Years ago, T.I. explained to me the secrets of his stage energy — using math and sex analogies.
True story. Strap in for a slice of wisdom from the Rubber Band Man!
I had the opportunity to act opposite Regé-Jean Page (Bridgerton) and T.I. while filming the reboot of Alex Haley’s “Roots.” On one of our breaks, I had a chance to talk to the rapper-turned-actor.
I’ve always admired T.I. for the energy he brings to the stage — enough to blow the roof off every. damn. time.
So I asked him: Is that energy legit or manufactured?
“It’s actual energy,” T.I. said. “What I put out to the audience comes back to me. Every time they send it back, I get it two-fold.”
The energy grows exponentially, he explained. Like the compounding interest from his Grammy-award-winning record sales.
I *might* have added the “record sales” embellishment.
He went on…
The energy from the stage has to be authentic for it to come back amplified.
Think about sexual partners. If one person is doing all the work and the other person is just “there” but not interested… it won’t be a great experience. Not for either partner.
However, if BOTH people are into it, there’s an exchange that enhances what’s happening.
The same applies to the exchange between the audience and whoever’s on stage. You can’t fake the performance.
THAT analogy was all his. 😉
Therefore, it’s an authentic energy that goes out from the stage. That energy is then reciprocated by the audience exponentially, elevating the entire experience for everyone, he concluded.
This is the premise of Positive Relational Energy.
Is this mic on?
Energy is why TV shows that use a live studio audience NEED a warm-up host… like yours truly.
When Kelly Clarkson, Cat Deeley, or Ken Jeong get on stage, the more energy the audience has, the better the show will be.
The hosts and speakers you see on stage will use energy from the audience to fuel their performance. During COVID-19, the substitution of a virtual audience and the lack of a live studio audience solidified this already well-known fact.
So as a host — and as a speaker and a DJ — I’m always thinking about energy.
I’m aware of how it’s being disseminated and it’s an ongoing effort to perceive how it’s received. I’m constantly adapting my performance based on where and how I want the energy of the room to ebb and flow.
I do it using the concept of positive relational energy.
What is Positive Relational Energy?
The smart people at the Harvard Business Review put words to this idea I’ve used intuitively for a while.
They were exploring what sets outstanding leaders apart from mediocre ones. In their research, it wasn’t the power or genius, or attractiveness of the leader.
They discovered that positive relational energy was the greatest predictor of success.
Positive relational energy is “the energy exchanged between people that helps uplift, enthuse, and renew them.”
Leaders who wield this energy are called “positive energizers.” They can single-handedly decrease employee turnover, increase the well-being of the workplace, and bring in more productivity and profits.
The Harvard researchers agreed with T.I. that the energy can’t be forced. It has to come from an authentic place to result in the naturally magnetic energy that brings the company success. As a host, we’re leading the audience on a journey. We are relaying and aligning the crowd with a particular set of information.
The Sizzle of the Exchange
While the Harvard researchers were talking about leadership in a workplace, positive relational energy can be applied to all sorts of relationships.
As humans, our energies are constantly interacting with one another.
The exchange might be happening with the sound and the type of words we’re speaking – sound energy. Or through the light frequencies our eyes are capturing as we watch someone’s body language – light energy.
Or the messages your neurons send to your brain when your crush’s touch grazes the back of your hand – mechanical energy.
As the interaction occurs, energy is being sent and received.
When people are communicating (acting, feeling, thinking) well, you get a phenomenon called brain synchrony. Researchers have shown how the neurons in our brains will light up in the same places as people understand each other or picture the same story.
The level of synchronization correlates with the level of the relationship. It’s that feeling of “being on the same page”, “good vibes”, or “being on the same wavelength”.
“Cause I’m Mr. Brightside”
Brain synchrony is the magic behind the on-stage energy exchange that T.I. explained to me.
Think about the last time you went to a concert. You stood in an ocean of 10,000 people — each with their own perspective, personality, and background. Before the artist(s) came on stage, there were roughly 10,000 different frequencies in the room.
Then the first bars of your favorite song floated over the crowd. As you began to sing, your brain wavelengths synced with the frequency of the 9,999 other people around you.
“Coming out of my cage
And I’ve been doing just fine
Gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all…”
You couldn’t help it. You were all interconnected and thinking and feeling a similar energy, in the same moment.
Moreover, a comparable thing happens when students listen to a lesson taught by an engaging teacher. The students’ wavelengths will sync up with the wavelengths happening in the brain of their teacher as she explains the Pythagorean theorem.
Ready, set… action!
When you have positive relational energy and higher brain synchrony, you get an elevated level of action.
At a basic level, energy is the ability to do work or make things change. Energy happens on a frequency that carries information.
You’re more likely to get someone to support your cause if they’re in alignment with the message you’re communicating.
As a host, your job is to facilitate the energy of the room to create action.
You might be hyping the audience to welcome the keynote speaker, encouraging the audience to emotionally engage with the brand, or producing an experience they won’t forget.
Whatever the goal, you won’t get there without paying attention to the energy happening in the room and utilizing positive relational energy.
How can you be authentic? How do you “tune your senses”? The short answer is by tapping into your Charismatic Advantage and learning more about the art of social energy. More in-depth answers to these questions as well as off-stage ways to practice and hone these skills are knowledge for a later blog.
I wish you incredible health, success, and happiness this year. Happy New Year and welcome to 2024!
