Yin/Yang
Right there are two incendiary terms. They don’t always go hand in hand, but they rarely tell a positive story.
Oddly enough, not everyone agrees on who is or who is NOT a predatory coach. Nor do some coaches SEE themselves as “predatory”…so there is plenty of gray on this issue.
A “demo mill” is equally perceived as a pox on our profession. Why would anyone want to hurry a demo? Who would want to produce schlock? But demos are such a subjective product. Again, room for disagreement on what constitutes a “demo mill”.
Often only hindsight tells us when we are duped. The rush to have the demo that all other established voice-talent seem to have often supersedes the wisdom and patience that should be our watchword.
Also, who among us has not taken a misstep in the rush to find legitimacy? Sometimes being frozen by fear of risk mistakenly prevents us from moving forward, regardless of how misguided the direction.
Finally, I stand by the old adage that you only get one chance at making a first impression, so why would you want that first impression to be the result of a weekend coach and demo session?
Because you don’t yet know or understand the process?
Coach/Demo TweetChat
Enter another World-Voices TweetChat. We’re tackling the twin topics of predatory coaches and demo mills in an online Twitter Chat session.
It happens this Wednesday, February 11, 2015 at Noon Pacific time. The chat is built off the hashtag #wovochat. So look for that, and consider this your invitation.
Here are the questions WoVO is tackling:
1) Let’s define “predatory coaches” and “ demo mills”…who are these people?
2) What’s the best way to tell if a coach is the real deal, or taking advantage of you?
3) What are some of the questionable promises to watch for?
4) What’s the best way to check on references, and get some background info?
5) List four things a PROFESSIONAL voice coach should say when you first approach them.
6) Why is it doubtful that a decent demo can be produced in your first weekend?
7) How much training should you get before seeking your first commercial demo?
8) Do all coaches ALSO produce demos? Why or why not? Good or bad?
9) How do you know if a coaching session is going well?
10) What’s the best way to pick a good VO coach?
Make an appointment to join us. Use Tweetchat.com, tchat.io, or your favorite Twitter program (Hootsuite, TweetDeck) to participate.
CourVO
