The One-Sided Phone Call

Sometimes you can get a lot of mileage on stage when you leave half the conversation to the audience’s imagination.

[ring]

Hello … Oh, hi honey. I can’t really talk right now. I’m in the middle of giving a pres…”

Mm hmm. The Gucci purse … well … sure I guess. If you want it, go for it. But look, I really have to…”

The Mercedes. So what’s wrong with the Lexus?

Look, sweetie, I really can’t discuss this right now. I appreciate you asking but it’s your decision. I have an audience waiting and this is really awkward…

And of course, there’s one more thing. What is it?

But we just moved in last year! I thought you liked our house.

Look. I have to go. I trust you. Make the best deal you can and I’ll call you later.

Love you, too.

Hey, does anyone know whose phone this is?

This whole story is told from one side. And it’s more engaging to imagine what the woman on the other end of the line is saying than it would have been to speak those lines.

I know another speaker who uses a one-sided phone call to share how she’d received her cancer diagnosis from her doctor.

Your audience will engage more deeply if you ask them to fill in the missing dialogue.

And one more tip:

If you do plan to take a staged phone call during your performance, let the meeting host know so they won’t call you out on your lack of professionalism.

Taking a real phone call during your performance would be … well …