Practice proper mic control.
If you are already a spoken word artist, you should consider becoming an even better one. The ease and fluidity with which accomplished spoken word artists deliver their performances is not easily developed. To be a better spoken word artist you will need to study other practitioners closely, examine your own body of work and take a few aesthetic risks you would not normally have considered. Here's how.
Instructions
1. Close your eyes and imagine yourself onstage as you actually appear when you perform spoken word. What do you see? How is your posture? Can you hear every vowel and consonant, and does the dynamic flow of your poem tell a musical story-within-the-story? Now is the time to honestly imagine yourself as an audience member and experience your performance from that perspective. Listen to yourself and ask what you can do better.
2. Are you using silence effectively? The late, great New York Philharmonic conductor Leonard Bernstein once said that the music actually occurs in the spaces between the notes. Since spoken word is a way of speaking musically, the effective use of silence applies.
3. Enunciate. Too many self-styled spoken word artists think they are too good to enunciate their vowels and consonants. What is the point of saying anything if every last minuscule sound cannot be heard? As the poem progresses, adjust your tempo, tonality (high notes and low notes), and punctuate with pauses of varying lengths to make sure the content of the poem is being communicated. Add extra emphasis to consonants that sound like other consonants so that the word in which they appear will not be confused with another, as in "cat" and "cap". Remember, in a live setting the audience gets one chance, and one chance only, to hear each moment in the poem. Don't shortchange their experience of your awesome poem or story by leaving words open to denotative interpretation.
4. Control your microphone. The closer you are, the louder your voice will be. The farther you are, the quieter it will be. Use the microphone as a tool. If you have any control over the sound levels (either directly or through the assistance of a sound person) make sure the treble output is turned up a bit. Spoken language relies on subtleties in the high range to clarify consonants and distinguish vowels. Turn up the bass too to fill out your voice, and turn down the mid-range a bit. I find that these settings make for a nice sonic spread when doing spoken word.
5. If the mic is "hot" it will squeal and squawk if you get to close to it. This is the quickest way to clear out a room, sending audience members outside for a smoke break. Watch out for this. When approaching a mic for the first time, say a few test-tests into the mic from various distances and from different angles.
6. Try taking away the mic and speaking directly into the venue for a small section of your poem for a dramatic, "natural" effect. This is a great way to deliver a punchline in some cases.
7. Smile. Spoken word artists do not have to be angry all the time. Even if you are talking about a sore subject, smiling puts your audience at ease and increases their ability to really hear what you are saying.
8. Memorize your spoken word piece. Use your hands to gesticulate, or let them hang calmly at your sides. Watch other spoken word artists who have a knack for drawing an audience into the palm of their hand. The body is a communicator. Take a couple of acting lessons for this, as body control is one of the least understood aspects of spoken word. It does not come naturally.
9. Be self-aware. Does your performance have weight? Does it soar? Does it flutter gently? Discovering how you "come off" to other people will improve your skills immensely.
10. Get feedback. Ask honest people what they think of your performances. Learn what your audience's favorite poems of yours are. Place a high value on honest, constructive criticism. Just don't put people on the spot. Some people do not care to give feedback; they would rather take you at face-value.
11. In the end, you are your own best genius. Listen to your innermost sage advice, and always strive to improve as a spoken word artist. You can be light years better than you already are. But you have to be humble and you must believe it is possible.
