America’s Got Talent (Or Does It?)

Deviated from my routine and went to the live taping of America’s Got Talent Tuesday evening here in Atlanta.  A connection, who was invited through her connection, invited me!

Interesting to see this show from the other side of the fence.

Lessons Reinforced

Communicate Your Distinction

Judges made it a point to build rapport, find the passion points and locate authenticity from the contestants. They also kept asking the participants about what makes you different from all the other acts out there.  Just working hard, or being in sync, or having some talent doesn’t cut the mustard.  What is unique about what you do?  How are you memorable? What is special about you from all the other dancers,  singers or other performers?  Where do you specialize?  Don’t try to be all things to all people. These are things  we hear all the time.  But during the show, I kept asking myself – where do you stand out, Marie?  With all the trainers and coaches out there, what is it that I do that is specialized? And, my answer is building relationships. I do it everywhere I go. I do it naturally; I do it offline and online. I love and thrive on connecting people to others and resources.  I do whatever it takes for my clients and really listen to where they are coming from to connect them with all they need to reach their goals. It’s so fulfilling!  So, what is your distinction?  Your passion? Is it authentic? Can you communicate it to others verbally and in print? Take the time to do this. This can be quite a process! .

Value Other’s Time

At first, when they explained the rules to the audience: cheer for the talents you like, boo & make crossing actions with your arms, if you don’t like them.  I thought, well, I have no problem on cheering and encouraging others – that’s a trademark of mine, but booing, I just won’t be able to do that. I’ll leave that to the others.  I love helping raise people’s confidence not lower it. Well, it got really easy for me to make the crossing action with my arms. There was a preacher lady who preached about the morality in America – she even brought out a pair of thong panties & granny panties for show n tell.  Really?  Yes, we can all have our viewpoints but know the platform from which to distribute it. Also during the break, IF people had talent they could come up and practice on us. OK, again I’m all about encouraging, but if you don’t really know what you are going to do, have NO talent to display in this forum, DON’T waste other people’s time.  It was extremely painful watching people who were SO clearly lackluster in talent (I think the definition of TALENT should be given before people are asked to perform)   just so they could have their few minutes of fame. I say, use YOU TUBE, so we can press the button and you are gone.  Go back to the drawing board!  You all have greatness, but you have to determine what it is and really hone it.

Know Your Blind Spots

Wow, don’t these people video their performance or think about how they fit into the talent world? Don’t they have real  friends who help them perform a reality check?  Do they read?  Do they know what is going on?  Do they get outside of their comfort zone to improve or understand marketability or are they just interested in putting us outside their comfort zone, watching painfully?  This really gives credence to asking for feedback.   We cannot be objective about ourselves.  Reach out to others  and not just your immediate group. Ask others for feedback who would be qualified to give you a professional opinion.  If you don’t have talent for this forum, please stay put & cheer in the audience.

Be Respectful

Some of the performers had attitude with the judges!!! Really?  The judges are taking their time to build rapport, use their experience,  give of themselves, focus on you, and evaluate you.  This is what you signed up for. Respect their position. If you can’t build relationships with the judges, you certainly aren’t going to be able to build relationships with a fan base.  It’s the fans who pay for your performance and buy your products. Building relationships is key.  First, these performers need to connect authentically to who they are and how they are coming across.  Reality check.

I enjoyed watching and studying the judges:  Piers Morgan, Sharon Osborne and  Howie Mandel. They were professional and authentic. They are people, too, and it was amazing to watch the do’s and don’t s of how to win friends and influence people during the course of all the interactions.

Inspire others

I was inspired by many of the performers.  One gentlemen, whom you weren’t expecting, sang in a powerful voice from the heart.  Great to witness this & his authentic reaction to the crowd and judge’s feedback.  

Without giving this away, (I believe this taping airs May 31^st) a young female totally surprised the crowd with her vocal talent, out of the box song choice and confidence.  Her poise and people skills were exemplary and the best of the night!

Get outside of the box

Always great to notice things in different forums that help us continually apply what we know and continue to see this more clearly!  Great to be inspired by those who work hard.  Great to be inspired by those who reinforce why it is important to ask for feeback and to be authentic . When you actually take the time to break routine, discovery  and fresher insights are  usually a common result. This was a fun experience!  In summary, we all have talent.  There is a journey involved in cultivating it, as well as the journey of the other skill sets and qualities needed to be successful: integrity, values and people skills to name a few.  Enjoy the journey and know America’s Got Talent & you’ve got it too!