Interaction with the public

Interaction with the public can be dynamic with words and body language and can be mysterious when the public remains less communucative. My own tendency is to use my entire physical presence when speaking to and about art objects and when the viewers remain static my motions sometines more become more emphatic. It is usually because I want to get some modicum of reaction. However it does not mean that the audience is not responsing but it might mean that they are less demonstrative than not. Which brings me back to the subject of asking carefully crafted questions so that a positive engagement with the audience can be demonstrated. A few days ago I was part of an audience to a splended lecture in Gallery by one of the lecturers. The presentation was entirely a lecture but so well crafted and demonstrated with art objects that there was room for little else. There were a few questions by audience members but they were insignificant and added little to the body of knowedge that the lecturer was delivering. So it brings me back to the delivery of information to the public during a docent led tour. Do we give information that helps the viewer appreciate the object more fully or do we train them to view art objects on their own by asking a few questions to more engage them with the work being examined and hopefully appreciated?