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Why You Need To Be A Better Actor

We should all try to be a better actor when we are in public indoor spaces.

Why you need to be a better actor

The thing with wearing masks is it makes it really hard to see the expression on people’s faces. You can’t tell how they are reacting to what is being said.

Take it from me. For the last several months I’ve been preaching to people wearing face masks. That was an upgrade because, for several months before that, I preached to a room without any people in the seats. … Actually, I had three other people present who were working the sound board and camera and streaming software.

The thing about preaching to people wearing masks is that you can’t tell how engaged they are with what you are saying. Even speaking one on one with people, it is not easy to tell what’s going on behind the mask. 

I was in a grocery store on vacation this summer, in line to pay for my items. The woman ahead of me, who was just about finished her purchase, was trying to flag down her husband at the back of the store.

She waved to him but he didn’t see her.

So I yelled out, “Hey, dude!”, and waved to him to look our way. 

He didn’t notice me either, so I just looked back at the woman. She looked back at me. I had no idea what she was thinking.

After a brief pause, she said, “I’m laughing behind this mask.”

… I can’t help but think of teachers going back to school. Sure, they will have smaller classrooms which will make it easier to an extent. But if the kids are wearing masks, good luck on knowing if those kids are making faces or turning up their noses at something the teacher said. 

The other day I saw a woman wearing a clear plastic mask with a mini shield attached. At least you could see her face though, to be honest, the shield looked a little funny.

Masks block our facial expressions and they say that facial expression and body language makes up about 55% of communication. 

That’s why we need to be good actors when we wear our masks. A good actor accentuates their expressions – especially stage actors. They need to make sure the people sitting in the back row can see their expression and their body language. 

The other day I was talking with someone after church and he said something that I thought was amusing. 

I would normally have just smiled and nodded. But not with my mask on. I chuckled out loud, my head bobbed up and down, my shoulders even shimmied a bit. 

He go the idea that I was amused by what he said. 

It takes a lot more work to communicate this way, but this is what we need to do. We need to overreact just so the person who’s communicating with us knows we are reacting at least a little to what’s being said. 

So everyone get out there and be a better actor … for the sake of the person you are talking to.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes we might think that if we are kind, caring and generous to the people around us, they will know that it is because we have experienced Christ’s love and are now living out that love. But the truth is that many people who don’t know Christ will not get that connection. It’s like we are communicating with masks on. At some point we need to actually tell them about Christ’s love.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you found communicating while wearing a mask? Leave your comments and question below.

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Recorded Music Has Changed, But Is It For The Better?

Recorded music is changing … again … and it’s not exactly going forward. 

When I was a kid, the popular music form to buy was the 45. That stood for 45 rpm, the speed at which the records turned on the record player. 

I remember my brother buying me a Beatles 45 for Christmas one year. It had “Hey Jude” on the A side and “Revolution” on the B side. 

Back then you knew what was on both sides of a record … “Penny Lane” side A; “Strawberry Fields Forever” on the flip side. 

Those were singles, but a record album spun at 33 1/2 rpms. Both 33’s and 45’s laid on a platter and spun around while a needle picked up the sound from the grooves. 

Then came the cassette and eight track. We bought whole albums this way and even recorded music from the radio onto cassettes. 

Eight tracks didn’t last very long, but cassettes took off in popularity while record albums started to fade. 

I remember two big record stores on Yonge Street in Toronto: A&A’s and, right beside it, Sam the Record Man. They were famous landmarks in Toronto for many years, but both stores eventually closed and now there is no remaining evidence that they ever existed. 

I remember waiting outside A&A’s all night to get tickets to an Elton John concert in 1974. That was an experience!

We got them at 7:00 am, then cruised by Maple Leaf Gardens with windows down, flashing our tickets and yelling to the thousands of people lined up on the street waiting to purchase their tickets.

Cassettes didn’t completely wipe out vinyl records, but when CD’s made their way onto the scene, they really ended the popularity and production of record albums. 

You could barely find any store that sold records; people had record players only because they had old albums. Record players were collecting dust because no one used them anymore. 

Downloading and renting digital music has become the latest way that we listen to recorded music. We now buy music online or get it through an online music subscription that gives you access to all music. 

With our phones we can listen anytime and anywhere. 

Not long ago, however, my son bought a turntable. He has started collecting some albums … yes, real vinyl LP’s, 33 1/2 rpm records. 

Who would have thought it? Vinyl is making a bit of a comeback, and it’s partly to do with the quality. 

It turns out that all the advancements we’ve made in recording music have not produced a better quality. Vinyl records have a better sound than digital. 

Maybe it’s time to get out my old albums, dust off my turntable and start listening to music like I did when I was in my teens. 

… I’m just not sure I want to spend hours at a record store combing through the albums to find something I want to purchase. 

I enjoy getting my music online. 

Here’s the thing: You’ve probably made some changes spiritually over the years. Some of those changes have likely not been for the better. Maybe they have hindered your relationship with God. It’s time to make a change back to your spiritual roots and connect with God in a deeper, richer way. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to go back to in order to enrich your relationship with God? Leave your comments below.