The listener who stays attentive gives a performer more than a full chair.

Performers can feel the difference between occupancy and attention. A room of people looking at phones is technically a full house and delivers almost nothing back, while a handful of genuinely present listeners changes what the person on stage is able to do. Attention is part of the performance rather than a reaction to it.

Go and hear someone play or read or sing this week, put the phone away, and stay to the end. Speak to them afterward about one particular moment. Being watched properly is rarer than being applauded.