Large Groups Versus Small Groups

When it comes to large groups such as being in front of hundreds and hundreds of people, how would you feel? Excited? Embarrassed? Nervous? There are a whole lot of emotions that go on when it comes to being in front of a large audience.

Then there are the smaller groups such as being with friends and family. Obviously, friends and family give you comfort, and small groups are generally alright; but sometimes small groups can be very nerve racking to people who prefer to be with very large groups. Take for example some comedians. They are great at providing laughs and good quality entertainment, but often times they can be shy people when they are off the stage. Even I get shy with small groups but comfortable with large groups.

Why is that? A common characteristic for people who have autism tend to be extremely shy and want to isolate themselves, and I am in the spectrum. The way I see it is that often times it’s challenging to give direct eye contact with others. I’m getting a lot better with that, but in large crowds full of hundreds of thousands of people, I can shift my eye contact and get the chance to look at everyone instead of just the same person all the time. In other words, I don’t worry so much on what people think of me when I perform, I’m just determined to look at everyone in the audience, make things equal and fair for everyone.

That’s one thing I’ve mentioned about ‘equality’ in my book. Spin around three times to the left, now you got to spin three times to the right. Do a front flip, don’t finish the day without doing a backflip! So when performing in front of others, I make sure I look around and get the chance for everyone to be seen from left to right. Haven’t changed much since grade school.

If you like, feel free to stand up in front of an audience; I believe the secret in having the people like you when you do whatever is just being yourself. Just think of the audience as one person like a friend or a family member, or even a small group. A small group full of hundreds of faces. - Tyler