Jon Voight with Karen Kraft of VFT
I had the
pleasure of attending a talk by the legendary actor, Jon Voight, at a meeting
for Veterans in Film & Television (more on that later). Of the many stories he
told, one especially resonated. He talked about his auditions and acted some of
them out. He told stories about others’ auditions, and his many personalities
were entertaining. And then he said:
Don’t think
of it as an audition. YOU GET TO ACT. You have an audience. You have a script.
You get to act.
How
incredible is that one phrase? No matter what it is that you do, it is a
performance of some sort. For those of us in the meetings and events industry,
think about your sales pitch. Are you auditioning for a job where the outcome
is the only thing that matters? Do you stress out about rehearsing and over
rehearsing, and all the while you are pitching you are wondering “did I get the
job?” or “who else is pitching?” or “did they like me?” or “should I have
presented another concept?” Does all of this pass through your mind?
I’ve had so
much fun with the last couple of presentations, aka pitches, that I’ve given. I
don’t know if I won the business (yet). I shared with a friend that I wasn’t
concerned about the result because the meeting had been so engaging and
interactive and explorative. I was not auditioning. In my own way, I was
acting. In the moment. Giving it my all. And loving it. Watching my audience
love it too.
Now you
might wonder how to make a sales pitch interactive… it’s one of the things I
think about when a vendor comes to us and gives us a “lecture” accompanied by
power point. We know that it’s a canned speech; we can always tell. It’s not a
conversation, and it has nothing to do with our needs. Those appointments tend
to end quickly even when there are pastries involved. Think about the trade
shows you attend… do you react more favorably when not listening to the exact
same pitch as was given to so many others? Who do you remember? Probably the
very friendly person who listened to you, explored your needs, and then found a
way to tell their story adapted to what they’d heard from you. It’s like
theatre, isn’t it? Actors responding to each other; not a soliloquy.
We are all
very much engaged in the concept of “experiential marketing” and “experiential
events”. What do those really mean? They both mean that we create environments
where our “audience” has a real experience. Though the end goal might be making
a sale or promoting a product, the key here is “the experience” - the here and
now that Jon was trying to get across. You, the actor, are performing in real
time and giving it your all. Your audience is receiving the very best of you in
real time. You are being given that wonderful opportunity to shine, and you
need to stay in the here and now.
I guess I
can bring it down to this… if you truly love telling your story and you feel
the joy in the opportunity to do so, then remember Jon Voight’s words…YOU GET
TO ACT.
It was because of Veterans
in Film & Television (VFT) that I could listen to Jon Voight and learn from him.
But I also learned from the veterans in that audience. These ranged from WWII
vets to those recently returned from military service. The organization is
committed to placing them in roles in film and television, including script writing, acting, directing, composing, anything and everything. It provides training,
exposure, and apprenticeships. I was so glad to learn these vets receive meaningful
roles that are more than being “extras”. This is a very interactive, engaged, and enthusiastic bunch. You’ll be hearing more from
me about this group as I intend to get involved. We need to raise funds to
support the organization, and we need to hear opportunities for them and share
them. So, keep following along and please connect to their website at http://www.vftla.org/
Andrea Michaels is the founder and president
of Extraordinary Events, an
international, multi-award-winning event agency based in Los Angeles. She is the author of Reflections of a
Successful Wallflower: Lessons in Business; Lessons in Life. She
may be reached at amichaels@extrarordinaryevents.com.
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