"Live for the Applause" but ONLY if you can handle it

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A great night at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival!

Let’s face the truth - we all love the applause! Art is meant to be shared and meant to be LOVED by others, so of course, people are going to praise you for shipping your art. Yes, even US, the hesitant singers. The challenge we face is that our inner voice does not always believe that we deserve positive recognition from our audience. In fact, many times the inner voice tells us that accepting compliments and praise is arrogant, so here is how the conversation plays out:

  • Audience (aka your biggest fan): “You did a REALLY great job with that song!”

  • The Hesitant Singer : “ Meh, I wasn’t happy with it….. I was too shaky, too flat, forgot that one word….. blah blah blah blah blah”

In our quest to seem humble, we are actually alienating our most important customers - the ones with the audacity and courage to approach you and tell you how awesome you are!!!

The lesson here is to embrace it, NO MATTER WHAT your inner voice might be telling you. They have earned your unwavering respect, and we need to treat that as the precious gift that it truly is. If you watch closely, when we downplay the applause, you can see people recoil, wrinkle their noses, or even seem hurt.

If you are lucky like me, there will be one true friend that calls you out on it and doesn’t let you reject their gift. She will FORCE you to accept it now and on behalf of every other fan that dares to approach you.

So what do we say? How do we respond? We return the gift by sharing why we share our art in the first place. Tell people the truth about why we are singers.

  • Thank you! (ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS start, and often end, here)

  • I am so glad you enjoyed it!

  • It means a lot to me to hear you say that.

Not only are you telling your audience, but more importantly, you are validating for YOURSELF that in fact, this was a great performance. By preparing yourself for the congratulations, you are preparing yourself make great music! “Live for the applause!!”