Audience participation

There is nothing like bringing people from the audience onto the stage to engage the audience.  When you pull “one of them” into the act, you’ve just customized the show to that group. You have made the performance unique. The challenge, especially in a corporate environment, is that this same action can just as quickly alienate your audience if you do it wrong.

So, how do you do it right?  I can only tell you how I do it.

First and foremost is to treat your audience volunteers with respect. This is one of my cardinal rules and is especially important for a corporate event.  If you’re working a bar or some other kind of venue where most of the people do not know the person you’re bringing up, maybe you can get away with making a fool out of your volunteer. I wouldn’t know. I don’t work those kinds of events. Even the non-corporate events I work are by and large community events where most of the people know each other.  If you make a fool of the one, you make a fool of the whole group.

My second rule is to make the volunteer the star of the show. I do this throughout as I bring people up on stage. Each person from the audience at that moment is the most important person on the stage. Not me. Them. My goal is to make them look good, not stupid. So many times I have seen magicians go to great lengths to make their volunteers look like a fool. No wonder people don’t want to come up on stage.

I actually have the whole process flow of using audience volunteers scripted throughout my standard one-hour show. The first two people I bring up are very low-key. It’s always two gentlemen.  It is gentle.  It is safe. There is not much required of them.  What this does is establish that it’s OK to be on stage with me. The trick itself is really pretty stupid.    The whole reason I do it is to get those first audience volunteers on stage and establish the comfort level for those who will follow.

The next volunteer is a woman, and it gets a lot more involved.  Still, the goal is to make her look good. I go to great lengths to compliment her throughout her time on stage, tell her how great she’s doing. Sure, there are bits of banter and we have some fun with it. But I know that the trick is nothing without this person on stage to take part, so it is all done with respect.

My show closes with two volunteers who become ventriloquist characters. This is the highlight of my shows and these two people truly are the stars of the show. This is the part that people talk about long after it is over. It would not be as successful if I treated them badly. In a corporate event, this is usually the boss and his/her second in command. They usually have no idea it’s coming.

A friend of mine, who also does a lot of corporate events, suggested that you should always talk with your intended volunteers ahead of time. I don’t do that. But, I do ask the event organizer for suggestions as to who to use. And more important, who NOT to use.

When I say “volunteer”, I really mean “chosen by me”. Before the show starts, I study the crowd. I pre-select who I’m going to use for the various audience participation portions.  I’m looking for some specific characteristics. For example, the lady I bring up has to wear a hard hat as part of the effect. So, I study the crowd to find a woman who is 1) pretty 2) dressed well and 3) has relatively flat hair.  The key is #3. If I were to bring someone up who just spent $200 on a perm (or whatever the current term is), there is no way they would be willing to put on the hat.  And without the hat, there is no trick.  #1 is for the benefit of the rest of the audience. A good looking woman is more interesting. #2 is back to the respect issue. I want to make sure that she will feel confident on stage, not self conscious.

One last point. Throughout my show, I work to have the ventriloquist characters directly engage individuals in the audience. These “volunteers” are not up on the stage, but they might as well be. As much as I (via the character) pick on these individuals, there is always a sense of fairness because whatever I’m picking on them about is something I’ve already had the character pick on ME about first. The first insults are slung in my direction.  For example, cracks about bald heads are made about me first, and only then turned toward someone in the audience. We (the target and I) are now on common ground.

Do you do anything differently?  Or have other tips?  I’d love to hear from you.

Why are you here?

That’s the question I’ve heard several times since returning to a day job this past October. It’s a question I mull over in my head as well.

In a recent meet & greet with a group at work, one guy (we’ll call him “Fred”) told me he knew someone who had worked with me at my previous day job a few years back. That friend told him he was surprised to hear that I had returned to a regular job.  This came up again a few days later.  Last Wednesday, I got to share my performing side with the day job staff.  It was a meeting of all IT staff and the theme for the day was “fun”.  So, I got to do a 30 minute performance.  Afterward, Fred approached me and said, “Now I know what my friend was talking about.  I don’t know why you came back either.”

Thank you for the compliment.

There are many reasons I am back to the old world. There are the obvious answers: A steady paycheck. Health benefits. Blah.  There are the less obvious answers: I actually missed having daily contact with a consistent group people.  A friend asked me to come be his boss (again). My oldest daughter heads to college next year.

All of those are fine in their own regard.  But, the key reason that I am back and specifically at this particular organization is that I have something to give.  Most of those other reasons are about taking. What drives me is the giving.

A fellow speaker asked me how I combat stage fright. My answer was (and is) that when I take the stage I believe with every fiber of my being that I am there to give a gift to the audience. The gift of laughter.  My job on stage is to allow people to put aside their troubles, their stress and for this one hour, have some fun.

My approach to the day job is along the same vein.  I am not there for me. I am there for them – the team of people that I manage.  Without going into too much detail, I lead a team of people who need guidance. They have come this far, but are in need of new direction. I am uniquely qualified to provide what is needed.

It’s not about me. It’s not about what I get. It’s what I have to give.

Egotistical? Perhaps.

But, ask yourself, what do you have to offer the world? Are you giving it? Who needs what you are uniquely qualified to give?

Beef queen

Eugene was pretty excited this past Thursday.  He got to meet an honest to goodness Beef Queen!  Here’s the photo:

Eugene and the 2010 Mercer County Beef Queen

We performed for the Mercer County Cattlemen’s Association.  Olivia was awarded her crown during the event.

It turns out that the Beef Queen’s mom is an author.  Her first book, “The Beef Princess of Practical County“, is out now.  She wrote it long before her daughter won the crown.  Makes you wonder…

Also in attendance were Ohio State Senator Keith Faber and Ohio State Representative Jim Zehringer.  Having two politicians in the audience was just too much to resist. So, naturally, Jim and Keith closed out the show as People Puppets (TM).

The show was well received. A flurry of people approached me after the show to thank me and tell me how much they enjoyed it.  I gave out a higher than usual number of business cards.

I don’t say that to brag.  No, I point it out because during the performance, I had that sense of, “Oh, crap, tough crowd.” You know those times when you’re firing all the usual material, but the audible response just doesn’t seem as strong as you’re used to hearing? It was one of those shows.

It might have had something to do with the pyramids of empty beer cans on the tables. It might have been the full hour of random  awards presentations and politician speeches between dinner and my performance. Or, it might just have been one of those kinds of groups who don’t readily laugh out loud.  The laughter was there in their eyes, so I knew it was going OK.  But, when you’re used to seeing people doubling over, wiping tears from their eyes, a more stoic crowd is disconcerting.

The event served as another reminder that you can’t always judge your performance on the volume of laughter during the event. Other factors are just as important.  Referrals for future performances, personal comments made after the show, number of business cards taken, etc.

Get out there, do the show with confidence. Spread the laughter.

Back to the dark side

Wow! Has it really been since August since I last posted on this blog?  That’s pathetic!  Sorry, everyone.  Where to start… Or, rather, restart…

The big news is that I have returned to the dark side. Yes, it’s true, I’m back to a day job.  Those of you following me on Twitter or Facebook already know this.  I started in mid-October.  For those who care, I am Director of Networking and Telecom at Ohio Health.  Back to my old world.

Why?  Because a friend asked me to.  Seriously.  And because this job needed me. I don’t mean that to sound egotistical. Think about your job.  Does your job really need you, specifically?  Are you the best person, uniquely qualified to do the job you are doing?  Yes?  Great!  No?  Then why are you still doing it?

That’s my philosophy. Don’t work a job because they want you, or worse, because they’ll let you work there.  Work a job because they need YOU.

Interviewing is a 2-way street. Sure, the economy sucks and jobs are hard to come by. But, I maintain that working a job you hate, or where you are simply a cog in the wheel, is worse than taking the extra time to find the RIGHT job.

I have always been fond of a steady paycheck. And over the years I came to view myself as a free agent at work. (At least on my good days.) I had a major attitude shift many years ago that was validated by the book, “Die Broke”, by Stephen Pollan.  The rest of the title is, “Quit today, pay cash, don’t retire and most important, Die Broke”. It’s a very interesting approach.  A good read.

December was incredibly busy and quite a challenge to mix the new day job (where I had not yet earned paid vacation days…) and a full performing calendar.  In the middle of it all, my younger brother died (cancer).  I was fortunate to be able to offer two of my clients fantastic substitutes in my absence while dealing with my brother’s passing.  Thank you Jon Petz for doing a great job while leaving the door open for me to go back to these clients next year!

I promise I’ll get back here and write more frequently now that the dust has settled a bit on all of the turmoil my family has experienced over the past 4 months or so.  I plan to share more thoughts on the return to the day job and balancing that with my performing life.

Stay tuned. And as always, questions? Comments?  I’d love to hear them.

Truck signs

It’s hard to miss my truck driving down the road now.  Years ago I got the vanity license plates “NO DUMMY”.  And I got custom license plate frames that provided a little bit of explanation for that.  Most people didn’t notice the frames.  I think the new signage makes it pretty obvious.  But, then, maybe not.  We’ll see.

The "No Dummy" mobile is ready for action.

Let me know what you think.

Don’t say “no” for them

Here’s a marketing/sales tip for you.  Don’t reject the sale before the client has reviewed the offer.

As entertainers, we’ve all done it. That email, or phone message, or web request comes in asking for a price to do a performance at an event. You read into the message and make assumptions. And you immediately think of all the reasons why they aren’t going to be able to afford your regular fee.  It’s for a small group. It’s in a small town. It’s a kid’s birthday party.  I’m sure you have your own set of filters. As a result, you decide to tell them “no thanks”, or you quote a rate that is less than your usual fee.

Here’s my tip for the day – Respond with your full fee and let them be the ones to say “no thanks”.

I recently received one of those requests. So many of my “this will never fly” alarm bells went off I lost count.  And guess what – I got the gig.

What is the event?  It’s a family gathering, celebrating the birthday of the youngest daughter who is turning 14, in a suburb of Los Angeles, CA.  Oh, and it’s being held on Thanksgiving Day.

My first reaction? I don’t travel that far for a birthday party. You can’t afford what I would charge to do that.  Then I thought, what the heck?  I’ll put it out there and let them make that call, not me.

I have a standard fee structure that I use.  Hopping on a plane is my highest rate. As another performer put it, “You’re not paying for my performance. The performance is free.  I do this for fun.  You’re paying to get me there.”  The logistics of taking my act on a plane require a great deal of effort and that is reflected in my fee structure.

In terms of cost to the client, this is one of my highest paying events for the whole year (so far).  And yet it’s for one of the smallest groups.  (About 30 people.)  Yeah, sure, I won’t be spending Thanksgiving Day with my family. Oh, well.  Believe me, I’ll be giving thanks on that day.

Make more mistakes

Here’s my goal for this year – Make more mistakes.

Yes, you read that right. For most of my life I have played it safe. Too safe.  Maybe that made me a good engineer. Then again, maybe not.

The more I go along in building my business, the more I realize and appreciate the value of making mistakes. Lots of them.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not out to waste vast amounts of money. I’m still eager to avoid making huge and costly blunders.  But, I am working hard to train myself that it’s OK to be less than perfect.  And write the cost of the mistakes off as education.

In launching my business, I studied people who have gone before me. I have made it a point to try to avoid the mistakes they have made. This has been helpful – to a point. What I’ve come to realize, though, is that by trying so hard to avoid other people’s mistakes, I’ve been unwilling to make enough of my own mistakes.

My degree is in electrical engineering. In my first job, I did both hardware and software design. I found out quickly that I was much better at software than hardware.  Why?  Because I made lots of mistakes and fixing mistakes in software is much easier than in hardware.  Hardware is a one-shot deal. You design the whole thing, review it as much as possible, commit it to production, and hope you got it right. (We did not have fancy hardware simulation tools that most good engineering shops use now.)

Over many years, I became a very good software engineer (it’s not bragging if it’s true). I favored the iterative approach to writing code. Write some, test it, fix the bugs, write some more, repeat.  The key was to test frequently and avoid getting in so deep that you had to rewrite huge amounts of code.

That’s what I’m trying to recapture as an approach in my business. Do a little at a time, test it, see if it’s working, adjust and move ahead.

This can only work if I allow myself to make mistakes along the way. By doing things a little at a time, I hope those mistakes are not catastrophic.

As I look back on my life and the choices I’ve made, I find it interesting that writing software is the only place where I truly took this iterative approach. And it is the thing I was the best at doing.  (I only stopped because I had to due to a physical injury – a long story for another time.)

Wish me luck. Now go make some mistakes of your own.

Therapy

Have you ever been to a therapist?  You know, one of those people who asks you annoying questions that are supposed to somehow make you feel better. Or, maybe they give you wise words of encouragement that leave you ready to take on your next challenge. (And then you get the bill.)

How about a coach? A life coach, or a business coach, or any other kind of personal coach? Basically the same thing, minus the degree. (Go ahead, bash me for that.)  Oh, and the pricing structure is a bit different. Note I didn’t say it was less expensive, just different. A therapist typically charges by the session (30 minutes, 60 minutes…)  Coaches typically sign you up for some length of time (1 month, 3 months, a year…)  You’re on the hook, whether you make use of their service or not.

Both coaches and therapists provide the same basic service. They help you through your tough times and push you to move ahead in your life. Yea, I know, that’s a grand simplification. Too bad.  Both can provide a great service if you hook up with the right one. But, don’t stop there.

When you are launching and running your own business, it is important to have people you can bounce ideas off of. Some people can get this from their families. Most of us can’t – especially those of us in the entertainment industry. You can try your regular set of friends, but more likely than not, they’re just not going to understand. Most of them probably have “real” jobs. They won’t be able to understand how hard this can really be. After all, when you’re on stage and people are falling out of their seats laughing, it all looks so easy.

I rely heavily on a small set of people who are also in this industry. BTW, I include comedians, magicians, jugglers, and public speakers here, not just ventriloquists. Some of my group are local, some are not. The one common thing between us all is that we support each other without question and without any exchange of money. Some days I’m drawing heavily on my support group, sucking all of the strength I can get. Some days it’s my turn to give. Some days it’s time to turn on the firehose and spray someone extra heavily.

One of my local groups actually calls our times together “therapy”. We get together on a semi-regular basis over coffee or lunch or whatever. We share our status, our fears, our successes, and our dreams. We pat each other on the back, kick each other in the rear end, or whatever is needed.

Another of my friends lives several states away. We mostly communicate via email. He’s been in the business much longer than I have and he’s provided me with incredible support and encouragement. Lately he’s been struggling with a particular long-running gig. It’s my turn to send hope and encouragement his way. Were he to share his complaints with someone outside the industry, he’d most likely hear comments like, “Hey, you’re working aren’t you?”, “What’s your problem?”, or “Suck it up!”  Only a fellow traveler in this space can relate to the inner demons that come out to play.

The point I’m trying to make here is whatever you’re doing, don’t go it alone. Reach out to others in your field. Find people who are at a similar point on the journey. Find those who are farther along. And as you progress, offer your time to those who are following behind.

Go out and create your own therapy group.

Negotiating fees

Are you struggling to book shows lately? I’ve had numerous conversations with people about pricing, discounting, negotiating fees, etc.  Here are a few of my thoughts.

• Rule #1 – Never negotiate your fee, but do offer discounts.  OK, the cynics are saying, “isn’t that the same thing?”  No, it’s not. Discounts are temporary. They are a special offer, not guaranteed to be available in the future. Whereas, if you negotiate your fee, you’re stuck with that as your new going rate.  In my contract package, I include a formal invoice. I list the performance fee, which is what it always is, then I list line item discounts that reduce the final price to whatever we agreed on.  Feel free to make up discounts.  One example from a recent invoice is, “Special economic stimulus discount”.

• Rule #2 – Always ask for something in exchange for a reduced rate. Do you have products to sell after the show? Maybe offer a discount to your performance fee for explicit permission to sell stuff.  Are you trying to build video footage for promotional use or even a DVD?  Ask for them to provide video recording services.  If nothing else, at least ask them to provide you with at least 3 people whom you can contact using them as a reference.

• And here’s one last idea I’ve been using. I’ve been doing shows for retirement communities around town. Primarily I view these as a service project.  I love doing them as I have a soft spot for senior citizens (I plan to be one someday.)  And it’s really helpful to me in continuing my efforts to ttaallllkkkk ssslllllooooowwweeeerrrr.  My deal with these groups is, “what’s your budget? OK, that’s what I’ll charge you.”  Their budgets barely cover my expenses, but I’ll continue doing this as long as I am able. There are a number of caveats that go with the deal. The main one is that I reserve the right to cancel at any time if I get booked for another event.

The work is out there, folks. Go find the people who need what you have to offer. Don’t give it away, but do work with them to find creative solutions.

Missed opportunity

The show in Zanesville went great last week. It is so cool to have an audience of people who made a conscious choice to leave the comfort of their homes and pay money to watch me perform. So much of my work is for captive audiences: corporate events where people are expected to show up. It is hard to express how amazing it feels that these people last week chose to attend the show.

It became clear early on that I missed an opportunity while I was there. Several people asked me whether I had anything to sell.  T-shirts, DVDs, anything.  Both of these are in the works, but not quite ready.  Actually, the DVD will quite likely incorporate footage from this very show.

How many other shows have I done where I could have made a few extra bucks – and distributed promotional materials at the same time! – but missed the opportunity for lack of product to offer?  Well, stay tuned, because I hope to never miss this particular opportunity again.

I’d love suggestions and comments on possible T-shirt designs. Eugene and Jose’ are the most likely characters to have their own shirts. And, of course, there will be some playing around with “I’m No Dummy” text. What kind of shirt would YOU buy? Let me know. Heck, shoot me a design! If I use your design, I’ll send you a free shirt.