I know this might sound crazy (no offense Tom), but I often think that the acting classes and theater training I had as a kid has molded me into a better marketer. Let me explain…
Throughout my childhood, my parents would take my sister and I to see plays and musicals at local outdoor venues and dinner theaters. I couldn’t get enough of the theater so in fourth grade, I started actively pursuing roles in musicals at church and at school. I absolutely loved being on stage (still do), so in 6th grade I started taking acting classes provided by a local theater company. These classes not only taught me things about life on stage, they also taught me all kinds of things that I still use to this day. Here are a few:
- How to put on a production – Whether your planning a new product launch, managing a booth at a trade show or even executing an integrated marketing campaign, you have lots of moving pieces that have to come together for the big show.
- How to flip the switch - You may have just had the worst morning of your life, but you have to give a presentation for your biggest client in 5 minutes. You better get your sh*# together.
- Be prepared. But also be prepared to ad lib – Memorizing my lines was always a pain, but being able to give my monalogue “in my sleep” always improved my delivery. Instead of worrying about fumbling to find words, I could really sell it. But look out for curve balls. One critical client question may leave you asking, “LINE?”
- Put yourself in your character’s shoes - This is the technique that I probably use the most. In those acting classes, we learned how to step out of ourselves, out of our own heads and think deeply about the needs, desires and motivations of our character. “What’s my motivation?” is a question commonly heard among actors. But as marketers, aren’t we pretty much doing the same thing? Our job is to have a firm grasp on our customers’ needs, desires and motivations. Often times, we need to step outside of ourselves, outside of our own heads to understand what our customers really need and want from our products or services.
Do you agree? Did I miss anything? Have any wacky childhood theater stories to share? Don’t get me started…
