Saturday, May 22, 2010

Etiquette for Entertainers

Etiquette for Entertainers

By: Coach Natascha

The R & B Music Award of the year goes to…….

The gentlemen were looking fly with their fresh kicks and the ladies with their mini-skirts and the tight jeans. The men had the line-ups on point and the women had the curls and the straightness with a little shine. Backstage you could feel the bass in your chest as you watched the hip-hop dancers break it. You could feel the heat from the stage lights and see the stars sparkle from the trophies for the winners.

 

I stood side by side with ‘Mr. Down by the River’ himself who sang a hook and made my knees’ quiver. We then proceeded to announce the artist to win the next award of the evening. He walked on stage and had a step to the beat and we all started to groove. The crowd felt and joined in celebrating his award but then it stopped. I stopped! We stopped! It all stopped. He walked up to ‘Mr. Down by the River’ and gave him dap twice, and said what up. Then he immediately turned to the mic and gave his speech. He finished, turned back around, gave ‘Mr. Down by the River’ dap again and then bounced.

 

I stood there graciously with a smile while the invisible fumes from my ears let loose. You may ask why was I just plain furious? Well, to be honest I felt insulted, disrespected and ignored. Was I not worthy enough for him to acknowledge my presence before or even after he received his award? I mean after all it was my voice that said his name and welcomed him on stage. I don’t know what could have led him to do such a thing but Tascha’s Etiquette Rule #1 for Entertainers is:

 

  • Do not walk by anyone on stage when accepting an award without a proper greeting, it’s just plain rude, unprofessional and frankly its un-gentlemen like!  

 

  • As an artist you should care about your reputation and your image; walking by someone indicates a lack of manners. You only get 1 chance to make a good 1st impression.

 

  • You want people to know you as a gentlemen and someone that is respectful. Being courteous pays dividends $$ meaning: a fan, that becomes a customer that purchases your album in which you get a percentage, they like your album and remember that you were kind and they recommend your music to their friends.

 

  • Your image is not just what you see starring back at you when you look in the mirror but it’s the lasting impression you leave with someone after you’ve met.

 

  • Lastly, excellence, exception merit, dignity and style are what you should aim for as a performer. Greeting all individuals within any area demonstrates that you have class. A rare quality we find these days.

 

These are just a few reasons why one should never proceed to just walk by.

 

You can waste a great opportunity to network in addition to some cash $$.