Art Biz Blog

Well, um, actually, you know, it’s literally like this

I’ve been noticing bad habits snaking into my vocabulary. Not just my speech, but my writing! Certain words and phrases sound like fingernails on a chalkboard. If only they wouldn’t come out in the first place! The phrases “you know” and “I mean” are tops on my list, along with the word “actually.”

I’m reminded of a newsletter Marcia Yudkin wrote a couple of years ago, which has stuck in my memory. I republish it here in full.

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The Marketing Minute
brought to you every Wednesday by Marcia Yudkin
Marketing Consultant, Author, Speaker
©Marcia Yudkin

Luckily there isn't a Committee to Defend the Adverb.  Because today, readers, I implore you:  Whenever you see one in your prose, pull it over to the side and grill it about whether or not it has a legitimate reason to be there.  If not, hurl it into the bushes.  Stamp it into oblivion.

Worst offenders:

Intensifiers, like "really," "very," "extremely." Always be suspicious of these. You inserted them to rev up your meaning, but to readers they have the opposite effect. Out!

"Actually" or "in fact." If I'd said "to readers they actually have the opposite effect," would I have changed my point?  No.  Out!

"Literally."  Almost always this word deserves squelching. To decide, apply the dictionary meaning to the next word.  Is it true?  "We literally exploded in laughter." You did not explode.  Out!

(Image ©Marge Bennett, Homage to Matisse III)

Bad-habit adverbs. The chaplain at a college where I once taught inserted "somehow" into every other sentence to express perplexity at the twists and turns of life. Excise such distracting mannerisms from your writing, too.

If a word does nothing or mucks up your point... Out!

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Where do you stand with these words?

It's easy for me to delete these adverbs from my clients' statements and bios, but much harder to remove from my own text and, to be more exact, my speech. I know, however, that I’ll deliver a more powerful message with more precise writing and precise speaking.

You can do this, too. Practice eliminating these words in your blog posts, your biography and your statement.

I need to warn you, though. Once you become aware of unnecessary words and phrases, I’m afraid that you, too, will begin hearing the sound of nails scratching the chalkboard each time someone else (not you!) utters them.

For Marcia Yudkin's free weekly tips, subscribe to The Marketing Minute.

Podcast: Pack your presentation with meaningful content

Presentations should be packed with meaningful content for your audience. Start gathering ideas for your presentations from the moment you confirm a gallery talk, lecture, or slide show.

Listen to this week's podcast for tips for compiling and refining presentation content.

[4:24]

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More on This Topic

Art Marketing Action newsletter (a written version of this podcast)

Part 1: Design your PowerPoint presentation

What?! No bullet points?!

Resources to help you conquer your fear of public speaking

First-time speaking advice from another artist

Speak Up!

I’d Rather Be in the Studio! (pages 53-67)

→Instructions for subscribing to the Art Marketing Action podcast on iTunes.

What?! No bullet points?!

Monday’s Art Marketing Action Newsletter and podcast about designing PowerPoint presentations provoked a number of comments and questions. Those who had obviously had to sit through a number of wickedly boring presentations cheered me on in emails and comments. Quinn McDonald, who apparently teaches PowerPoint (!), wrote:

The simple truth about PowerPoint is that logic doesn't win agreement, emotion does. And emotion is processed on the right, creative, visual side of the brain. Make your words logical, your visuals emotional, and you have a decent PowerPoint.

Others were perplexed: If not bullet points, then what? Trust me, I understand. We’ve gotten so used to them that we think we can’t do without them. But we can! I’m living proof. You should see the presentations I did just three years ago. (Thankfully, they’re destroyed!) I used bullet points as a crutch to get me through so I didn’t have to look at notes. That’s what most speakers do.

You shouldn't be writing out complete thoughts in text on your slides. If you can speak it, use your related slide for emotional impact. Words on the screen just can't create that kind of emotional impact.

With art, you don’t need bullet points! And you rarely need any text at all. I sat through years of art history classes in darkened rooms. Thousands of slides! Not a single bullet point in any one of them. Imagine! Like Quinn said in her quote above: Use your images to stimulate the right (creative) side of the brain.

One final (for now) resource for you. Cynthia Morris wisely recommended watching Garr Reynolds’ (of Presentation Zen) presentation to Google.

Here's a slide from one of my recent presentations, which introduces the concept that "the economy is in the toilet." See: No bullet points and no complete thoughts in text. You get the picture.

PS: For those of you who didn't know what PowerPoint was, consider yourself blessed. You won't make the same mistakes we did!

Podcast: Design your PowerPoint presentation

There will come a time when you’re asked to talk about your art--with slides. The design of your digital presentation should put the focus on your art. Listen to tips for designing and perfecting your PowerPoint presentation.

[6:02]

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More on This Topic

Art Marketing Action newsletter (a written version of this podcast)

Resources to help you conquer your fear of public speaking

First-time speaking advice from another artist

Speak Up!

I’d Rather Be in the Studio! (pages 53-67)

→Instructions for subscribing to the Art Marketing Action podcast on iTunes.

Deep Thought Thursday: Your art seems expensive

Astrid Volquardsen enjoyed reading the responses to “How long did it take you to make that?”, which got her to thinking about another question that viewers often ask.  She's curious . . .

How does one respond to the question: "Your art seems to be expensive" ?

In contrast to the question “How long did it take you to make that?”, this is definitely a value question. No getting around it.

Image ©Astrid Volquardsen, Nordmannsgrund (II) Blick nach Langeness

Astrid adds: This is often asked by people who never have bought originals before. How should one react without being defensive, smart or snappy? What could be a good respond in order to open up a conversation and maybe win new customers?

Can you help her out?

Podcast: Turn the conversation around

Do you find yourself getting defensive when you are asked questions about your art you don’t like? Engaging questions help to educate art viewers and, because they build knowledge and an increased level of comfort, go a long way to turning art viewers into art buyers.

[4:57]

Yes! We have winners!

As I say in the podcast, this topic grew from a Deep Thought Thursday contest I posted a couple of weeks ago. It asked how you respond to the question "How long did it take you to make that?" I selected two winners--those whose answers I felt were the best of the 69 responses at the time the contest ended.

The winners are Liz Crain and Quinn McDonald.
Click on "Continue Reading" at the bottom of this post to see why.

Prefer reading to listening? Check out the Art Marketing Action newsletter.

Subscribe to the Art Marketing Action podcast at iTunes.
Instructions for subscribing to this podcast.

Suggestion for improving your artist statement

Some artists need help with their statements more than other artists.

Deborah Paris recently contacted me about hers. Aside from the fact that it was conspicuously missing from her Web site, the statement was okay. It was probably doing a good job for her. I saw nothing there that needed major correcting.

But I did offer her some free advice to help tighten up her statement. You might benefit from what I said:

If you want to save money and make it better, look at it at the same time every day for a week. You'll find something to tighten it up each time you look at it.

Deborah took my advice and posted the results on her blog. Be sure to read the comments while you're there.

It sound so simple, but most artists would rather get a root canal than look at their artist statement every day. You can't expect your statement to get better until you spend time on it.

For more help, see The Relatively Pain-Free Artist Statement (or Action 4 in I'd Rather Be in the Studio!).

Podcast: Use questioning strategies to engage viewers

Ever have a question posed to you that you don't like to answer?

Want to know how to answer such questions and engage your viewers more fully in the process? Listen up.

[6 min. 40 sec.]

Incidentally (and this will make sense after you listen to the podcast), my client did use the questioning strategies during her talk and it worked out great. But she didn't wait to hear the question she was dreading. Instead, she was proactive. She started right in with the questions in order to engage her viewers before they even had a chance to ask their own questions. She said, "Approaching it in that way, not one person pushed me for the technique."

Prefer reading to listening? Check out the Art Marketing Action newsletter.

Don't miss my new video Affirmations for Artists. Positive messages for artists in today's economy

Subscribe to the Art Marketing Action podcast at iTunes.
Instructions for subscribing to this podcast.
This podcast is an audio version of the Art Marketing Action newsletter.

The art of persuasion

Take time to listen to this terrific segment from yesterday's Talk of the Nation on NPR with social psychologist and author Robert Cialdini.

It's 22 minutes and will give you tricks that make it easier to get a Yes from people.

Deep Thought Thursday: Questions or comments that turn your stomach

What do people ask you or say to you as an artist that drives you nuts?