In acting, there exists a principle called “given circumstances.” Coined by Konstantin Stanislavski, given circumstances refer to the conditions that influence a character’s actions. They include factual information about a character, scene, or play, including the environment (e.g., the conditions of the world/setting), plot (e.g., specifics from the character's history, such as an event a character is reacting to or working toward), and character's personal situation (e.g., the character's relationships, perceptions, or qualities). To understand a character's given circumstances, an actor can ask: What are my values? How does the setting affect my mood? What objects are near me? Do I get along with the other characters in this scene? What do I want and how am I working towards achieving it? Identifying the given circumstances helps an actor understand the foundation on which to build in every word, gesture, movement, step, facial expression, and thought moving forward.
If you are a fiction writer, identifying given circumstances can help you create a concrete picture of your character’s life and situation. If you are a marketer, evaluating given circumstances of your market can help you ensure your content aligns with your target audience’s needs. In a business setting, noting the given circumstance of a situation can help you craft the best communication to ensure a positive encounter (which is especially helpful when working to acquire buy-in). You don’t just have to be writing or interpreting a play in order to make use of given circumstances – the underlying principle can apply in myriad ways.
Given circumstances are powerful because they ground you. They are facts, but they dive deeper than the surface – they place the character, content, or situation in the center of a web and evaluate the world, history, relationships, and meaning behind facts. They help you recognize what already exists so you can determine a plan for the next steps. In any situation, it is helpful to identify the facts first, so that you can make them work for you; if you do not know the facts, you are doing yourself a disservice.
Employing a foundational practice such as this will inform future actions in a holistic, strategic manner rooted in truth.
