Articulated Intent – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. begins his sermon with a very clear, broad overview of the discussion topic. Evil exists in the world, but it will always ultimately fail. The rest of the following piece continues to touch on this, brining each tangent back home to the central recurring point. Similarly, President Roosevelt opens his broadcast with a central theme – one of shared struggle during wartime – that the audience can continue to reference the remainder of the utterance toward. In both selections, the speakers close their pieces by again referencing the opening central theme, tying the entire performance together.

 

By making it explicitly clear what the intent of the narration is – whether it is clarification, interaction, comprehension, or some other goal – the audience can frame their interpretation in terms of the intended outcome. Rather than attempting to ‘trick’ or ‘surprise’ the audience, when dealing with an abstracted form of spatial communication it is prudent to ensure that all participants are on the same page. Understanding what the goal is will keep the narrative flow on track and mitigate listeners lingering on details that were otherwise meant to be secondary.

 

Emotive Metaphors – Throughout each of these selections, poetic, emotive passages are used to convey occupational experience. Much like a wine taster or a critic, often the most effective way to translate experience is to dip into the realm of metaphor and poetics. Purely technical language cannot fully encapsulate the range of sensory and embodied information present in an occupation of a space. Artistically liberal language helps to bridge the gap.

 

The use of metaphor is something that architecture traditionally does well, but it must, as with any other technique, be handled with care. Metaphor in each of the passages presented here is used to convey specific scenes or moments, taking care to examine the minute to minute experience. Metaphor is not used, however, to illustrate a point about the larger scale intent or conceptual ideology. Leaning to heavily in rendering what is intended to be a real experience purely through poetry stands the risk of abstracting a spatial encounter so far as to become meaningless to the audience.

 

Pacing – Al Michaels must work to respond to unfolding events in real time while sharing the frenzied experience of viewing a sporting event in person to listeners who may not have the full optical experience. Since attention spans can only be stretched so far, it is critical to alternate the methodologies being utilized. By constantly varying the technical, emotive, and background information, Michaels makes the game a captivating and engaging performance that demands attention, without becoming mired in a slowdown and ultimately losing listeners.

 

Physical References – In advance of President Roosevelt’s broadcast updating the people of the United States on the progression of World War Two, he asked them to purchase a physical world map to reference. Similarly, games of Dungeons and Dragons often make use of simple gridded maps to keep track of major landmarks and relative positioning.

 

Verbal performances utilize optical references differently than traditional mixed media presentations. When images are included in these performances, they are not photographic – they are not intended to convey a portion of the desired experience. Instead, these physical maps are used as shared points of reference, for walking through a series of spatial experiences. By including a plan or overview, the entire audience can keep track of the shared conceptual location, rather than having to manage a series of point to point directions or attempting to rationalize an unfamiliar space.

 

Point-of-view Narration – Dr. King grounds his initially abstract historical sermon by bringing it down to the scale of the point of a view of an individual participant. Orson Welles concludes his radio drama with an extensive dialogue and then a monologue elucidating the consequences of the invasion through the understanding of a single roving professor. Dungeons and Dragons is inherently a second person ongoing dialogue, wherein the storyteller uses the pronoun ‘you’ to describe things the player character is observing and understanding.

 

When framing an utterance around a high-level abstract concept or historic event, these authors work to maintain a connection to the layperson audience through the lens of a singular character. Although much of the narration consists of omniscient observances, grounding the conveyance in a way the audience immediately understands – through elements of first person understanding – helps to maintain listener comprehension and engagement.

 

Technical Detail – Whether it was aircraft specifications for President Roosevelt, precise game information during the “Miracle on Ice,” streets in New York City during the War of the Worlds, or mechanical information during a roleplaying game, the numeric and technical details are of undeniable importance in the sharing of a situation. Nevertheless, too much abstract information can be distracting and ultimately detract for the experience.

 

While critical for the conveyance of accurate information, technical detail must be utilized with a fine touch. In each case listed here, the authors include just enough detail (or even simply references to implied detail) such that the audience feels like they have a grasp on the situation. At this point, rather than continuing to include needlessly arcane or specific qualities, the authors transition into more experiential quality. The balancing act is one of just enough specification to maintain plausibility and involvement without alienating participants.