4 lessons I learned from my recent public performance

April 23, 2017. I’ll never forget that date. It was the day that I had the wonderful opportunity to perform as a singer at the 2017 Vancouver Sun Run.  You can watch a clip from my performance here. Could you imagine the excitement and nervousness that bubbled in my soul?

If you’re in the process of getting ready to present a big presentation, launch a new campaign or project, or give a public speech – or perhaps you have done any or all of the aforementioned tasks, or maybe you will speak or perform in public soon.  Either way, I hope that the lessons that I learned from my experience would be helpful to you for your upcoming presentation, performance or speech.

1. You have no control over the amount of sleep you get the night before your performance.

I would’ve never guessed that I would’ve woken up much earlier than I planned – thus reducing the atleast-6-hours-of-sleep that I hoped to get. I tried to go back to bed but I couldn’t. I eventually figured out that I probably woke up early for a good reason – and that was indeed the case – I needed some more time to think about my outfit choice! 🙂

2. Be willing to adjust your outfit.

I chose the outfit that I planned to wear the previous week. The weather was colder than I’d hoped, so I decided to tweak my outfit. I initially planned to wear a black sequined top with my black jacket and black jeans. However since it was cold, I added my blue sweater to my outfit. For me, health comes first, then fashion.

3. Be willing to adjust your performance routine.

I had a clear vision of the style of performance I wanted to give. I’m always looking for an opportunity to channel my inner singer muses – Freddie Mercury, George Michael, Tina Turner and Prince. However, when I got to the venue, I realized that I had to adjust my style to suit the amount of performance space that I had, the atmosphere, the environment and the audience. I realized that, while rehearsals are always good, if you’re unable to visit or know your exact performance location before the date of your performance, I’d suggest having a willingness to adjust your rehearsed routine.

4. Understand that the audio sounds much different when you’re at the location than when you watch the performance on your mobile phone or laptop.

I’m sure most of us have watched shows such as American Idol and The Voice. We’ve probably heard the judges state that sometimes what we hear at home on our TV’s, laptops and mobile phones sounds much different than the audio at the live event or in the studio. When I listened to the performance on my phone and on my laptop, I observed that the sound wasn’t as clear compared to the clear sound that I heard during my performance. I’d imagine that that’s why the popular phrase “you have to be there to see it, to hear it to believe it” makes a lot of sense.

We may plan, prepare and rehearse as much as possible, but at the end of day, I’d say that the night before your performance, and the day of your performance are some of the key deciding factors that could determine the outcome of your performance.

adjust.adapt.adjust.adapt.adjust.adapt.adjust.adapt.adjust.adapt.adjust.adapt.adjust.

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Author: Naomi

I blog. I think, sit and write content that I hope will inspire you, re-awaken your curiosity and motivate you to pursue your interests, talents and hobbies. I sing. I started "officially" singing during my teenage years. I was a member of a youth choir. I also wrote and sang a song for a school competition. I've participated in singing auditions, I've sang at weddings, corporate events and promotional campaigns. I write. I've been writing stories and songs from my early childhood years. My love of writing, story-telling and creative writing also led me to write for my college's school newspaper, participate in a competition to co-author a book with best-selling author James Patterson I envision I envision the world to be a place that welcomes, celebrates and appreciates creators who aspire to make positive changes. I seek to create a world that welcomes and celebrates creators who open, re-open, re-explore and re-discover creative chapters in their lives that they thought were closed permanently. The door is now re-opened View all posts by Naomi