I have been very involved in the Boy Scouts of America for the past five years. I am concluding my second year in charge of the Cub Scout Roundtable, which is a monthly leadership development meeting. I have learned things through the training I have received from the BSA that has improved the variety arts classes that I teach and also impacted my clowning. Some of them are things that I had been doing instinctively, but now I know enough to use them more effectively on purpose.
Reflection Time is a period at the Roundtable meeting when I ask a question which each person takes a turn answering. Here are some examples. "What service project has your Pack completed in the past year?" "Where is your favorite place to hike?" "What is your favorite memory from your Pack's events last summer?" "How does your Pack communicate with the members?"
Through Reflection Time I have gotten to know the participants better, they have gotten to know each other, they have become actively involved instead of being passive observers, and I have learned new information myself.
When I was on the board for an amateur clown club I sometimes used this technique. I might ask, "What was your most recent clown performance?" During a period when many of the members became too ego centric, I used questions to shift the focus by asking things like, "What did you see another member do recently that impressed you?"
When I attend an educational program, I am often seated at a meal with somebody I don't know. As an ice breaker I frequently ask, "How did you get started in clowning?" or "What type of clowning do you enjoy the most?" My favorite question though is, "What do you do when you are not clowning?" People are surprised that I am interested in them as a person beyond being a clown. Also, I have learned fascinating things. For example, one clown was a button salesman who taught me that many pearl buttons were made from the shells of fresh water clams harvested in the Mississippi River.
I have used questions when I do strolling clowning to involve audience members. When I worked at Raging Waters I performed almost exclusively in silence. When I carried a badminton shuttlecock in a bird cage, I had a little sign that said, "This is my birdie. What should I call him? Or is he a she?"
A little girl replied, "Call him Rudolph because he has a red nose."
A woman told me, "Your birdie is a he because he is a shuttlecock. If it was a she, it would be a shuttlehen."
Sometimes I carried a Blue Jay, a large cutout letter J painted sky blue, in my cage. One day a man commented that my bird might be sick because it was a little pale. I asked him what he thought was wrong. Suddenly we were surrounded by a group of people discussing the health of my bird. Finally the consensus was he was love sick because he didn't have a girlfriend. They suggested that I get an "O-riole" to keep him company. Using that as inspiration I carried a package of Oreo cookies in the cage the next week.
I visit nursing homes as Santa. When I go into a resident's room, I look for something I can comment on or ask about. For example, if they have a poinsettia, I might comment on its beauty and ask where it came from. That often leads to them telling me about their family.
When meeting somebody new, how can you use questions to draw them out? In a group setting, how can you use questions to solicit ideas and change the group dynamics? How can you use questions to get audience members involved in your performances?
