Author Archives: Mickey Rogers

Overcoming the fear of public speaking

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Mickey Rogers| Leave a comment

I’ve just finished facilitating a workshop on personal presentation for Women in Film and Television as part of their Media Leadership program.

As we may have experienced, anxiety is often our first response to public speaking. Standing up and delivering a talk is the number two fear for many people. The first is death, in case you were wondering.

One of the chief ways to overcome some of that fear is to really focus on the audience. Put yourself in their shoes and answer these two questions: 1) why should they care? And 2) what’s in it for them?

With a clear understanding of the needs of those sitting in front of you, you are well on your way to success.

Robert Cialdini, a social psychologist has delved deeper into what really influences people’s decisions to agree, buy or commit to an idea or a product.

These methods have been studied and found to be effective.

Reciprocity
In every culture there is a tradition of gift giving. Once someone has given you a gift you are much more likely to return in kind. For instance, waiters who left a candy on the bill tray were more likely to receive higher tips. Those who left two candies upped their tip. However those servers who came back to the table and complimented their guests with an additional candy received 25% more.

Gift giving or even a compliment is particularly effective when it is special to the person receiving it, regardless of the amount of money spent and unexpected.

Liking
We are more likely to be persuaded by someone who we like – not surprising. We tend to believe people who are similar to us, have the same interests or hobbies or share views of the world. When people go to home shopping parties, like Tupperware, their opinion of the host totally influences the amount they buy at the event. We’re also more likely to be influenced by eating together with people. The act of dining together promotes a sense of solidarity.

Commitment
Once we publicly declare our intentions, it is much more likely that we will buy or vote or volunteer. Asking people the question such as are you willing to support an initiative and wait for a yes in response yields greater support. Saying ‘yes’ signals a commitment. Their commitment then becomes voluntary, active and publicly declared to others. Writing a commitment down increases the commitment even more.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Advice

Tagged

Change your life in 30 days

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Mickey Rogers| Leave a comment

I’m having a little difficulty getting started this New Year – perhaps it was the house filled with guests over Christmas or perhaps it is my resistance to setting resolutions for the New Year that have “shoulds” in them. I’m much more interested in asking myself three questions.

1.    What do I want to stop doing?
2.    What do I want to do less of?
3.    What do I want to do more of?

Those seem like a saner way to live the next year than making resolutions that I’ll forget in the next couple of weeks and feel defeated.

A year seems overwhelming – 365 days to accomplish a goal. It is easy to lose sight of what you want to accomplish.

My solution is the 30 day resolution. What do you want to do in the next 30 days? Change comes in small bite size pieces to get you to your goal.

Thirty days give you an opportunity to try it out. See if that resolution works for you. So start exercising for half an hour for 30 days, or talk to someone new every day or keep your desk organized for only 30 days.

It takes 21 days to create a habit or break a habit, so with 30 days, you’ve had success and results. One person I know decided that she would drink eight glasses of water a day. Although she found it difficult at first she now has the habit of drinking more water – she doesn’t necessarily drink eight every day, but certainly she drinks more than she did before her 30 day trial.

The 30 day challenge is easy to mark off the days. Another person I know decided to give up wine for 30 days. He found that he was doing a count down – only 3 more days to go before he could have wine. That glass at the end of the 30 days tasted delicious! He enjoyed it like no other glass he’d tasted.

The 30 day trial gives you:

1.    The time to establish a new habit
2.    An opportunity to break an addiction
3.    Success to draw on
4.    Definite results of your efforts for the past 30 days.

What do you want to do for your trial 30 days?

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Holidays, Inspirational

Tagged ,

Getting your film seen

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Mickey Rogers| Leave a comment

My colleague Joy Loewen has opened her doors with her new company Exposure Film.

The company’s mission is to promote Canadian films and ensure they receive the audiences they deserve.  Here’s her guest post on what she’s learned in the process of doing this.

Joy’s Three Truths

Tapping into my love of promoting and programming, earlier this year I launched a new company – Exposure Film – which provides marketing and promotion services to independent filmmakers and arranges exhibitions of Canadian films.

I’ve enjoyed the two-fold benefit of endorsing the work of talented filmmakers while sharing a variety of short and feature films to audiences across Canada as well as in faraway places like Ghana, Malaysia, Tanzania and the Ukraine.

I’ve discovered a few simple truths in my new career path.

Truth #1 – Surround Yourself With Good People.

Filmmakers do this during production so it makes sense to also surround yourself with professionals during the marketing and exhibition phase. In his book, Think Outside the Box Office, filmmaker and marketing visionary, Jon Reiss encourages filmmakers to hire a Producer of Marketing and Distribution (a PMD).

In November 2010, producer Polly Washburn hired me as the PMD for Shelagh Carter’s first feature film, Passionflower.  I started working with the Passionflower team at the rough cut stage by coordinating test screenings, developing marketing materials, and strategizing a plan for festival screenings and exhibitions. I’m proud to say the experience has been a good one for us all.

Having a dedicated person with fresh eyes and new energy manage this final phase in the life of your film is as important as making a good film. Filmmaking is a team sport.

Truth #2 – Shine Your Light!

Quebec actor, film director & writer, Claude Jutra, states “not making the films you want to make is awful, but making them and not having them shown is worse”. Once production is complete and a film has been mastered it’s understandable filmmakers will feel drained and exhausted.

A considerable amount of time, energy & financial resources has already been invested and, combined with a few festival rejections or slumping box office numbers, it’s simply easier to move onto other projects before fully exploring and realizing the exhibition opportunities.

This reality combined with the typical Canadian modesty of quietly waiting for success to find us is a devastating combination. I can’t help but hear my island relatives saying, “you can’t hide under a bush!”  Your work needs to shine and the best way to do that is under the bright lights of a projection screen. As Reiss writes in his book, “film is about connection. Connecting with an audience and having that interaction feed your soul.”  Films must been be seen on screens in order for people to know how good they are.

Truth #3 – Audiences Are Hungry To See Great Canadian Films.

As a patriotic Canadian, nothing brings me more satisfaction than seeing our stories and people presented on screens to appreciative audiences. During my festival travels earlier this year, I marvelled at theatres filled with people eager to see the newest Canadian indie films.

Both screenings of the VIFF ”Water” shorts program (which included NSI Drama Prize film, Wait For Rain) were sold out.  At the VIFF world premiere screening of Passionflower the audience stayed in their seats an additional 45 minutes for the Q&A discussion.  The thoughtful questions and comments was evidence the audience connected with and appreciated the work of this talented director.

After two decades working in the Canadian film & TV industry it’s no surprise to me that audiences are enjoying Canadian film. They simply have to see them and that’s why filmmakers must be supported and encouraged to seek exhibition opportunities.   Between festivals, public screenings and online platforms there a many opportunities to connect your film to an appreciative audience.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Advice, Creative Process, Marketing

Tagged , , , , ,

Some thoughts on Selling Yourself

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Mickey Rogers| Leave a comment

If the idea of selling yourself or your product gives you hives, I’m thinking you may want to think again.

So many of my clients feel nervous about putting themselves forward. They associate selling yourself with bragging, having a too large an ego or just being plain uninterested in anyone else.

First of all, we are all participating in self promotion whether we are conscious of it or not.  The way we dress, talk and engage with people is selling ourselves in situations. We want to be liked and accepted.

Secondly, if you tap into the reason you are doing what you are doing, your natural energy comes forward.

As soon as one of my clients begins to describe what they do or want to do, they are immediately infused with excitement. They are totally passionate about what they love. People they are talking to are always very interested to hear that kind of energy.

That’s self promotion – coming from the undeniable place of your enthusiasm. Just you talking about what you love to do and sharing it with people who may need you, your product or your services .

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Advice, Inspirational, Marketing, Pitching

Tagged ,

Handling on-set bullying

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Mickey Rogers| Leave a comment

Recently I’ve been facilitating workshops on respectful workplaces.

Some truths are emerging from the discussions with the participants. I believe that everyone’s goal is to work as a team – getting the job done, using our skills and having fun in the process.

However, bullies on set cast such a pall over any enjoyment derived from our work.

Photo of a woman screamingCertainly, some of their on-set behaviour can be attributed to the long hours. After a couple of weeks of 12-hour days, most people are sleep-deprived and can easily blow their fuses.

Sometimes there’s tension about the budget – enough to have people tearing out their hair looking for ways around the lack of dollars. But does that really justify the people who yell, scream, intimidate and generally make life unpleasant for everyone they come in to contact with?

The challenge in our industry (and this maybe true for others) is that the bullies get away with this kind of behaviour. They go from set to set tyrannizing everyone they encounter because they are highly skilled or save the producer money, or no-one else is available. No one confronts them. In fact, we sometimes reward people who act in totally unacceptable ways with awards like producer of the year.

So how to handle this very tricky challenge? For those who encounter it, it’s a minefield, especially if the bully is the boss.

First, acknowledge that you are not alone

Nearly 40% of people experience bullying at work. More men are bullies, but women tend to pick on other women. Bosses are the worst offenders. More than 70% of bullies are in charge. The underlying motivation for the bully is power and, as awful as it may feel, it really has nothing to do with you. Hard to swallow when the rage is being directed at you.

If you are the target, take care of yourself

Look for support from your friends and family. It’s important the bully’s intimidation doesn’t erode your sense of yourself. Often people who are bullied experience stress like anxiety, depression and panic attacks. Protect yourself against taking the attacks personally.

Begin to document the incidents that occur

Be observant of the times and the people the bully targets. Look for possible support from others who maybe experiencing the same intimidation you are. Talk with them and strategize what the best approach might be.

Bullies only continue when they get away with such behaviour. If they’re called on it by a number of people, they may change their ways. Ideally, when people in authority find out, they won’t tolerate harmful behaviour on their set. That could really hurt the bully where it hurts the most – in the pocketbook.

If you are the target of bullying on set, talk to your union rep or check out this website. It has a number of resources that could help in dealing with the bully. Or you can contact me to help develop some healthy strategies for coping with the bully.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Advice

Tagged , ,