An observation and a thought

[Rick]

Here's a video Rick and the boys heading to the meeting, I don't know how they filmed it!

though it is interesting what humor and music can do for you, especially when it's with other people. I'll say, after the meeting, I was thrown off the project. The thing went nowhere and died.

 

[TBurst Std]

Not that strange to me.

In a situations where "I have the floor", I am (I believe) a very good and outgoing performer. But when I'm in a small group of people, being the center of attention makes me squirm. Nothing worse than when someone at a small get-together says "Aaron, play us something."

Ugh. Just shoot me.

Yep. Put me in front of 1500 with other musicians I’ve only had a run through with, no prob. Put me me with 2 other musicians I know in front of a small group, no prob. Put me solo I front of a small group of non musicians, prob. Oddly though, in that situation of the group gets bigger, a bit less of an issue.

I think it’s due to 2 items:

1: I play off of other musicians and am also inspired by them in what I play.

2. More intimate without other musicians brings out the keep your day job.

 

[TBurst Std]

And something else, non performers dont get that any potential jitters go down as audience size increases.

They think, if you can play to 1500-15000, why can’t you just play for me? They don’t get it.

 

[ghostrider25]

And something else, non performers dont get that any potential jitters go down as audience size increases.

They think, if you can play to 1500-15000, why can’t you just play for me? They don’t get it.

So true. The biggest single group of people I’ve played in front of was somewhere north of 1500. I wasn’t nervous for that at all, but, a small family gathering with a spontaneous “play us something”, like Aaron said, just shoot me.

I’ve often wondered where the next nervous milestone would be. Would I be nervous in front of 5k? 10k? 100k? On TV?

 

[NedRyerson]

The social anxiety "paradox," if you will, I totally get. And not even from a musical performance standpoint.

As part of my work in public ed, I've been presenting at conferences more and more frequently over the last few years. Put me in front of a classroom of 50+ fellow educators who are sitting there to learn about whatever topic I'm speaking on, and I'm on, man. It's a performance, as you all know. Just that I have a laptop and a USB laser-pointer slide show button remote control thingie instead of a bass guitar. The feedback I've gotten on my presentations have been stellar, talking about my energy, my humor, my ability to translate complex technical concepts into human language, and how I can connect to my audience so that they can actually absorb what I'm presenting.

But then shift me over to the hotel bar later that night where I'm sitting by myself to get a drink and a bite to eat after the conference is done and I am completely shut down, hesitant to strike up a conversation with someone who sits next to me. That introversion rears its head as soon as I'm done with my speaking obligation; I read a succinct phrase once that describes this -- the "extroverted introvert."