An actor looks for events in the scene he/she is playing. Events are changes. Could be a revelation of knowledge, a burst of anger because of careless words, or a number of other elements.

I was directing two actresses this week in a training exercise. The scene began with one sitting on the couch for a moment before the second actress enters the room. The first actress sat fairly still until several moments after the other (playing her sister) had entered the room. I asked them to run the scene again. This time I asked the first actress to change her body position as soon as she realizes her sister is in the room. It worked much better. Her reaction doesn’t just add to the believability of the scene, it draws the audience’s attention to the event… the change.

Do you look for events as you market? Do you pay attention to the changes that precipitate customers buying from you? If you sell office furniture then you should be looking at moves, expansions, remodeling projects, new business starts, etc. Do you get information from the city’s building permits department? Maybe you should partner with moving companies, telephone system vendors, electricians, building contractors, and/or banks to cooperatively market together. Do you draw your “audience’s” attention to these events? Do you notify them that they need you when they move, expand, remodel, or start a business? If you attach yourself to the event strongly enough, then the event becomes your lead generator.

Events are changes. As Seth Godin notes, we pay attention to changes. So, if you want people to pay attention to you, pay attention to events.