“All the worlds a stage….”
Communication is not just about what we say, its about how we talk, how we walk and what we do. As they say, communication is everything. The best way to understand communication is through performing arts. Kathakali is a stylised dance/performance from Kerala. Usually focused on religious themes, it uses a small set of five “vesham”s (literally- costumes) that perform the story .
The picture that is given here represents the character called “Minukku” (literally – shine). Minukku represents the female character in the story.
Traditional Indian performing arts talk of the feeling that the artist feels (the Bhava), the feeling you want the audience to get (the Rasa) and the performance (Abhinaya). Erving Goffman (Presentation of the self in everyday life) showed us how the Theatre could be a meaningful framework to understand social life.
Alvin Toffler told us that we no longer consume mere products, but we primarily consume images and experiences. The products we consume are only vehicles for these experiences. Around the turn of the century (the 20th Century), Pine and Glimore outlined the Experience Economy we live in. If what we give our customers is a ultimately an experience, the best method to understand it is the metaphor of the theatre. Understanding the theatre is partly about learning through performance but partly about reflecting about the experience too.
We use the metaphor of the theatre to understand the stage on which life plays itself out.