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Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  Well, it is the week between Christmas and New Year, kind of a “slack” week.  Since it is such a slow week, I’ll write about the Nine Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Blog.

REMEMBER:

Just a reminder here that when I use the term “actor” I mean it to encompass all forms of acting including voice, stage, and screen.  What follows applies relatively equally to all of these forms of acting.  Even though this post isn’t really about acting, I’m leaving this “disclaimer” in place for two reasons:

• Complaints from people who say I focus too much on acting and not enough on Voice Over (NEWSFLASH: Voice Over IS acting!)
• It helps me get to my self-imposed 1500-word limit.
• Hey, it’s my blog and I’ll write what I want.

Blogging

I began writing this blog a little over two years ago – I actually had to go check to see when I published my first post.  Frankly I am surprised that it was two years, I was thinking it had been just about a year. I am floored to learn I have published 106 posts!  Excuse me for just a minute while I pick my jaw up off the floor – I suppose I should pay closer attention, but I just can’t believe that!  OK, I’m back…whew!

Why?

I’m going to be brutally honest and tell you that the initial reason I began writing this blog was to improve my Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and hopefully drive visits to my website.  You see, I read somewhere that the Google machine wants to see new content when crawling the web, and it was suggested that a blog would do just that.  Abject failure.  Not really abject, just failure.  More honesty: When I started: I HATED writing.  And yet, here I am with post number 107. (Clearly, I no longer hate writing).

I was so naïve!

Initially, I subscribed to the “If you build it, they will come” philosophy.  And in some ways, it’s not totally untrue.  But that should read: If you build it, they will come…VERY, VERY slowly…and then sometimes they will leave, and SOMEtimes they will complain. At the start I wrote for you, the reader, and these days I write more for me. I sincerely hope the things I write are enjoyable, and maybe even helpful…but that’s not WHY I write them.  This is very much an (hopefully useful for you) outlet for me.  Many will say this is bad…maybe it is but I am just being honest.

Shifts

Over the last 106 posts, my focus has shifted a bit, so it is not really surprising that I’ve had some complaints and subscribers who leave.  I wish they had stayed, but I don’t faut them for leaving since my original focus was just voice over, and now that I have added screen acting to my resume (with some success) I’m going for a more general acting vibe.  Anyway, what follows are some things I wish I had known before getting started.  Hopefully this list will be helpful if you are considering starting your own blog!

Know your purpose

Before you embark on the blogging journey, decide what it is you want to accomplish with the blog.  Do you want to be thought of as an expert in the field?  Looking for clients? Or maybe just provide some useful advice (which is where I am right now). I didn’t really think through what I wanted to accomplish with this blog (and I’m not sure I have it totally figured out yet!), just that I thought it would help my SEO. (HINT: Unless you are selling things from your website this hardly matters).  Before you start, figure out what the goal of writing it is.

You need a niche

What is your blog going to be about?  Who is your desired audience? This item aligns with the previous question about purpose.  Step one and step two are: What are you trying to accomplish and who are you trying to reach?  You can write about almost anything as long as you can tie it back to your target audience AND get the desired result.

It’s more difficult than I thought

How hard can it be to dash off a few lines and post them to your website!?  Well, it turns out maybe pretty tough.  Researching for topics that fit your niche is a job all by itself (go ahead, list 106 topics that fit your niche…I dare you), and then researching those topics to write something that is factual is another job by itself.  For me, the hardest part of blogging is coming up with topics to write about.

It takes longer than I thought

See the last paragraph.  On average, I spend between 6 and 8 hours each week researching and writing this blog.  When I started, I figure 2 hours per week max. As you can see, I was off by between 300 and 400 percent. On top of researching and writing add proof reading and editing, then posting and formatting for the website and then fixing “readability” and SEO errors.  Who knew WordPress would critique everything you write?  (NOTE: It does)

It costs money

Consider that you will probably need to pay for hosting (although for me I was already paying for hosting for my website), photo licenses (if you want to use them), email marketing (when you’re small there are free options like MailChimp). It doesn’t need to cost a LOT (at least at first) but it will cost something…so be prepared for that!

Be ready to learn something

It would be really great to be able to just sit down and write something interesting based on your own experience.  Really great.  The truth is you will quickly run out of both experiences and things to write about. You are going to have do some research and learn new things…even maybe some things that challenge what you think you already know.

You are going to need thick skin

My dad used to say: “Opinions are like a**holes, everyone has them and they all stink”.  Now imagine putting yourself out there publicly and hearing all of those opinions…many of them aimed either at your content OR, in the worst cases, you personally.  Just like in everyday life, some people will love what you write, some will hate it and the majority will be somewhere between those two extremes.  Add in the anonymity of the internet and be prepared:  The ones who hate it are the ones most likely to tell you. You can’t take it personally so you will need to develop a thick skin.

SPAM

No, not the canned meat.  Actually, there are two types you need to be aware of:

• The kind that can get you in trouble (don’t spam people).
• The kind that is terribly annoying.

That second kind is what I wish I had known before I started.  If you allow comments on your blog, make sure those comments are MODERATED.  I clear anywhere from 40-100 spam comments on my blog each and every day.  You read that right. EVERY. DAY.  It’s annoying and mostly people trying to get you to sign up for their new porn site.  I wish there was a way to stop it, but as far as I know there isn’t.  If you have found a way to stop these people, short of not allowing comments, PLEASE let me know!

Engagement

My blog goes out to about 300 people a week, and I share it on all my socials.  On average I see about 25% engagement, and that’s a pretty good number.  I’m not complaining, but I didn’t expect it when I started.  I mean, if I had thought about it at all, I might have…but it did surprise me.  Don’t be surprised if people are not hanging on every word you write.  For a given post, some will enjoy it, some will not, and most will just ignore it.  It’s just the way it works.

There you have it!

If you are considering starting a blog, whether it be daily (SHUDDER), weekly, monthly or with no real periodicity (SHUDDER again!) then these are nine things to keep in mind.  I’m sure there are more and if you are using your blog to drive people to your site to SELL them something, there are a LOT more.  I’m not trying to discourage you, I just want you to go into it with your eyes open, unlike me.

If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment below to let me know.  If you DIDN’T enjoy it, well, I’d like to hear from you too!  And please feel free to share this blog on social media or with other people you think might enjoy it.

Looking for your next great non-fiction read? Check out the Personal Wellness and Self-Help promotion!

If you haven’t already, please feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss anything – and as a thank you receive a free copy of my E-Book: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About getting Started in Voice Over but Didn’t Know Who to Ask!

Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  This week I want to stray from the beaten path a bit and talk about “Defeat”.

REMEMBER:

Just a reminder here that when I use the term “actor” I mean it to encompass all forms of acting including voice, stage, and screen.  What follows applies relatively equally to all of these forms of acting.

Use this in a sentence…

There is an old “Little Johnny” joke that goes like this: Teacher tells little Johnny to use the words defeat, deduct, defense and detail in a sentence.  Little Johnny says: “Defeat of deduct went over defense before detail’!  That doesn’t have anything to do with this week’s topic, but the topic reminded me of it, and I think it’s funny!  Anyway, sorry for the detour, please read on.

Why…?

So why am I writing about defeat?  Well, I’ll tell you!  Not long ago I was talking to another actor friend, and they told me their career was in a place that made them “really just feel defeated”.  Over the last year I have actually heard this from several people in differing contexts, and it just stuck with me; it has been said to me so many times I just had to address it. I also wonder why people share those types of feelings with me…but that’s another topic. Now, I am a FIRM believer in the fact that all feelings are valid…you feel what you feel.  No stopping that.  However, I am ALSO a firm believer that feelings, while valid, are fleeting, ephemeral even.  Feelings are not reliable for making decisions, and many times do not reflect reality.

What caused that?

In the latest instance, the person I was talking to was comparing themselves and their acting career with someone else they perceived to be doing “better” than they were, getting more auditions, more callbacks and booking more work.  I’ve done that too. We probably have ALL done that…I get it.  But here is what I know for certain: What you can SEE about someone’s situation is probably not at all what their real situation actually is.  The first thing to understand is that everyone is better off in some way than someone else.  Everyone. In some way. Our lives are complex, not composed of single aspects like looks, or money, or personality or how many gigs get booked or a million other things.  I may be better looking than you (I am, I’m certain of it!), but you may be way better at sports, auto mechanics (that’s likely if you are capable of more than pumping your own gas), or SOMEthing…while I stink at it.

Comparing

Listen, a big mistake we make is comparing ourselves to others, especially when that comparison makes us feel somehow inferior.  It’s a false narrative your brain concocts.  Have you noticed we almost always compare our perceived negative trait or situation with someone else’s perceived positive trait or situation? Comparing causes feelings of jealousy, frustration, and hopelessness if they continue and if left unaddressed chronic anxiety and depression can be the result.  Although it is not un-normal to compare ourselves with others, it can be pretty unhealthy if not addressed and may make you feel defeated.

Some comparison can be good

Much depends on what you do with it.  Sometimes comparisons like those mentioned above can create motivation to improve yourself.  Comparing yourself to a better actor and want to be as good as they are? Get a coach, take a class and train more/harder till you improve.  Some comparisons can make you better!

The BEST comparison…

The best thing to compare yourself today to is yourself yesterday.  Do everything you can to be a better you today than you were yesterday and do that every day! Or even be a better afternoon you than morning you. Be in competition ONLY with your former self.  As Dr. Seuss says: “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is you-er than you”. Followed by: (True original source unknown) Be yourself.  Everyone else is already taken (Usually attributed to Oscar Wilde). Any comparison with someone else, except for the purpose of giving yourself something to strive for, is simply a waste of time.

Great…

All well and good, but how do you stop comparing yourself to others? Well, there are some steps you can take that, if practiced regularly, will likely help.

Be aware of triggers and avoid them

At least initially until you can begin to overcome the comparisons simply avoid the things that make you feel bad about yourself.  Clearly, this cannot ALWAYS be done (I mean skipping auditions because you think everyone else is a better actor is like a self-fulfilling prophecy), but try as much as possible until these places/people and situations stop triggering feelings of hopelessness or defeat.

Don’t compare other people’s outside to your inside

Remember that what you can see about someone else is just on the surface. You have NO IDEA what may be going on under the surface or what kind of sh!t show their life might actually be.  Remember the old commercial (I’m dating myself) where they show a guy with a 4 BR house, swimming pool, new car, country club membership? From the outside his life looks AWESOME…how does he do it?  “I’m in debt up to my eyeballs! Somebody help me!”. Watch it here.

Avoid too much social media

Social media exacerbates the issue by allowing us to portray all the GREAT things about our lives without having to reveal the warts. Keep in mind that what you see on social media is just a fraction of the truth.  If social media makes you feel bad compared to others, avoid it as much as you can.

Remember: Money doesn’t buy happiness

And as someone who is pretty well off financially, I can confirm this.  True, it is more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than in a Yugo – but it is still crying.  You can confirm this yourself even if you don’t have money by looking at all the celebrities whose life imploded AFTER they got wealthy.  Don’t believe me?  Here are 12 from a quick Google Search.

Count your blessings

Remember that it is very likely that someone is looking at you and wishing they had what you have. No matter where you are in your career, or life, you SURELY have a lot to be thankful for.  You probably have something the person you are comparing yourself to and feeling “less than” about…wants. Focus on what you do have, your strengths.  Try making a list of all the things you like about yourself.  Pretty sure you can think of at least five, if not ten, things.

Insecurities are universal

It’s pretty normal to compare yourself to others and for them to compare themselves with you.  It’s hard to remember sometimes, but it is true that there is something about everyone that others see and wish they had.  Insecurities are universal, that means everyone has them.  It’s normal.  Just don’t let that guide your life and decisions (unless it is motivating – guiding you to better yourself).

Keep a record of your achievements

It’s inevitable.  Feelings of defeat will happen from time to time.  Try to keep a record of your accomplishments (EVERYONE has accomplishments) so that when you do start to feel this way you can pull it out and see that you are NOT defeated.  You CAN accomplish things.

Finally…

Know that, as long as you continue to draw breath, you are not defeated unless you stop trying and surrender. You can fail for sure, everyone fails sometimes, and most of the time failure is actually good and helps you grow/improve.  Failure is temporary – defeat is permanent. I’m not suggesting you can do or be whatever you want.  Let’s face it, most of you will never be the President of Botswana, the quarterback for the SF 49’s or a rival for Tom Cruise (or choose your favorite A list movie star) no matter how badly you want to be.  What it means is this: you can continue to improve yourself no matter how old you are until you stop breathing.

And what does all this have to with acting?

Everything and nothing at all.  I wrote much of this from a general “life” perspective, but pretty much all of it applies directly to acting (or any other profession).  Comparing yourself to other actors and wishing you were them is a waste of time, leads to jealousy and bitterness and believe it or not that will all come through in your performance.  As with every aspect of life, you do you.  Be yourself, everyone else is already taken!

If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment below to let me know.  If you DIDN’T enjoy it, well, I’d like to hear from you too!  And please feel free to share this blog on social media or with other people you think might enjoy it.

Looking for your next great non-fiction read?  Check out the Personal Wellness and Self-Help promotion!

If you haven’t already, please feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss anything – and as a thank you receive a free copy of my E-Book: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About getting Started in Voice Over but Didn’t Know Who to Ask!

Welcome back!

And thanks for reading!  This is week 10 in the series relating to the psychology of the business, particularly as it relates to auditions and booking work; This is supposed to be FUN!.

REMEMBER:

Just a reminder here that when I use the term “actor” I mean it to encompass all forms of acting including voice, stage, and screen.  What follows applies relatively equally to all of these forms of acting.

Why do you act?

We spent the last 9-ish weeks (I can’t remember if I skipped a week or not, and I am far too lazy at 6AM on a Monday morning to go figure it out) talking about the psychology of auditioning and booking work.   And yeah, I write this first thing Monday, review/edit/publish first thing Tuesday and it gets emailed to subscribers first thing Wednesday…so if you are reading this Wednesday wondering why I am talking about being lazy on Monday…that’s why.  Anyway, and I have alluded to this previously, in order to survive this profession you have to ask yourself WHY you do it…and if the answer is anything but “It’s fun!” then you are going to struggle.

Yeah, I know

It isn’t (and nothing really CAN be) all fun all the time, but if having fun with acting doesn’t outweigh the not-so-fun parts, then perhaps you should be concentrating elsewhere.  I don’t mean to discourage anyone from pursuing a career in acting, instead I am suggesting perhaps you should take a step back and look at this career from a different perspective.

It’s a job, but…

I recognize that acting is a job, and as a job we would like to be able to earn enough money to support ourselves.  I get it…not consistently booking work can be frustrating.  The thing is, it’s a job unlike any other job on the planet. It’s a bit like being in professional sports:  In sports you get paid to play a game.  In acting, you get paid to play a role (or play a part or play a character)! It’s a job, but it is also PLAYING.

Remember when…

Maybe you didn’t do this, but when I was a kid, we used to play “Cops & Robbers”.  Do you remember doing that?  It was fun, right?  You pretended to be either a cop or a robber and you acted out bank robbing scenes and getting arrested or (trigger warning!) shot by (or shooting) the cops.  When we got too old to run around the yard pretending to shoot each other with our fingers, we played games like Dungeons & Dragons where we pretended to become wandering fighters, or magicians, or healers.

Or maybe…

You put on short plays or skits for your family…little talent shows in the living room.  Perhaps you used your mom’s hairbrush to belt out tunes along with your AM transistor radio (for you young folks, radio is what you listened to before Pandora and Spotify, and AM was a type of radio before FM and Satellite – yeah, I’m old).  Sometimes you used action figures to act out scenes between superheroes and villains.  I’m sure you can think of more examples, but this is enough to illustrate my point.  Acting was (IS) fun.

In all of these examples…

In every one of the above examples, even though we didn’t think of it like this, we were acting. Sometimes we had an audience, sometimes it was just an ensemble (your friend group) without an audience, and sometimes it was just you all alone.  But the one common denominator is:  We were having fun.

There was no pressure…

When we acted as kids in these ways, there were no mortgage payments, light bills, car repairs, medical bills, kids of our won who wanted food or spouses asking us when we were going to contribute financially to the family.  There was no pressure, you could just have fun and act.  You could bring your authentic self to a performance and not worry about whether some distand casting director or producer was going to find your performance compelling and agree to pay you for it.

The thing is…

Here’s the rub:  even without all the training and coaching, you were a good actor then!  Yeah, it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.  Some of the reason for that is most of it was unscripted, so you weren’t trying hard to give someone what they wanted but were just “in the moment” listening and reacting to your “scene partners”.  You weren’t worried about getting booked or paying bills.

So, what really IS acting, then?

According to Sanford Meisner, acting is “Behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances”.  Consider all of the above examples and feel free to correct me when I say that in each and every one of them what we were doing was “behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances”.  Sure, YOU made up the circumstances, not some distant unknown writer, and there were no (or very few at least) expectations on how you might respond to the circumstances…but what you were doing was acting, and probably acting quite well…and having fun on top of it!

Conclusions in the middle of the post:

Based on what I’ve written above, I conclude (way before the conclusion of this post) that acting is fun, it’s all the other crap surrounding it that detracts from having a good time.  I further conclude that dispensing with all the other crap (as it relates to acting) will mean you’ll start having fun again!

But…

I understand you can’t just “dispense” with all the bills and responsibilities of being an adult.  It’s unlikely your mortgage holder, utility company, grocer, or the gas station (or your spouse and kids!) will just let you slide so you can enjoy acting again.  Those pressures are not going to magically go away until AFTER you win an Oscar.  So, what can you do to make sure you can have fun as an actor? I’m glad you asked!

Survival job…

It is imperative that you have a survival job, or a partner who earns enough and is willing to let you just pursue your passion career, to relieve some of the pressure.  I get that the survival job itself may come with pressure (such as not having enough time to pursue your career), but if you can land a job that is flexible enough for you to audition and work when you book…then even that pressure is relieved.

Waiters

How many actors do you know (or you’ve heard of) that work as wait staff in restaurants?  Why is that?  It’s the kind of job you can work primarily during evenings and weekends, leaving weekdays free to pursue acting.  If you are a good waitperson, you can make a decent living AND, if you need to, you can resign if you book a long-standing gig and are likely to find another waiting job when it’s done.  Same can be said for Uber, Lyft, Door Dash and other service type jobs…flexible income is the key.

A dependable source of income

Having a dependable, flexible, source of income outside of acting is probably the biggest deterrent to not having fun as an actor.  You may not be able to live like a king/queen, but being able to pay your bills and stay fed will help you lose the desperation to book a gig that is (IMHO) the reason you are not having fun acting anymore.

Supportive, encouraging people

The next biggest thing keeping you from having fun is people in your life who are not supportive and encouraging.  If someone is constantly asking you when you’re going to realize you’re not going to make it and suggesting you “get a real job” it’s time to re-evaluate that relationship, not your career choice!  I know you can’t walk away from every person who is negative, but you can certainly thin the herd!

Then, relax…

Remember there is no “right” or “wrong” way to play a character/scene. The pages of the script are black and white, and some choices are made for you by the writer…but everything in that white space is created by YOU. YOU figure out who the character is and WHY they do the things they do.  What motivates them, how they are feeling and how they feel about both the circumstances and the other characters in the scene.  So, relax and remember that you are “playing” a character and that you can’t get it wrong…you can only present your version of the story and then see if the production team thinks it fits with their vision.

If…

If you can do that; remove all the external pressures and then remember that it is IMPOSSIBLE to be wrong…you can have fun again.  And after all…You’re not getting the f*&^ing job anyway, so you may as well have a good time!

Tune in next week

When we’ll wrap up the series with: “And still…You’re not getting the f*&^ing job!”.

 If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment below to let me know.  If you DIDN’T enjoy it, well, I’d like to hear from you too!  And please feel free to share this blog on social media or with other people you think might enjoy it.

If you haven’t already, please feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss anything – and as a thank you receive a free copy of my E-Book: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About getting Started in Voice Over but Didn’t Know Who to Ask!

Continuing the series

With this week’s topic “You are what you do, not what you say”.

First

First of all, I know I am a day early posting the blog this week, for those of you who keep track of such things (I know I do).  Good reason for it though, as I will be on set filming “Regaining Innocence” for the rest of the week, so had to get it out there early or skip it altogether (SHUDDER the thought!).

Have you heard of this guy?

Carl Jung, a noted psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst is credited with the quote that is the title of this week’s blog.  This blog is NOT about him, or his work, or whether or not I agree with his philosophy.  I just wanted to give credit for the quote.

Sort of a theme here

There seems to be a bit of a theme lining up on my blog page.  A couple of the last few blogs deal with similar ideas: Keep Your Word and Reputations Are Built Over a Lifetime jump out at me. Don’t read too much into that.  Actually, don’t read anything into that.  No one has offended me or lied to me (that I know of…YET), or not kept their word.  Remember, I am picking these topics from a list I found on Facebook.  Maybe that author had an issue, but not me.

It’s about integrity

They seem like small things.  I’ll call you when I get home.  I’ll be there at five.  But you don’t call, and you arrive at 5:30 instead.  They are small things, but over time skipping these small things erodes your integrity.  Sometimes to the point that it becomes a reputation, and no one believes you when you say you’ll do something.

Failing to do what you say you’ll do

Listen, I get it, sometimes life gets in the way.  You arrive home late and exhausted and can only think about climbing into bed.  Or you have car trouble on the way over and arrive late. It happens to everyone.  What I am talking about is CONSISTENTLY failing to do what you say.

It erodes your credibility

Failure to consistently follow through on promises makes the people around you question everything you say.  Over time people will either assume you will not follow through, or won’t rely on you for anything.

It builds distrust

At the risk of CONTINUING to sound like a broken record, the entertainment industry is built on relationships.  And relationships are built on trust.  Continually saying one thing and doing another reduces trust, and eventually builds outright distrust.  You can’t have a good relationship, and therefore a successful career in this industry, without trust.

It limits opportunity

How many doors remain closed to a VO Artist or Actor thanks to a reputation for not following through and doing what you say you’ll do?  No way to know, but I know this:  If the people you are counting on to cast you can’t count on you, word gets around and those doors won’t open.  I can think of several A list actors who don’t work much anymore because they became somewhat flaky and untrustworthy.  I won’t name them, but you’ve probably heard of them too.

We are all human

And we all make mistakes or fail to follow through sometimes.  It happens. How we deal with it is what makes a difference in how other people respond.  Going to be late?  Call.  Not going to be able to help that friend move?  Explain what happened and try to reschedule.  Otherwise, do what you say you will do!

Deadlines

This is one of my pet peeves, actually.  When you agree to something that has a deadline, agreeing means you ALSO agree to meet the deadline.  For example, when narrating an audio book, particularly when you are new to narration, it is difficult to understand the time commitment you agree to.  Many first time, or early, narrators accept a job without realizing that they are going to struggle to meet the deadline.  This is particularly true if you are a part-time narrator (in other words you also have a “day job”).  Letting the deadline slip by could cost the rights holder (RH) money!  Always stay in close communication with the RH and do your very best to meet (or exceed) the deadline!

Big productions

As an actor, you could be cast in a student film, and independent film or even a big studio production.  No matter what size or type of production you’re cast in, failing to meet your obligations creates cost for the production.  If you are constantly late, or fail to prepare for the role, or even flake out for a better gig at the last minute is going to cost money.  And when you cost people money – they remember it.

Not only that…

People will tell you that Producers, Directors and Casting Directors don’t have a secret network they use to blackball VO artists and actors.  And that’s mostly true.  No one has time to maintain a list of performers who have a bad audition or make a faux pas on set.  But note I say MOSTLY true.

People talk

The entertainment industry, as big as it is, is still a small world.  While there is no secret network, people do talk to one another.  If you establish yourself as someone who regularly does not do what they say they’ll do, word is going to get around.  You are going to have a reputation, and it’s not going to be a good one!

Bad news travels fast!

Are you someone who reads reviews before buying something?  I know I am.  And here is what I’ve learned (and try to always keep in mind): If someone is going to take the time to write a review, it is usually because something was either SO awesome, they can’t contain their pleasure, or bad.  Notice I did not say SO BAD…just…bad.  All the people in the middle, the people who were just satisfied?  They rarely write reviews.

Same is true in conversation

People are far more likely to tell you about, or even just remember, a bad experience than a “normal” one.  Mention someone you both know and if they’ve had a bad experience with that person, they’ll tell you.  And industry professionals, well, they talk to one another!  If someone feels like you are not the person who always does what they say they’ll do, word will spread FAST.  I’m not saying no one will ever cast you again, I’m definitely suggesting it will be a factor in casting decisions.

An old saying

When I was a kid, my dad would tell me (especially after I made some blunder), “Say what you mean, mean what you say and do what you say you are going to do”. He was a pretty smart guy.  But how do you DO that?

Say what you mean

If you want to be the guy that does what he says he’ll do (or girl…but I don’t want to type “guy or girl” over and over, and I’m a guy, so…) the first step is to Say What You Mean.  What is implied here is that you have carefully considered whatever you are about to agree to.  You’ve thought it through and know you have the time, talent, and resources to agree.  And then, clearly communicated what you believe you are signing yourself up for.

Mean what you say

Don’t agree to things simply because there is some immediate benefit to you, then once you get the benefit you back out of the agreement.  When you agree to something that you have carefully considered (see the last paragraph) then MEAN it when you agree.  Be intentional.

Do what you say you’re going to do

And then…DO IT.  Write it down, don’t forget it…follow through.  Then if life or God or Karma throws you a curve ball and you can’t follow through…communicate, communicate, communicate!  Don’t build a reputation as the guy who is always late, constantly misses deadlines, or comes to the gig ill prepared.  If you are not that guy…soon, you will have the reputation of someone who is reliable, credible and trustworthy.  After all, You Are What You Do, Not What You Say You’ll Do!

P.S. If you are looking for your next great Non-Fiction read, head on over to April’s promotion at  “Knowledge in Time” and check out some great content!

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Continuing the series

With this week’s topic “If you don’t understand, ask before it’s too late”.

Controversy!

It really shouldn’t be, but I suspect this week’s topic will create a bit of controversy.  You see, we are taught from a very young age that there are no “dumb questions” …and yet, depending on who you ask, you may find that’s not exactly true.

We were all new at one point

I wrote about this from a slightly different perspective a couple weeks ago.  That post was more about being “cool” to newbies to help them grow in the industry.  This is slightly different, but related, and focuses on asking questions when you are new.

There are no dumb questions

Contrary to how it may sometimes seem, there really ARE no dumb questions.  There are questions that have been asked (and answered) a lot of times, there are questions about topics that seem obvious to some people, there are sometimes questions that don’t make sense to others.  But rest assured, if you have a question, regardless of how some people react to it, it is not a “dumb” question to ask!

You are not alone

Everyone has been in a situation where they just didn’t understand something (EVERYONE), and many people are reluctant to ask about it. This reluctance is likely borne out of a fear of looking inexperienced, uninformed, or downright stupid.  Many times we are embarrassed to admit we don’t understand, especially when all the people around us seem to understand perfectly well.

It might surprise you

It might be surprising how many people who appear to understand are struggling in the same way you are.  Your asking a question may well help other people who are too shy or afraid to ask!

What if no one asked questions?

Questioning is the basis for some things, and by some things I am thinking of science.  Without questions, science would stagnate and no new discoveries would be made. Imagine what a hospital may look like if no one ever said “I wonder why there are so many infections?”.  We would still be operating on people without wearing gloves or masks, or sterilizing equipment!  We would not have antibiotics, or a host of other medical advancements.

But this post is not about medicine

This post is about the voice over and acting industry.  Still, think of the advancements in this industry that would not have been made if people didn’t question “standard practices”.  Advancements in sound recording and editing, advancements in cinematography and special effects.  The list is endless.

And then…

There are people who react to a question in a way that makes the asker feel dumb, and that makes it even more difficult to ask questions.  I won’t name names (there are way too many anyway), but if you are this type of person, you know who you are.  Stop it!

“It is easier to judge the mind of a man by his questions rather than his answers.”—Pierre-Marc-Gaston, duc de Lévis (1764–1830)

Kids

We begin anything by asking questions. Kids understand this intuitively, as they ask questions to try and understand the world around them.  Adults, on the other hand, seem to think that asking questions makes them look bad.  We should all be more like children and know that we simply don’t understand everything, therefore, we NEED to ask questions!

Voice over

There are just SO many things to understand when starting a voice over career.  Equipment, software, inflections, rates, usage…too many aspects of the industry to list here.  Even after receiving training and coaching, there are still many unanswered questions. The only way to learn them without wasting precious time and energy (trial and error) is to ASK.

But be careful!

I am a member of many Voice Over groups on Facebook, and I am here to tell you that there are some really wonderful, experienced artists in these groups who are willing to help a novice in the industry.  But…and this is a BIG but…there are also some folks in these groups who snub newbies asking questions and make them feel bad about asking.  I get it, people tend to ask the same questions over and over again.  It gets frustrating.  But it bothers me when I see a veteran VO artist flame spray someone in a group for asking a question that’s been asked many times before.

It’s true

It IS true that before you ask a question, especially in a public group on social media, you should do some research on your own.  Asking Google or using the search function in the group FIRST is always a good idea before asking a random group of people online.   While that’s true, it is no excuse for going off on someone for asking.  Instead, maybe either don’t respond at all (my mom used to say if you don’t have anything good to say to someone, don’t say anything at all) or point them in the right direction to get the answers they need.  An angry or passive aggressive response serves no purpose other than to prevent newbies from asking questions at all.

We were ALL newbies with questions!

Try to remember what it was like when you were first getting started.  Were there people willing to help you and answer your questions?  I suspect the answer is yes.  You may not be where you are today without their help, and you should be willing to pay that help forward.  Or not. Maybe just stay silent!

Acting

The same holds true in the acting community.  There are so many terms, and things to learn when you are new that no acting class could ever give you everything you need to know.  Acting classes and coaches tend to focus on performance and not all the details about being on stage or on set.  It’s scary and overwhelming for a new actor.  I notice the same thing in acting groups:  There are mostly wonderful, supportive and helpful people there.  And there are also (a small subset to be sure, but very vocal) who think it is their job to disparage newbies asking questions.  It’s just not right!

No substitute

While I personally encourage people with questions to ask them…and I also encourage doing some research on your own before asking…there is simply no substitute for coaching.  Every performer, whether VO or actor, must continue training with a coach to keep improving.  And to be honest, your coach is the best person to ask your questions to.  It’s perfectly reasonable and acceptable to ask questions in an open forum, but you have a relationship (or you SHOULD anyway) with your coach, and he/she/they are far more likely to patiently provide the answers to your questions.

Ask GOOD questions

Questions are intended to lead to answers, to information, to the fulfillment of curiosity.  This is something ALL of us have desired in our lives.  To get to the answer you seek, and to (hopefully) prevent getting flame sprayed or made to feel stupid, it’s important to learn how to ask GOOD questions.  You don’t need to worry too much about it on the Google machine since you aren’t going to get picked on by the search engine, although you may struggle with the search results.

“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes” Albert Einstein

What IS a good question?

Generally, a good question requires few, or even better NO, follow up questions to arrive at the answer you need.  Think about what you need to know, and then craft your question in such a way that you won’t need to ask (or answer) follow up questions.  The secret to asking a good question is to really THINK about what you’re asking first, then ask.  But still, even if it is not a good question, it is not a dumb question.  Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know and CAN’T ask a good question right out of the gate.  So ask away!

Don’t be discouraged

At the end of the day, if you are confused or uninformed about something, it is far better to ask the question and risk being belittled for it than to remain confused or uninformed.  Don’t let the people who look down on you for asking stop you from seeking, and getting, the answers you need!    If you don’t understand, ask before it’s too late

P.S. If you are looking for your next great Non-Fiction read, head on over to “March Into Knowledge” and check out some great free content!

If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment below to let me know.  If you DIDN’T enjoy it, well, I’d like to hear from you too!  And please feel free to share this blog on social media or with other people you think might enjoy it.

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