To prompt yourself into action you need to have a strong enough intent. You need to make sure that your effort is mutually nourishing and is essentially beneficial to others. You need to know that you’re capable of putting in constant effort and preferably have this effort be inspired over a long period, and then you will see the results of your effort.
One thing you do need to remember is that the level of competition is extremely high. I’m not talking here only about the competition level when it comes to artists marketing artwork and selling artwork successfully. I’m talking about the level of competition that is out there with the quality of work being produced.
Career challenges will be things that you begin to look forward to instead of things you dread and avoid. No longer will you undermine your success. The art revelations and insights will naturally bring success, where your own personal reflections and vision will clear obstacles & provide direction. You will most importantly remember to breathe as you have your own unique personal experience & insights and develop your central artistic concerns with the confidence you always wanted and somewhere know you always had.
This can help with future directions and can also act as a signpost for yourself about important and pivotal times in your career, times which you may want to elaborate about clearly in lectures or in your own writings about your work.
When you’re having an exhibition of new work and it doesn’t sell – that can be difficult. Again, I would have to talk about relativity. It’s tough if you don’t sell work at an exhibition, especially if you put a lot of time and money into the show. But that pales in significance when compared to being dealt a bad hand when you least expect it.
I am enjoying my role as a mediator between nature and humans, expressing universal truths in my work and inspiring viewers as much as I am able.
Many galleries I’ve worked with have asked me to create smaller works, or works ‘like the one that sold’ etc. In the meantime I have continued to make whatever has been my whim. I have one of the most varied outputs in style of all the artists I know.
You need to understand that when you are standing in front of an audience delivering a lecture, making a public speaking engagement, you are selling whatever it is you’re speaking about. You don’t want people to get up and walk out after five minutes, so bearing that in mind, you want them to buy what it is that you are selling or talking about.
In one sense your topic is already defined. How do you make yourself unique given that the above is true? It is important to remember that whether you’re an artist, a student, a bureaucrat in the arts industry, everyone has their own unique story to tell, this is simply because everyone is different and has had different life experiences that brings them to the point where they are in their lives. That said, everybody is in a unique situation when they have to define their topic. In the following few sentences, I am going to be giving you a quick rundown on simple direct ways to define your topic.
Five most common ways to get your topic.
One. It is assigned to you. Someone gives it to you and you talk about it.
Two. It is your passion.
Three. It is based on your knowledge. Do the research. This is important.
Four. It is based on your skill.
Five. It is based on your desire to learn more about a topic.
When you are defining your topic, give it wings.
You can find your own metaphors, which serve your speaking engagement best. Once you have these in place you can weave the stories into a few as an introduction. This is called stacking. It’s a very effective way of bringing messages home and engaging your audience right from the outset. I might begin a lecture for example, using the metaphor about the “X” factor, followed on shortly afterwards via the “Fast track highway to success”, just to really strengthen the message that I’m trying to convey.
As an artist giving a public presentation such as public speaking engagement, I have been aware from the onset that it wouldn’t impress anyone if I had arrived on the stage looking slouchy. So rather than turning up in my paint-splattered overalls just to make a point, I do quite the opposite.
The unbreakable law of professional speaking is: If you do not know the purpose of your message, no one else will.??
Also remember your physicality is a very important aspect of public speaking, it doesn’t matter what level of public speaking you are engaging in.??
Your look defines you. Market yourself correctly. Dress for success.??
There are other techniques you can also use during the course of a public speaking lecture. There is a technique called ‘Pattern interrupted’ which is like what I suggested above with the: sh sh sh sh sh…. or you can completely change the subject by going: “Can you smell that? Is that popcorn?“– This is a good example.
Public speaking essentially is about the “Art of speaking”. Muscles control your voice. You must warm up the muscles before you exercise, we may strain or damage them. Keep this in mind because it’s a very, very good way to start a lecture or to start any form of public presentation.
If you document your lecture or your public speaking engagement you’ll be doing a few things at once. Firstly you will be creating an archive, which is irreplaceable. This archive can be converted into a DVD in a reasonably simple manner at your own computer. This DVD once produced, can then be either sold at future speaking engagements or through your website. I can’t stress enough how important it is.
Speakers need to be able to sell what it is they’re speaking about. This can range from information about modern art, or about sculpture for example.
You need to understand that when you are standing in front of an audience delivering a lecture, making a public speaking engagement, you are selling whatever it is you’re speaking about.
In one sense your topic is already defined. How do you make yourself unique given that the above is true? It is important to remember that whether you’re an artist, a student, a bureaucrat in the arts industry, everyone has their own unique story to tell, this is simply because everyone is different and has had different life experiences that brings them to the point where they are in their lives.
You can use a number of methods in your public speaking engagements. I have one called the “Fast track highway to success” for example, which I articulate through a series of diagrams, how easy it is to get sidetracked when you’re doing a project and get lost, only to eventually find yourself back on the superhighway way behind your competition.
Also look at NLP techniques, these teach you the effective use of communication psychology.NLP is a pattern of speaking. There are no “ums” and few “buts”.
Justice O’Connor has produced two books called: “Introduction to NLP” and “Selling with NLP”. Also good reference books on the subject. Human beings minds like to fill in the gaps.
