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Amplify

to give an offer more emotional weight


When your response gives an offer more emotional weight, that’s an amplify. Amplifying makes offers feel more important.

Ginger announces, “I’m going to make dinner.” Mary Ann amplifies Ginger's offer by responding with shock. “You’re going to make dinner?!”

Words aren't always needed. You can also amplify with emotional sounds.

Ginger continues, “I’m making sushi.” Mary Ann scrunches up her face in disgust. “Ewww.”

When amplifying, it's easy to fall into negative responses. Remember, there's a full spectrum of feelings out there waiting to be explored.

Any offer can be amplified. You don’t have to wait for something that invites a strong response. Ordinary things that others say and do become significant when you respond with a strong emotional perspective. You don’t even need to know why before you amplify. Go before you know. Embody an emotion first; figure out why later.

Amplification gives ordinary offers greater significance and introduces your character’s point of view. You can even make discoveries by amplifying your own offers.

Repeat and amplify – After making an offer, continue repeating it with a progressively stronger point of view. Eventually, something new will show up. When it does, explore that.

Moishe muses, “It's a good day.” He amplifies his offer with a chuckle. “Yeah, a very good day.” He laughs, stretches his arms out wide, and exclaims, “Yaaaaas!” His heightened emotional state gives rise to an unexpected, spontaneous impulse. “I'm going to ask Eidel to marry me!”

Amplify and build are related skills. Amplifying adds emotion. Building adds detail. When you amplify an offer, it's common for new details to also show up. That said, learn to do them independently as well as in tandem. It's useful to just add emotional weight because it causes spects to generate the new details themselves.

When you need to crank things up a notch, amplify.

Updated: August 22, 2024

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Encyclopedia of Interactive Performance