Decorating Your Person

Most would agree that Zach Galifianakis is a funny guy. I would probably say the same thing if asked about the man. But how does he manage to capture his audience so well, and really live his character-- characters -- offscreen? Decorum.

Decorum is ancient practice, which plainly means making yourself liked by an audience. In other words, fitting yourself to what others want to see. This is a powerful rhetoric technique that helps persuade an audience: "Decorum tells the audience, 'Do as I say and as I do'" (page 46).

This term was first coined by the ancient Romans. Decorum was widely used in politics, and no doubt still is. In fact, it is used outside of politics just as widely as it is in politics. Zach Galifianakis is a master of this technique, whether he knows it or not. Zach, over the years, has fit his personality to the awkward personas he plays on stage. He has introduced his characters into his own personality, just as the audience wants him to do. I mean who wouldn't want an Alan hanging around all the time? Actually, I doubt I'd want an Alan hanging around me: "As Cicero said, decorum that works for one person may not work for another, even in front of the same people" (page 49). It doesn't matter what I think though, what most people expect him to be is a person like Alan. And it's difficult to say if he really is like him, but he sure appears to be. This is the essence of decorum, appear to be what the audience wants, not what you necessarily are.

Really decorum is like Christmas lights: it doesn't really matter how dysfunctional, unorganized, and filthy  the house is on the inside, people outside will like it if the lights look good.