Artistry: The Art of Feeling
What moves you? What music causes tears to spring to your eyes, and a catch to your
throat? For me, it’s a soprano singing any operatic aria… or the opening chords of Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer.”
The competitive figure skating season has begun, and I am glued as always.
Competitive figure skaters who win are the ones who move the judges—and you. Every skater must perform the same technical elements——the jumps, spins, choreographed sequences. But the component score includes “performance” and “interpretation of music.” And the winners get the highest “presentation” or artistic score as well. How do the judges score that? The winners demonstrate self –expression. They let themselves feel and express the emotions in the music and they accentuate every note of the music with movement. Do we feel it, too? Is that why we get chills down our spine, and goosebumps on our neck? Yes.
Music stimulates all limbic brain regions, such as the amygdala, that are the core of emotional responses. And the reward network includes the dopamine centers—critical for the pleasure derived from music. The feedback loop stimulated by music skips the thought part of the brain. So we don’t need to think about it!
Composer Franz Liszt said, “Music embodies feeling without forcing it to contend and combine with thought.”
So, let yourself let go. Don’t think, and feel the music.
And when you speak about your business or your hobby or the people you love, let yourself FEEL the emotions and be moved. Create the words you say to promote your business. Then read it aloud. Listen to the words you say, and let them move you—like music.
I always say, “Your audience will not be more excited about your speech than you are.” Neither will they be more moved. Every sentence should delight YOU, the speaker. Every sentence should be relished, like a bite of great food that is “moan-worthy.”
If you want help with this, please call me for a 30-minute complimentary value discovery call. You get value, and we discover if we are a match to work together.
Mimi was a superstar in the speaking business, keynoting for audiences of thousands. Her combination of sophisticated humor and solid content made her one of America’s most popular funny females.
Mimi has created speeches and “found the funny” for TEDx Talkers, executives, celebrities, and entrepreneurs. Before starting her speaking and coaching business, she was a Human Resources Specialists with Walt Disney, Northrop Aircraft, and Rockwell International.