Do you remember the first time you were a member of an audience? I can’t say that I do. It’s an experience so common that it’s difficult to pinpoint that initial moment. Being a member of an audience and sharing the common experience of listening has always been something to which people attach emotional significance. Hearing something at the same time as others creates a unique sort of communion: There is something electrifying about a collective gasp, a mass flinch, the prickled hairs on the arms of a whole group.
