance Faculty

minute read

Published on

November 3, 2025

The work you put in to master the craft of speaking and stage performance isn’t solely to become a better speaker, but also, to more masterfully serve your audience.

As a professional speaker, you may find the world of film, TV, and theater to exist in an entirely foreign realm to the work you do on the keynote stage. Many students of speaking who I’ve worked with find these other mediums somewhat mystifying.

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Throughout my career, I’ve studied an array of different performance mediums. While each has their own unique qualities in their expression, I’ve found a few key overlaps that can be a goldmine for speakers who want to enhance their onstage performance.

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You see, great art—whether it’s a killer keynote, an Academy Award-winning film, or a toe-tapping Broadway musical—is entertaining, insightful, thought-provoking, challenging, and lasting.

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To create that level of impact? You can’t just deliver a speech, you’ve got to perform it.

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That’s where the magic happens: at the intersection of storytelling, stagecraft, and serious preparation. Actors and speakers are in the same business: to deeply move and change people. And there’s quite a bit we can borrow from the performer’s playbook.

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Preparing for the Spotlight: What Best-in-Class Performance Demands

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First and foremost, for both actors and speakers, a considerable amount of preparation is required for peak performance. In fact, considerable is an understatement; it takes hundreds upon hundreds of hours of rehearsal to truly stand out onstage.

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Both actors and speakers prepare by:

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Learning their material. Knowing your lines is just the beginning. Actors go beyond the words on the page to analyze the script, embody the character, and live in the world of the story. Speakers don’t just memorize, they master their material.
Becoming the investigator. Actors focus on uncovering what motivates, delights, frustrates, and blocks their character. Their goal? To see the world through the character’s unique point of view. Likewise, speakers know the speech isn’t about them, it’s about their audience. The more profoundly a speaker understands the people they serve, the more magic they'll make onstage.
Diving into the language. Performance goes beyond just the words you use. Actors work to understand why the characters use the words they use, how they use those words to express themselves, and what feeling is rooted in those words. Speakers focus on crafting thoughtful, profoundly effective language. They use words their audience can grapple with and language that will shift their minds, their hearts, and their actions.‍
Determining the unique roles you’ll play. Every choice an actor makes is designed to spark a reaction, stir a feeling, and keep the scene pulsing with life. Similarly, speakers step into different roles during their time onstage. Whether you’re the motivator, the teacher, the challenger, or the best friend, the roles you play will evoke specific emotions in your audience.

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A big part of performance—whether in theater, film, or public speaking—is centered around the intense preparation and investigation long before the day of the actual performance. Why? Because it’s the preparation that allows you to be completely free and present, react spontaneously, and perform authentically the day of.

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Here’s the paradox: the more “in the moment” a performance feels, the more hours of preparation it secretly took to get there.

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It’s not the same as winging it. You might feel in the moment, but without preparation, that moment will likely be messy, unfocused, unintentional—and possibly ineffective. And that’s exactly what the audience will see.

Full Transcript

Don't

When a performer is prepared, the performance is thrilling; it feels alive, as though it’s happening for the very first time, in the best way.

Avoid Autopilot While Repeating the Magic, Gig After Gig

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Broadway stars step into the same spotlight night after night, sometimes for months at a time. Film actors repeat the same, emotion-drenched scene, take after take, until the director finally says, “That’s the one!” And professional speakers? Many deliver the same signature talk again and again (and again) for years to different audiences across the world.

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Repetition—both during rehearsal and actual live performances—is crucial for mastery. But left unchecked, it can also lead to a mechanical, flat, autopilot-style delivery.

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So how do you avoid slipping into a routine performance? How do you make it feel fresh, sparkling, and alive every single time?

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Trick your brain. This is a simple technique I used as an actor while teaching sexual assault prevention through theatre at U.S. military bases. Though it was the same performance day after day, it didn’t feel routine or mechanic because I tried to always focus on what’s new.

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As a speaker, you can do something similar. Don’t focus on what has happened in the past, but instead, what’s new: today’s audience, this unique venue, the eager eyes in the front row. It’s helpful to remind yourself that while you, the speaker, have engaged with this material hundreds of times, this audience is listening with fresh ears. They’ve taken the time out of their lives to listen to your ideas, so this is the very first and only time this performance is happening on this day, for these people.

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Performance is an act of generosity, and touching back in with that truth will remind your brain to be fully present for each “new” performance.

Don't

revert to autopilot onstage, no matter how many times you’ve delivered your speech before.

treat every performance like it’s happening for the very first time.

The Mental Grit to Flip the Switch

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Here’s another peculiarity speakers and actors share: a great deal of the time they spend offstage is spent worrying about being onstage.

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Film actors wait in their trailers for hours before stepping in front of the camera. Theater actors go through the paces of their day all while their eight o’clock curtain call looms. And speakers? They may start stressing months in advance, worry for weeks, then spiral through TSA lines and lonely hotel rooms, all because the weight of a gig hangs heavy over their head.

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Managing your energy in the in-between moments (without burning out) takes real mental grit. Learning how to regulate performance energy when it’s not “go-time” and being able to flip the switch to not only access it, but make it fuel your performance, is the key to a sustained and healthy speaker.

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The greatest athletes in the world know to operate from a place of complete lack of tension, and then activate their full power from a place of optimal efficiency. The added energy that can creep up in anticipation of a gig can verge into performance anxiety, but torturing yourself over the coming opportunity will not somehow muscle it to go better.

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The solution? Preparation. The better prepared you are for your performance, the more relaxed you’ll be. Worry stems from not knowing what will happen. When you know exactly what you're going to do before you do it, and you’re confident in your ability to reliably execute, you’ll feel much more relaxed and confident.

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Trusting in your preparation and accessing your performance energy onstage are what lead to a fully present performance. A performance that’s completely focused on your audience.

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Easier said than done, I know. You're brushing your teeth in a Courtyard Marriott, but your brain is already 15 steps ahead:

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“If this gig goes well, maybe I’ll get booked at the industry event… that’ll lead to more gigs, higher fees, a calendar full of dream clients…. and I’ll triple my income!”

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When your mind jumps to the future possibilities, you disconnect from the people right in front of you. And ironically, it makes those daydreams less likely.

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Stay in the moment. Focus on your purpose as a speaker. Trust that showing up prepared and staying fully present (with your emotional batteries recharged and ready to shine under the spotlight) is the key that unlocks not just onstage magic, but future possibilities as well.

Don't

get distracted by the big picture or future opportunities. Focus on serving today’s specific audience.

find what works for you as a human being to maintain a fulfilling life outside of your career and minimize pre-event stress.

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It’s a Scene, Not a Monologue

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Actors perform onstage and onscreen with fellow actors, or scene partners. As a result, they feed off each other's performance decisions, energy, and responses to create an engaging, back-and-forth dynamic that ignites the scene with emotion.

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As a speaker, you’re up onstage alone. Many speakers mistakenly believe they’re performing a monologue. Sure, technically, they’re the only ones speaking, but that’s actually not the case. A great speech is a vivid dialogue between the speaker and their audience—one that’s full of debate, emotion, and energy. The speaker just happens to have all the best lines.

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HEROIC’s co-founder, Michael Port, refers to this hidden dialogue between speaker and audience as the ghost script: what goes on in the mind of the audience in response to what the speaker says and does. A speaker can anticipate these thoughts during the speech-writing process and create built-in answers and responses to the audience’s questions. Crafting your speech with this in mind makes audience members wonder, “How did they know what I was thinking?”

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And beyond the writing of your script, the performance is when your audience truly becomes your scene partner. They are moved, stirred, rattled, and inspired by the choices you make onstage. Their reactions are what spark the inspiration for every moment of your speech.

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However, your speech won’t feel like a dialogue if your attention is focused on yourself. Worrying about approval can make your performance feel self-conscious, emotive, and even dishonest. And you won’t be able to create a speech that feels like a dialogue if you don’t truly understand your audience, their world, and the problems they face. When you know them deeply, you’ll be able to connect and begin the invisible back-and-forth.

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Instead, focus all your attention on your audience. Just like an actor who constantly aims to make their scene partner feel and act a certain way, focus on what you’re making your audience feel during each moment in your performance.

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What do you want to change in them? What is your objective? How do you want to affect them? In the acting world, we call this Playing Actions: the actions you take to make your scene partner feel a certain way.

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Playing Actions is a huge part of our curriculum in GRAD | Stage Performance Mastery. We show speakers how to evoke specific emotions in their audience through performance. Because if you can change the way your audience feels, you can change the way they think. And if you change how they think, then (and only then) you’ll be able to inspire them to act.

Don't

treat your speech like a monologue; make it feel like a dynamic dialogue with your audience.

focus on what specific emotions you want your audience to feel.

Generosity: The Performer’s Gift to the World

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My roots are in theater, film, and television. Before earning an MFA from NYU's Graduate Acting Program, I had a background in Theatre of the Oppressed work and spent three years touring the world on U.S. military bases using theater to teach sexual assault prevention.

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Helping real people around social causes was fulfilling. Even after performing the same show hundreds of times, it was never monotonous—because I was centered on each unique audience, their needs, and their experience.

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Now, at HEROIC, I teach many of those same techniques I’ve explored throughout my acting journey to people who have the desire to change the world and help their specific audiences.

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I’ve found that both in the acting world and the speaking industry, the best performers—the ones who are the most intoxicating to watch—are the ones who are most generous.

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They’re willing to make their entire performance completely about the person they’re trying to help. They’re selfless onstage, willing to do whatever it takes to make their audience feel, think, and act differently. They’re focused entirely on the people they set out to serve.

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They don’t seek accolades or standing ovations. Their only aim is to be helpful. Like a steady lighthouse or a glimmering disco ball, these speakers shine onstage—but not for their personal glory. They reflect inspiration and illuminate the hearts and minds of each person in their audience.

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How Much of Yourself Are You Willing to Give?

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At HEROIC Homecoming, an Alumnus posed a heartfelt question to Michael and Amy Port, our founders: What’s the secret to making every individual who comes to HEROIC feel loved, cared for, and seen?

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The answer was both profoundly simple and delightfully obvious: “The key to making people feel like you care about them is to actually care about them.”

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When you’re willing to give of yourself as a performer to help others, your performance will come to life. When your only goal is to serve your audience, when you focus entirely on them, when you actually care about the people in front of you, they feel it.

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Whether it’s the art, entertainment, and impact of theater and film, or the profound transformational experience of public speaking, honor your audience with deep preparation, presence, and generosity. Then, you will do meaningful work.

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Onstage, you can challenge, teach, entertain, and inspire. You can provoke action with a story, spark laughter with a gesture, and slip wisdom into someone’s pocket like a secret gift. That’s the magic of transformational performance. It’s generous, it’s playful, and it can save the world, one speech at a time.

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Helpful Links

Take the stage with confidence (and a spark of character).

GRAD

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Stage Performance Mastery

Master performance techniques that land your message directly into the hearts of your audience. Craft a performance that’s completely for them.

Learn more

Thank you! Your submission has been received!

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Avoid Autopilot While Repeating the Magic, Gig After Gig

‍

Repetition—both during rehearsal and actual live performances—is crucial for mastery. But left unchecked, it can also lead to a mechanical, flat, autopilot-style delivery.

‍

So how do you avoid slipping into a routine performance? How do you make it feel fresh, sparkling, and alive every single time?

‍

Performance is an act of generosity, and touching back in with that truth will remind your brain to be fully present for each “new” performance.

Dont

revert to autopilot onstage, no matter how many times you’ve delivered your speech before.

treat every performance like it’s happening for the very first time.

When a performer is prepared, the performance is thrilling; it feels alive, as though it’s happening for the very first time, in the best way.

The Mental Grit to Flip the Switch

‍

Here’s another peculiarity speakers and actors share: a great deal of the time they spend offstage is spent worrying about being onstage.

‍

Trusting in your preparation and accessing your performance energy onstage are what lead to a fully present performance. A performance that’s completely focused on your audience.

‍

Easier said than done, I know. You're brushing your teeth in a Courtyard Marriott, but your brain is already 15 steps ahead:

‍

“If this gig goes well, maybe I’ll get booked at the industry event… that’ll lead to more gigs, higher fees, a calendar full of dream clients…. and I’ll triple my income!”

‍

When your mind jumps to the future possibilities, you disconnect from the people right in front of you. And ironically, it makes those daydreams less likely.

‍

Don't

get distracted by the big picture or future opportunities. Focus on serving today’s specific audience.

find what works for you as a human being to maintain a fulfilling life outside of your career and minimize pre-event stress.

It’s a Scene, Not a Monologue

‍

Don't

treat your speech like a monologue; make it feel like a dynamic dialogue with your audience.

focus on what specific emotions you want your audience to feel.

Generosity: The Performer’s Gift to the World

‍

Now, at HEROIC, I teach many of those same techniques I’ve explored throughout my acting journey to people who have the desire to change the world and help their specific audiences.

‍

I’ve found that both in the acting world and the speaking industry, the best performers—the ones who are the most intoxicating to watch—are the ones who are most generous.

‍

How Much of Yourself Are You Willing to Give?

‍

The answer was both profoundly simple and delightfully obvious: “The key to making people feel like you care about them is to actually care about them.”

‍

Don't