before the show starts, when the entire audience goes silent. All
the conversations and rustlings stop, and everyone, at about the
same time, falls into quiet anticipation for what is about to
happen. This is called the hush over the crowd, but really it’s the
moment when the crowd itself first forms. The 200 unique people
with different thoughts and ideas now become one single entity,
joining together for the first time to give their unified attention to
the front of the room. And the strange part is that the audience
gives control over to the unknown. They have not seen the movie
before. They haven’t heard the lecture or seen the play. It’s an act
of respect and an act of hope—and it’s amazing. There are only a
few things in the world that can silence a room full of people, and
the beginning of a performance is one of them."
- Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker
