Stop, Look and Listen, Baby! A Priority Post for Performers!

Hello VoiceOver and Performance Friends,
It has been an interesting Spring. People want to grow and get going.  This is the time of year for it! Good, right?  It depends. I've spoken with about a dozen really talented and well meaning people who have come to me in the past few weeks with some real issues because they made a fast move forward without defining where they were going or why! Or, they are completely stuck and also don't know why!

So much time/money/energy is wasted on taking circuitous routes when you can make map out a simple strait line to your destination. Would you head out on a cross country road trip without GPS, maps, water, fuel and supplies? So why would you begin something as important as a creative career or endeavor without an expert and an expert plan?

Here is one example from this very day. There was a very talented and unique sounding male voice over talent who had the potential to work right away and serve a specific market.  He had been talking about making a demo for close to 2 years but delayed efforts after some interest. He inquired about professional help but never followed up (even on free consultations). In an uneducated and cost saving move, he produced a voice over demo himself, randomly picking copy, foregoing coaching and direction and awkwardly editing the final product. The result is wasted time and money in addition to the realization that he needs expert advice, he needs to work on his craft, he needs professional assistance and needs to invest in this. He knew it 2 years ago, he knew it when he was recording the tracks and he knows it now. So why didn't he get the help he needed?

The answer is, we want the short cut route - we want the fantasy outcome - oh if I just record these tracks and post them on the web, someone will hear them and hire me for 6 figures and I'll live happily ever after. There is a happily ever after but it comes after consciousness, work, more consciousness and more work.



 

Here are 3 Priority Principles for Self Discipline and Direction in a Creative Endeavor!

 

1. Do YOU yourself but Don't do IT yourself.  Focus on your unique talent. Define it, demonstrate it and offer it to the right people.Websites, demos, business cards and easily outsourced tasks should be left to professionals. If you are on a budget, work out a trade agreement.
2. Create attainable daily, weekly and monthly goals and be accountable to someone! Even if they are tiny baby steps - it is movement forward. We tend to idealize the perfect week off with breezes blowing and with a free flowing muse whispering the world's secrets in our ears. There are transcendental moments in creativity and they are glorious but there is first silence and resistance and then truth beyond the silence and resistance. 
3. Stay mindful at every point, at every decision and ask yourself....is this action moving me closer or further away from my goal? It may appear that consulting with colleagues is networking (or is it really an excuse to commiserate and complain)?  It may appear that you're marketing like crazy but you're actually sending random emails to unqualified leads.

Because I hold myself accountable to others in the areas of spirituality, psychology, performance and marketing, I can progress in these areas. If I stay isolated, I stay stuck.

Do you need help? Do you need help in finding out what you need help with? I understand. Please email Moneen@MoVibe.com or call Toll Free in the US at 1-877-MoVibe0 for a complimentary 15 minute consultation. The last talent who took advantage of this offer increased her business by 20% in one simple move.


In action and on your side,
Moneen

Click here to visit Mo at MoVibe.com!

Need a theme song? "Stop, Look and Listen" from the movie "Change of Habit" with Elvis and Mary Tyler Moore is a total groove!  Here is the link to listen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nva7dMOBuCI

Performance Palate Cleansing!

Lemon Sorbet and Vodka Cleanse Your Palate Between Courses During Fine Dining -

What About Cleansing Your Performance Palate Between Sessions?

 

 

Have you ever enjoyed one of those extraordinary meals where an elegant little delivery of sorbet comes to cleanse your palate between courses?  It's a lively, lilting and refreshing way to enjoy the individual flavors, textures and sensations of each course as it was intended. 

 

There was a restaurant in New Hampshire (it recently closed) called The Pond View - they had a lovely view (of aforementioned pond), charming old china in mismatched elegance, a classic menu, twinkling decor and an outdoor bar on a dock with paddle boats for cruising with your drink - all in all a real treat.  There have been countless memories made there - intimate conversations, joyous events, and a few tipsy times.  Th best meals were the ones where the server would caringly bring out a delicate little silver bowl with peach sherbet or a dainty glass with lemon sorbet to cleanse the palate - sophisticated and effective.

 

It is this way at the microphone or wherever we're performing - we need to cleanse our performance palate between sessions and gigs to psychologically move from one attitude to another or to go from the external world to the internal world. One of the many self direction techniques I use and teach my private voice over clients is Performance Palate Cleansing.

 

How does that work? Like with any self direction technique, your instincts rule. For instance, a client last week said she felt the urge to deliver a script like Lauren Bacall but the promo was for the Discovery channel so she censored herself thinking she needed to adopt a more energized and youthful approach. The rest of the session she struggled with distraction. OK, the Lauren Bacall read may not be the winning take but at least experiment with your inner Lauren Bacall or the attitude of Bacall to create something unique and believable. Simply reading the script with a full on Bacall delivery may crack open an idea, sound or prep work detail that you hadn't considered...in effect allowing for a new flavor, texture and sensation. 

 

If you'd like to know more about this and other self direction techniques for voice over performance or public speaking/presentation, please shoot me an email at Moneen@MoVibe.com or call toll free in the US 1-877-MoVibe0, that's 877-668-4230.

 

Happy Dining and Happy Performing!