Mind Your Business: The Truth Hurts
Praise Hurts
What? You think constant praise is better than honest commentary? Really? Let's look at an example. Do you ever watch American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance? I do and some of my favorite episodes are the auditions.
You always see a bunch of star wannabes accompanied by their family who drone on and on about how incredible their little Bobby or Bobbi are. Then we hear them sing and they sound like some stray cat stuck in your car engine. Or we watch them stumble through a dance routine that more resembles an epileptic fit. (Anyone remember the untalented reality contestant named Sex and his delusional mother who thought he was incredible?)
Unearned and misplaced praise didn't help these contestants. In fact, it often kept people from hearing and listening to the truth offered by the judges. We viewers at home laugh our collective asses off at how delusional many of the contestants are, yet many of us are just as misguided about our own concepts.
Even the best contestants can get better, and often achieve amazing success, when they listen to the advice of the seasoned experts.
If you want praise regardless of the quality of your concepts, I'm not your man. Go talk to your momma. But if you want an honest review that will make your concept better and help you pitch like a pro, give us a call.
Mr. M. said it best when we sent me an email after our blood-letting (project review consult), "Your honesty, again, is greatly appreciated [although sometimes the truth hurts]."
Mr. M. had a great attitude and his project will be much better because of it in the long run.
Mark Simon is the co-founder of SellYourTvConceptNow.com. Download his FREE REPORT on the seven biggest show-pitch mistakes at www.SellYourTvConceptNow.com. He is a 2nd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is the current (and 3-time) Tae Kwon Do National Champion.
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engaging in constructive dialectic comment is often personalized--reaction w/o result
besides humor-less ignoramuses gug-galore plugs
Agreed. For me, both in art school and on the convention circuit, it's the constructive criticism that helped the most. Now, I'm always glad to hear kind words about my art...but honest feedback (not the "screw you!" type of "criticism" seen on the web nowadays....), while it is painful at times, is a far better method of getting me to step up and improve.
The teachers I remember and am thankful for the most are the ones who pointed out my errors and were brutally honest. They were hard, but they were fair--and they did more to help me grow as an artist.
Great advice, thanks!
I think part of the reason some schools don't produce very good graduates is that teachers are afraid to give honest feedback. A lot of students I know are so hostile to negative feedback, even if it is constructive, that teachers would rather compliment them and avoid being labeled a "bad teacher" than give them the honest feedback that will actually result in growth and learning (the reason they should be in school, anyway).
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