Church.

When I was a kid, I liked going to church because I got to put on my favorite dresses, wear new barrettes, and listen to the choir sing good music.

The sermons? For the most part, I found them boring. I'd be in the pew, wondering why people fainted on cue like that, and waiting for the final organ selection to tell me it was time to get some Wendy's.

But subconsciously, I was picking up the pacing, the call and response, the CHARISMA of it all. The inflections the pastor would use to make people lean forward. The "but I don't think you heard me" right before the part he REALLY wanted you to hear. I guess you could say the spirit was moving... but for me it was the spirit of performance.

Church…prepared me for presentation theatre. The pastor's loooooong breathy delivery taught me all about cadence. The sermon's format showed me how writing and storytelling should make people lean in with such familiarity.

The more I visited different churches, with my mom in Atlanta, my dad in Philly, or my cousins in Los Angeles, the more I realized the package was essentially the same. Just different branding. Then I grew up and stepped into meeting rooms. Lo and behold, I was witnessing the same sort of performance (albeit far less entertaining). The best presenters spoke with you, not at you. The worst... well, they felt like a long Catholic mass. (Sorry.)

That's why I love giving presentations and doing voice-over work now. The build. The breath. Knowing when to let a line sit so the room can catch up. It's a beautiful dance.

So no, I wasn't really listening to the sermon most Sundays. But in a way, I was delivered.