Over the last couple of months I have been reading some really good books (I try to fit my reading in between work, school, church, and now soccer…so it does take me a couple of months). One of which I have mentioned before, The Experience Economy, in regards to the customer’s experience. But, how to create this experience is something that everyone has trouble with. At least when starting.

What I love about this book is its ability to relate business ideas (some of which many of us have not had formal training) to theater. What are some equivalents?

• Theater = Work
• Stage = Business
• Actors = Employees
• Audience = Customers (or vendors)
• Performance = Customer Interaction

I want to focus on the types of performances today.

Their are four types of theatre that all have their place in the business world:

1. platform theatre: this is the traditional theatre that most people think about as a staged performance, where the script doesn’t vary, and the performance is done in front of an audience which has little of no input into the performance this type of theatre is used in company presentations, advertisements, etc.

2. street theatre: In street theatre, which has traditionally been the domain of jugglers, mimes, clowns, etc. the script is stable but the audience is dynamic. This type of theatre should be considered for public meetings, staff presentations, product launches, etc.

3. matching theatre: “Matching theatre, exemplified by film and television, requires the integration of work outcomes from one disconnected time frame to another. The end product results from piecing together distinct portions of work, performed at different times and often in different places, into a unified whole. The producers of matching theatre must concern themselves not only with the quantity of material lying “on the cutting room floor” but with the alignment of all those pieces, the way they should be linked together to complete the entire performance.

4. improv theatre: that is, the process of “winging it”, which demands certain skills in terms of thinking on one’s feet, responding to new and changing demands from the ‘audience’ etc. this type of theatre can be useful in a company context in terms of creative thinking , telephone interviews and solicitations, etc.

Consider how you are “Acting” today? Need to make any changes?