Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Okay, fabulous.
Well, welcome everyone intothis call.
I'm excited to have you here,and this is actually also going
to be put up as a podcast.
So hello to all of the fellowpodcast listeners on the Dive
podcast and if you are new here,welcome in.
It's great to see you here.
Yeah, we welcome you in withopen arms.
(00:21):
This podcast and this communityis all about helping artists
emerging artists looking to getinto the industry and learning
how to do it in a sustainableway, way that can not make you
feel burnt out and will allowyou the space to step into the
industry from a place ofconfidence, from a place of ease
and really just understanding,from a place of passion and not
(00:43):
overwhelmed.
So if you're all about that,welcome in here.
We're also live on ourPerformers Mindset Hub community
on Zoom, so, if you don't knowanything about that, I run a
free community on there where wehave workshops like this.
But there's also lots of otherexciting things on this platform
, from yoga flows to an auditionprep toolkit and all different
(01:08):
types of things to help youbuild a really powerful and
supportive mindset going intothe industry.
So welcome in, welcome in.
I'm excited to have everyonehere today we're going to be
diving into the topic that'sbeen coming up quite a lot
lately in the industry, andthat's how to build a
professional online presencewithout feeling like you're
(01:31):
cringing every time you post.
I don't know if you've feltthis before.
We go and maybe want to postsomething, and then we kind of
come away and we're like, oh no,we're not going to do it.
We get a little bit scared orwe're not really sure if it's
worth posting or if it's goodenough, and so then we end up
just kind of going silent, andso we're going to unpack this
today what it means and how toshow up authentically on social
(01:53):
media, how to use it more so asa tool to help you grow your
career in musical theatre and,most importantly, how to do all
of that in a way that actuallyfeels good to you.
How to do all of that in a waythat actually feels good to you.
So if you are ready for all ofthat, stick around and let's get
into it.
But before we dive in, I justthought I'd also mention that I
(02:13):
want to share a little personalupdate, if you haven't been
following me for a little while.
I'm currently in Singaporeperforming in a show or actually
running the dance department asdance captain on sunset
boulevard here in singapore, andI'm honestly just loving every
second of it.
Being here and surrounded bysuch a beautiful community and a
beautiful um culture I've neverbeen here before has been
(02:36):
really special.
It's just reminded me of howimportant it is to just stay
connected, both in person, butalso online and um.
Social media has just been areally cool role in sharing that
and sharing with people myjourney as well, and so it can
be a really special place for usto show up.
All right, let's start with abig question on here, and if
(03:00):
anyone is on live we have a fewpeople on our Zoom call Feel
free to use the chat box at anypoint if you have any questions
about what I'm going to besharing today, and if there's
anything else you have questionson, I'll keep looking at that.
So feel free to use the chat aswell.
But the biggest question that weget a lot is why?
First of all, why does havingan online presence even matter?
(03:23):
You know, back 10 years ago, oreven not even that far, oh, not
even that far it wasn't reallya thing that we that was
important, right?
It didn't really matter if youhad a were on social media or
not, and whereas there is stilla place for that in the industry
, I want to to say that you know, becoming a performer is all
(03:47):
about just becoming the bestversion of you, right?
And it's about showcasing youand being okay with showcasing
yourself and being visible andjust allowing people to see you
and to find you and a lot of thethings.
Now, today and in today'sindustry, your social media
isn't just the fun side thing.
(04:09):
It can be a real powerful thingand a powerful tool to open
doors for yourself.
Casting directors, agents,choreographers they're all
online, and even recently, I wasgetting asked about someone or
thinking about someone for ashow, and the first thing I did
(04:30):
is just went onto the Instagrambecause someone needed to see
this person perform or sing ordance, and so if that wasn't
there, they may not have beenable to be seen very quickly and
considered.
And so I like to start off withthis If they can't see you, you
can't be considered.
Right, you know they can'tconsider you if they can't see
you a lot of the time, andwhereas it's not about having
(04:51):
this perfection, beautifullayout of Instagram page or
social media page.
I want you to think of it asthis kind of just living and
breathing, ever-changingportfolio of you.
It's a space where you canshowcase things like your talent
, but also your growth.
Remember that you're human andby just showing little bits of
(05:11):
yourself and instead ofeverything being so polished,
you're actually going to showthat it's actually more powerful
.
If I came onto your page, andway back when you posted
something singing, and nowyou're posting more regularly
and it's improved, that shows methat you're doing the work and
you're showing up, and itdoesn't have to be a, you know,
a 30 minute thing online.
(05:32):
It can just be a minute or itcan be just something that
you're uniquely.
You're sharing your personalityas a performer and getting that
across.
But I get it A lot of the timethe idea of putting yourself out
there and feel free to commentin the chat if you felt this
before that putting yourself outthere can just feel super
awkward.
You're just.
You know you might be wonderinghow do I do this without
(05:55):
feeling like I'm just postingfor attention, right?
Sometimes that's what kind offeels like you know, I want to
post this, but I don't want allthe eyes to be on me, and that's
exactly what we're going tokind of talk about today.
So what we're going to do is Iwant you to break down.
If you have a pen on paper nearyou, it's just to kind of get
this out and just break.
We're going to break this downa little bit, and this is about
(06:17):
how to build a professionalonline presence and one that
feels good to you.
So, to break this down, whatthis really means is to have an
online professional presence.
Spoiler alert it doesn't meanyour feed has to look like I
said, perfection, like a perfect, curated magazine.
Remember, those big platformshave massive marketing team, a
(06:44):
bunch of people creating thisand we're just one human.
So, first of all, recognizethat You're just one human and
that's okay.
You can only do so much at sotime, and so being a
professional is actually more soabout showing up consistently,
authentically and in a way thataligns with your goals, more so
than it being perfect.
(07:04):
So here are a few key steps.
I think there are about four orso things that you can do Just
and in a way that aligns withyour goals, more so than it
being perfect.
So here are a few key steps.
I think there are about four orso things that you can do.
Just get started with buildinga professional online presence
for yourself.
So the first and foremost mayseem simple, but you want to use
good quality photos and videos.
So if you have an iPhone on youor something, you want to make
sure that you are lit.
(07:25):
You know natural lighting I'min natural light right now.
Make sure that we can see youand that it's a good quality.
Not necessarily what you see isgood quality, it doesn't have
to be that, but the image thatyou're being seen from and the
videos that are being seen.
So I saw a question comethrough on the chat.
(07:45):
What I'll do is feel free toask as many questions on here
and then, once I finish what I'msharing, we come back.
I can go through thosequestions.
So feel free to absolutely goin there.
But, yes, nothing fancy.
Your phone is just fine.
You don't need to go and buy amultimillion-dollar camera.
Just make sure that you canclearly, we can see your work
and we can clearly see you.
(08:07):
The second thing that I wouldrecommend is to kind of create a
vibe of your feed.
I think about picking colors,fonts and just overall aesthetic
that feels like you, not likesomeone else.
So if you go to, I'll tag in myInstagram at the moment you'll
start to see I've got kind of myown colors with my branding,
(08:28):
with my coaching business nowhappening with the black and a
blue colors in there, becausethat kind of represents both my
style I like I'm from Melbourne,so I wear a lot of the time a
lot of black, but I love blueand whenever I go to auditions I
wear blue.
I've got blue eyes and I feelmost connected when I'm wearing
blues and earthy sort of colors.
(08:49):
So you can start to do thatwith your feed Pick out colors,
some fonts that represent you,and that kind of helps people
recognize your style without itfeeling forced.
So that's a really good waythat you can start by going
through your feed and having alook at different things and,
without it kind of publishingnecessarily yourself completely
(09:10):
out there with an album orsomething, you can just start to
really start to understand whatyour brand is.
And this is something that wego into in an online program I
run called Momentum 2.0.
This recently launched and wealready have a bunch of students
going through that and in weekthree out of six we actually go
in and share with you how tocreate a unique brand for
(09:33):
yourself.
So if you're looking for how toactually create a brand and
what that looks like, I'll leavea link to this program that you
can go check out.
There's a free masterclass thatyou can watch that explains it
all, and then a landing pagethat gives you more details on
that.
So feel free to go check outthat if you're looking to create
a brand that stands out andthat connects uniquely to you.
(09:57):
The third thing that you can do,for simple thing that can help
you get started, is to just mixup your content.
So share performance clips,rehearsals, even behind the
scenes moments.
People want to see you as ahuman, so even personal
reflections of your journey, youknow, coming on and just
sharing what you've kind oflearned for that week and
allowing people to see you andconnect with you.
(10:18):
You don't necessarily need todo that on a reel or per se as a
post, but in your stories, youknow, share that you're going to
class or what you're working on.
People love this and we want toconnect and see you as a human
and that's something that youcan start with as well.
So know that there doesn't haveto be these polished
performances, and maybe that'ssomething that you can start
(10:38):
with.
If you're not feeling confidentto post online with a minute
reel of you singing orperforming, you can maybe put it
on a story on Instagram.
This will allow it to be therefor 24 hours and, remember,
after that it's going to go, somaybe that's something you can
start to go in with.
You can start to just puttingon a story as a taster and then
(11:02):
what you could do.
If you want that to besomething that people can access
over time, you can add that toa highlight on your instagram
too, so it's not necessarily onyour post feed that people can
see at any time, but it can bein a highlight section of your
instagram too.
If anyone wants any moredetails on how to do that, I'm
pretty sure this generationknows exactly how to do that,
(11:22):
but please feel to reach out inthe community.
We can definitely help you dothat.
The fourth and final thing Iwould suggest to just simply
start is to keep your bio simple.
Remember it's seeing you as aprofessional and as your own
brand and, just like I said, wedo this in a program that I'm
running, but really to help youright now.
(11:43):
It would just to keep your biosimple.
So when I come to your profile,I need to know who you are,
what you do and how I canconnect with you.
That's all you need.
So have a look at your bio andmaybe just start to see yourself
and have a look at mine.
Have a look at other peoplethat you look up to in the
industry.
What are their bios?
(12:04):
The more simple the better.
Remember, our attention spansare usually only about three
seconds or so, so when you'reclouding it with heaps of emojis
or complicated text, it justmakes it a little bit harder to
understand who you are.
And when you approach youronline presence as an extension
of who you are, rather thansomething that you have to fake
(12:27):
or to force, it will start tofeel more natural, not only for
the audience watching, but foryou to post and getting more
consistent with that Sound good,wonderful.
So now let's tap into somethingthat's been coming up as well
and that is kind of more of anelephant in the room.
How do you do this?
How do you show up withoutfeeling cringy?
(12:49):
And I don't know if anyoneknows that word.
I don't know if it's Australianword or where it came from.
But it's more about a feeling.
How can I show up and postwithout it kind of feeling icky
or about I don't know, just abit like unsure, because I know
that's such a part of us thatstops right.
It stops us at this sectionwhere we want to but we don't
(13:11):
feel like it's not like finishedenough or perfect enough.
And remember this all startswith the mind and that's why
we're here in this platform andthe Performance Mindset Hub.
It's the mindset shift, it'slearning that it's actually not
about you in the way that youmight think.
It's about your art, it's aboutyour process and it's about
(13:32):
your growth.
So I want you to think ofsocial media as just another
stage.
Right, you're performing,you're sharing your journey, not
begging for likes or validation.
We don't go and perform onstage and wait for validation.
We just go out and perform.
We're there, we've made it,we're performing.
People are going to clap, morepeople will come.
(13:54):
It's done.
So if posting full performancesfor you right now feels too much
and in fact you don't need tobe posting massive, you know
long form content, maybe, if youwant to go into that, um, we I
show you how to do that in theprogram about how to build a
website for yourself, how tokind of create a separate
section that you can kind oflook at, um, where people you
(14:17):
can send to casting directors tobe able to see your brand, um,
that's fine.
But when it comes to socialmedia like Instagram or even
TikTok or something, you canjust start small and just share
things.
Like I mentioned, it can be aminute of you performing, it can
be rehearsal clips, it can bebehind the scenes moments and
even your warm-up routines.
The more you do it and the moreyou just share you, the more
(14:40):
natural it will feel.
I guarantee you right now, whenyou start to post, it's going
to feel like but it's alwaysgoing to feel like that if you
don't post.
And again, I want you to alwayscome back in a way and realize
that this is something that'sgoing to support you and help
you be seen and help you be morevisible, so that we can see
more of you and your growth.
(15:01):
Remember, it's meant to be fun.
Social media is actually meantto be fun.
We go on there to receive thatdopamine, to be inspired, and so
I want you to kind of come intothis If you are looking to
build your personal brand and apresence.
Remind yourself that post in away, that's fun, what actually
makes you light up.
Post more about that, becausethat shows me so much more about
(15:24):
you as a person than it doesyou as a performer.
So yeah, like I said, the moreyou post, the more natural it
will feel.
And, trust me, everyone youknow is going to feel that
awkward at first.
I absolutely definitely did.
But the more I did it, the moreI'm so used to hearing my voice
.
Now it doesn't feel.
It doesn't feel awkwardSometimes it does when you post
things, but you start to getover it after a while.
(15:46):
So what does it actually mean?
As we come to the kind of end ofthis kind of workshop about
being on social media, it reallycomes down to what does it mean
to be fully present and whatdoes it actually more so mean to
be visible?
And it's not just about postingfor the sake of posting, right,
(16:08):
it's.
Being visible means showing upregularly enough that people in
the industry know you're activeand engaged in becoming a
performer.
So it's about building adigital presence that reflects
who you are as a performer, andthis is the best thing that
you'll probably hear today isthat you don't have to post
every day.
It's more about consistency.
(16:30):
Consistency doesn't meanconstant.
It means finding a rhythm thatworks for you and sticking with
it.
And if that doesn't work, youcan change it.
And visibility isn't just aboutthe posts, it's also about
engagement.
So this can also mean you know,go, and if you want people to
interact with you, go on theplatform and start to follow
(16:51):
people that inspire you, not thepeople that you watch and then
you feel compared to and thenlimits you Follow and even
unfollow people that don'tinspire you.
You know, if you've got a fewpeople I'm sure we all do right
now that when we're looking atit it doesn't make us feel good.
Unfollow them just for the timebeing.
You can always follow them backif it feels more in line with
(17:13):
you.
Remember everything that you'reconsuming, from the food you eat
, the people you're around,things that you're viewing on
your phone this is allinformation and it's all feeding
your mindset and you're feedingyour future self, and what I
mean by that is whatever you'rekind of like, absorbing, you're
becoming, and so make sure thatall of the things that you're
kind of surrounding yourself arein alignment with supporting
(17:35):
you to becoming the best versionof you, and social media is
much more about community thananything else, and if you start
to see it through that lens, Ihope that it can help you start
to show up more visible andstart to be okay with being
visible, right, I feel likethere's this thing in our
performing world that we'rescared to show ourselves because
(17:56):
we might feel as though we'recoming across as cocky, right?
I don't know if you've feltthat before.
Feel as though we're comingacross as cocky, right?
I don't know if you've feltthat before, um, but yeah, just
know that it doesn't.
Um, doesn't have to come acrossthis way at all.
Uh, yeah, uh, what else isgonna say?
I just realized I don't eventhink I am.
Oh, yes, I'm recording.
Oh, thank god, I didn't think Iwas recording.
(18:17):
There we are, um, but yes, likeas I said, visibility isn't
just about showing up.
It's about that consistency,but it's also about being okay
with being visible, being okaywith being seen, and that is
kind of something that is alittle bit deeper, and I teach a
lot more in the programs that Irun if you want to check more
about that.
But, yeah, just start small,know that it's meant to be fun
(18:39):
and so that you can move forwardin that way.
So I guess the only thing Iwant to share about before I
open the floor and would love tohear any questions that you
have is social media isn't alsojust a platform.
It can be really more so just atool for your career.
It's just another tool.
Think of it as though, as yourdigital resume and you know it
(19:02):
highlights your skills, who youare, your growth and the passion
for your art, but it can alsobe a really amazing networking
tool.
So, as I mentioned, start tofollow people in the industry,
even casting directors,choreographers start to see
their work and start to see whoyou gel with right, start to see
their life, do you connect withthem, do you connect with what
(19:23):
they're doing and start to usethat as inspiration.
I think that's about it.
Yeah, as I mentioned, I'veshared a lot of value today.
If I was going to recap, let'srecap for a second.
So let's take a breath, becausethere was a lot of information,
I guess in there, breathing inand breathing out.
A little recap of what we didwhen we started the call.
(19:52):
I just kind of went into alittle bit about, obviously, the
podcast that I'm here inSingapore, but more about the
question of why does it evenmatter?
Why does it matter in today'sindustry to have an online
presence, and I've just shared alittle bit more about that.
It's just a tool to be seen andso for casting directors to see
you and if they can't see you,they can't consider you and it's
just another tool for them tobe able to check out what you're
doing, what you've been up to.
(20:12):
Are you actively sharing yourart and going to class or
working on your art in afull-time or outside of
full-time, what you're doing?
And then I went through four keyways to help you build an
online presence that helps youfeel good.
We talked about using highquality footage and photos, how
(20:33):
to create a vibe for your feed,looking at the colors and the
fonts and then learning abouthow to mix up your content, so
we don't want to always just seethe same thing.
Have a look at how you can addsome variety in there.
We spoke about what else did.
We spoke about About the biohow to create a simple bio for
yourself, how to show up withoutfeeling cringe, how to be a
(20:53):
little bit more visible andbeing okay with that, and I
guess that was about it.
But, yeah, lots of value Ishared with you today, and if
you're still feeling a littlebit unsure of how to really
define you as a personal brandand how to show up in a way that
feels super aligned with whereyou want to go, then this is a
definite call to action for youto go check out Momentum 2.0, a
(21:17):
program that I recently launchedand people are going through,
as mentioned in this podcast inweek five.
We go in depth into this andhelp you uncover your unique
selling proposition.
So this is actually how we goin and understand who you are as
a unique brand and help youbuild a brand that reflects.
(21:38):
That reflects you as anindividual, your strengths and
the values that you bring, sothat you can show up online and
in auditions with totalconfidence in knowing who you
are.
That's it Well.
Thank you so much for listeningin.
I now just want to open thefloor.
If anyone has any questions,you feel free to message in the
(21:58):
chat.
I'm just going to be readingone here, so we have one from
John May.
I ask a question Is interactingwith your followers and fans
who comment on your posts, agood strategy to grow your
online presence and social media.
I saw many actors, singers anddancers that love to interact
with their followers and fans,like liking and commenting or
(22:21):
replying to their comments tointeract with their fans.
I think that's a fantastic way.
You know what I think.
At the end of the day, we're alljust looking to connect as
artists, right?
So if you're wanting morepeople to comment and interact
with you, you know, let's notwait for them to do that.
Go out there, comment more onother people and, you know,
highlight them, acknowledge them.
(22:42):
If someone's where you want tobe, comment on their posts and
interact, you know, maybe evendirect message them and just
saying you actually reallyinspire me.
I'd love to know how you got towhere you are.
If someone's already where youwant to be, the fastest way to
get there is to speak to thatperson and get an understanding
(23:06):
of what they did to get there.
And that's a lot about what Ishare on here, because I don't
want to gatekeep anything thatI've learned, because I believe
that there is so much space forall of us to have this be in
this industry, and so, yes,please go and like follow,
comment, um, maybe give someleeway.
Don't be bombarding our fellowperformers and just know that a
(23:30):
lot of the time I know there area lot of performers and friends
of mine that maybe see posts.
We may not get around to alwayscommenting back, but they've
definitely seen and they'redefinitely acknowledged, um, and
it's definitely appreciated aswell.
So, yeah, what you put in iswhat you get out, I think a lot
of the day too.
So, before I finish up, ifthere's any other questions, um,
(23:53):
the people on live here feelfree to message in the chat
group.
When it comes to building anonline presence, one that
doesn't feel cringe or anythingelse related to social media,
please ask your question below.
Or if you feel like coming onand unmuting yourself and asking
it live as well, and you'rehappy with that being on podcast
(24:14):
, that's fine too.
Yourself and asking it live aswell, and you're happy with that
being on podcast, that's finetoo.
Jasmine is asking um, whenwould you recommend making a
website?
This is fantastic.
Another thing we go inside, uh,the program that I run,
momentum, but I would say thatwhen you're looking to create a
website, it can really be doneat any time in your performing
(24:36):
arts career.
I would say it's really crucialespecially if you just
graduated about brandingyourself.
That can be a really great wayto start showcasing yourself as
a professional.
The difference now between yoursocial media and a website is
social media is kind of justlike this snapshot of who you
are, but a website is when youstart to have show reels, when
(25:00):
you have a bit longer contentthat you can upload on there.
Your headshots If you've gotdance shots of yourself on there
, you can also have on there.
It's much easier for a castingteam to see that and to really
go in depth.
You know they're not going tobe distracted by any of your
other content.
They may be just sharing alittle bit about you.
(25:21):
It's really that online CV ofyou.
So you can put photos on thererecent work that you've done,
gigs that you've done if there'sany footage of that and that's
what you have 100% control overas well your website Whereas
Instagram and social media cancome and go, but a website can
be something that you can tapinto and really just make it
(25:43):
simple.
Again, our attention span isthree seconds or less.
So if you're looking for awebsite, think about, go back to
your branding, think about thecolors and the fonts.
Make it really, really simple.
Show yourself as someone thatis smart and yeah, I can't go
into depth with the explanationof what that looks like, as I do
(26:05):
in a program that I run and ofcourse, I've mentioned it many
times.
But if you want to go checkthat out, now is the time to go
check that out, as we go intothat in week five.
But, yes, I would say thatthere's not necessarily a best
time to create a website.
If you feel like you're in aplace of where you're doing
auditions and you're justlooking for something else to
put yourself out there, awebsite is a great time to do
(26:28):
that.
Where it isn't a great time toprobably build a website, I
would say if you're in yourfirst year of training, that's
more about learning yourtechnique, who you are as an
artist, getting your Instagramor your social media up to see
that progression.
But then, once you've graduatedor you're about to graduate, I
think that's a really good timeto start looking at your website
and starting to see some of thegigs that you're maybe starting
(26:50):
to do or performances thatyou're starting to do.
You can start to showcase thata little bit more on your own
website and that will build overtime as well.
But then, in saying that, Imyself don't have a CV website,
I just have my own CV and I usemy Instagram and auditions and
over that time of that I've nowbuilt connections and people
(27:11):
within the industry.
So it's not as relevant in away, but I could totally.
I've always myself thoughtabout doing that.
Recently, building a newwebsite, yeah, I would always
come back to.
Just to finish off, thiswonderful session is to always
come back and ask yourselfwhat's going to feel more
supportive for me right now.
If it's going to add moreoverwhelm and anxiety to you to
(27:36):
build a website right now, don'tdo that.
Listen to yourself, listen toyour body more than anything,
and just know that there is norush, right, there's no rush.
You can take it step by step.
Just start small and you'll notrecognize yourself in a year
from now.
Remember improving 1% each day,showing up consistently.
(27:58):
One year from now, you're goingto be so further along than you
could even imagine.
So know that it's all built inthose small moments.
Wonderful, great questions.
Everyone.
Thank you so much for being onthis call and this amazing
community that we've built Again.
I'll finish off by saying ifyou're not a part of the
Performance Mindset Hub, ifyou're watching this as a
podcast episode, it is a freecommunity so far.
(28:22):
It may be becoming upgraded to apaid one, so you want to get in
now.
We currently have 55 membersinside this group.
We only launched it, I believe,this year, so there's a lot of
wonderful things happening inthere, from yoga flows, audition
prep tools and year.
So there's a lot of wonderfulthings happening in there, from
yoga flows, audition prep toolsand just essentially, the
(28:43):
community to be able to buildconfidence off from learning how
.
It's been amazing seeing youall actually connect together
and ask questions about mindsetand even journals and all
different sorts.
So it's a wonderful place ifyou're looking for a place to
come in as an artist to learnmore about mindset, but also to
come in and feel supported bypeople that are exactly where
you are Graduates looking to getinto the industry and learn
(29:04):
more about their mindset.
And that's it.
Everything that we've spokenabout today will be in the show
notes of this podcast episodeand, as always, it's my pleasure
and privilege to be able tocoach and teach mentor students
like yourself, and I will seeyou on the next episode.
Bye-bye for now for everyone.
Have a wonderful rest of yourweek and I will see you on
future workshops.