Posts filed under 'SOUND ADVICE'
Oscar speeches are looking up. This year, many were heartfelt and to the point but there was one that had and will continue to have an impact beyond the moment itself. Michael Giacchino, winner of best original score for “Up,” delivered the best Oscar acceptance speech Sunday night:
Thank you, guys. When I was… I was nine and I asked my dad, “Can I have your movie camera? That old, wind-up 8 millimeter camera that was in your drawer?” And he goes, “Sure, take it.” And I took it and I started making movies with it and I started being as creative as I could, and never once in my life did my parents ever say, “What you’re doing is a waste of time.” Never. And I grew up, I had teachers, I had colleagues, I had people that I worked with all through my life who always told me what you’re doing is not a waste of time. So that was normal to me that it was OK to do that. I know there are kids out there that don’t have that support system so if you’re out there and you’re listening, listen to me: If you want to be creative, get out there and do it. It’s not a waste of time. Do it. OK? Thank you. Thank you.
I posted this in January/2010:
Why do so many performers fail to embrace and prepare an “acceptance speech” both in text and delivery? In public and behind closed doors, nominees say they don’t want to jinx themselves…please. If they had employed that lack of preparedness in their work, they wouldn’t have gotten nominated to begin with, so we do know they’ll throw down when it counts. Why don’t performers see their acceptance speech as a moment that counts? I propose one has to be more than just OK with receiving adulation. And the key distinction here is being OK with receiving the honor in public. In private, all feel and admit to feeling they deserve it, want it and hope for it. Yet, as that dream moment approaches, they un-create that very possibility. Very few can wing it and seize the moment of a win but those that can and do — with elegance and humor — do so because they are more than OK with “acceptance.” The road to finding one’s way with this acceptance is paved with preparedness. Like with anything, practicing out loud makes all the difference. And not just in private. You master acceptance with the practice of sharing your prepared and re-worked point of view with others. Then and only then can you stand for yourself, inspire millions and bask in the glow of a win.
Well done Mr. Giacchino.
March 9th, 2010
Our voices are ourselves. The voice is a reflection of one’s life condition. What does your voice say about you? WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR VOICE TO SAY ABOUT YOU? The answers, though maybe not apparent in your voice at this moment, can be achieved with voice work. Voice work unearths that which IS and polishes. “IS” is an important distinction here. As your teacher, I don’t have your voice. I’ve very specific keys to unlock that which is but you already have your voice. Think of the voice — your voice — not as separate from you the speaker, the singer but the voice AS you. And you are many things. You’ve many impulses. That’s your gift, your humanity. With voice work, the voice learns on its own that it can handle ALL your wonderful, powerful impulses. Think of your undeveloped voice like a lump of clay. Now picture that same lump of clay that’s been stretched and stretched and stretched that now it appears like a string on a cello or violin. When throwing any impulse at a lump of clay, there’s only so much potential for sound that can make an impact. Throwing those same impulses at a string on an instrument, well now the sounds that are possible are infinitely more resonant, desirable, compelling — more you.
March 3rd, 2010
Tiger Woods will make a public apology tomorrow. A handful of reporters will be on hand to document his statement but will not be allowed to ask questions. What question(s) is Tiger afraid to answer? And is Team Tiger underestimating the fans? When you don’t take questions you have something to hide. Hiding or avoiding the inevitable will not an image repair. Facing the music will. So when? Not tomorrow. An apology is most potent when made closest to the time of the transgression. The potency of tomorrow’s carefully crafted appearance will come down to the words Tiger has been given to say. And these words, however manipulated, must show him to be human. Remorse needs to be on display because its very presence will be assessed and level of authenticity judged. What is very real is his ambition and addiction. How well the “what’s real” is told and sold will take a level of expertise off the course.
February 18th, 2010
Listening to John Mayer’s apology for the Playboy interview during a concert in Nashville 6 days ago it became clear that there is an art to apologizing. The “wronged” must feel like they’ve been heard/understood and convinced that the transgression is not likely to be repeated. Mayer went on and on about being done with doing press and said he’s just going to focus on playing his guitar. His words in the Playboy interview were hurtful to many. Although his voice was emotional during this live and lengthy apology, he came across more like someone who was sorry that he got busted. He lacked the clear and concise language necessary to allow the many he offended to understand that his words-in-print did not reflect how he really feels. Like in the interview, he ran his mouth in the Nashville apology while ironically committing to shutting up and playing more guitar. His committing to shutting up in the future only makes what’s really going on in his heart suspect to those offended. At least Mayer is apologizing. This says he’s aware that he’s been inappropriate. Now he needs to be coached on how to make an appropriate apology. Like a 911 call without the word “HELP,” an apology without “SORRY” doesn’t sing.
February 17th, 2010
Who am I? Not my job title, but who am I really, at my core? At my core, I am a lover of beauty. Beauty to me is anything visual or aural that makes my heart sing. The “all day long” conscious recognition of the beautiful inspires me to vocalize that beauty and enroll others in the possibility of them asking themselves: “Who am I, at my core?” On this day when love is celebrated outwardly, the notion of self love — love turned inwardly — seems to get lost. As children, we ate little candies and drew crooked hearts that read: “Be Mine.” We were trained to make a valentine, then give the valentine to a valentine. All innocent ritual but outward, all outward. Self love is the redefining of “Be Mine” as “Be That Which Is Mine.” And then being that all day long. When you are being about that which you are a lover of, you are loving yourself.
Here’s your homework — I love to give homework — speak the following out loud while completing the sentence:
I am a lover of ________.
Don’t just settle on the first word that comes. Get specific. Get the word hot for you. You’ll know when you’ve hit the word because you’ll feel the fire, sense it in your core and you’ll hear the spark in your voice. Then take that sentence to the streets. When you share (vocalize) the info, it becomes yours.
February 14th, 2010
Last night at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, slam poet Shane Koyczan’s mic was working as he slam dunked his We Are One as a track of incidental music accompanied him. So live spoken word to a track was possible but not live singing to a track? A new generation of singers and audiences have come to expect lip syncing in place of live singing in large venues. Expect lip syncing or accept lip syncing as the norm? I reject the premise that faking it is safer “in case something goes wrong.” Ceremony producer David Atkins educated 16 year old Nikki Yonofsky, who was billed as a jazz phenom, that it was expected that she not sing O Canada live. The only thing phenomenal about that thinking is that it is fast becoming acceptable and the absolute wrong message to be sending to young women. Ms. Yonofsky and her peers should be asking and preparing for a “how well can it go?” scenario. not the opposite. Live Singing has always been the Vocal Olympics and Lip Syncing is Cheating. The theme of the Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony was “To Inspire the World.” O Canada.
February 13th, 2010
First Lady of South Carolina Jenny Sanford’s fast talking appearance today on MSNBC’s Morning Joe was not a wow. It was a whoosh. She knows host Joe Scarborough personally so why rush? This wasn’t enemy territory. Or to her, was it? There were other men at the desk during the appearance, though no of them grilled her. Her speech was not as quick-paced with Barbara Walters. Talking too fast is like saying “I hope don’t get caught.” Rapid speech is symptomatic of a speaker feeling that if they can talk fast enough they won’t really be noticed. Unlike Silda Spitzer, Ms. Sanford has chosen to not only be noticed but to serve notice. So the fast talk doesn’t serve her, her message or her audience of women she says she aiming to help. Technically, fast talk robs the voice of its resonance. Sanford needs to learn breathe correctly. Re a message that resonates, she must imagine the audience she’s aiming at is an audience of her, and speak into the listening of that. In other words, what you wanted and needed to hear when you Jenny were in the thick of it all has to be at the center of your speech. This will make you the author, the “liver” of the events accessible, likable. Dialed-back presentation in this case is less classy and more like you’ve shame, guilt with the “going public” as well as “commerce” thing. For instance, you say “he (Mark Sanford) not you went public.” That’s dialed-backed presentation and not completely accurate. If you’re promoting a book about the events, you are public in that moment and that moment is all that counts to an audience. In interviews, be laser-like clear with your tell-all bites vs. the advice bites.
Staying True, the press tour, is staying true to making the rounds while its author is shying away from how she really feels. Perhaps that’s not even in the book.
February 9th, 2010
Sarcasm can be an effective communication tool when there is a certain familiarity between the speaker and listener. So it’s so mystery why Sarah Palin’s sarcastic, mocking tone was a hit with the Tea Party during yesterday’s speech in Nashville. Now. if the goal is only to reach those who are already on your side, then Sarah remains golden. If the goal is to sway/enlighten, unite and lead, then Sarah’s voice and speech lack the Midas touch. When there is less or no familiarity/agreement between speaker and listener, sarcasm reads as verbal aggression and can be hurtful. The nature of sarcasm is using words to say the opposite of what you mean. With those listeners who need convincing, saying the opposite of what you mean is, as the very least, confusing and, at its most ineffective, the “tone” calls into question your trustworthiness. Sarcasm as humor is a great tool in breaking the ice in day-to-day relationships (new or otherwise) but there must be some agreement on some level between speaker and listener or you’re not starting out on completely solid ground. Cut to the political stage nationally. The audience not yet yours hears this humor as everything from “not funny” and “arrogant” to “clown-like.” Not what you should be going for if the immediate goal is to influence as many people as possible. And make no mistake about it, the only purpose of a political speech is to influence. Something that also needs to be considered is that not all people’s brains have the capacity to decipher sarcasm. Not a personal choice. It’s neurological.
Soundbites like yesterday’s “how’s that hopey changey thing workin’ for ya?” are pristine, as you need them and want them in today’s viral, 24-hour news cycle. Obama needs and should want a few of his own out there right about now. But here’s what doesn’t work about the Palin bite: the bite and its tone are the message. The empty bite fires up the fans but doesn’t “getchya” new ones. It alienates and becomes a voice not rising above the din but just adding to it. Bottom line, substantive (solution-based) speech, cleverly and expertly combined with sarcasm, — a bite with bite, if you will — is lethal.
February 7th, 2010
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