On Tuesdays, we watch talks or interviews with artists and designers and discuss how to present our work clearly and with confidence. This week we’ll hear Yasmine Naghdi speak about the Gailene Stock Memorial Award Workshop.
As you watch this interview, consider these questions: Does the artist speak clearly and with confidence? Does she use gestures and intonation to emphasize her points? Does she smile and look at the camera? Does she use professional vocabulary?
What does Naghdi do well? She speaks clearly and is easy to understand. Her speed and volume are good and she looks at the interviewer when she speaks. She smiles and gestures to add emphasis to her speaking, and her posture is good. She uses good vocal variety and speaks with confidence. You can really hear the passion she has for her work in her intonation.
What could she improve? I think the only suggestion for improvement I have is that she uses filler words, such as “so” fairly often. It’s best to avoid filler words during an interview or presentation, but many people use these words without noticing them. For the most part, this is a very good interview and there’s not much to improve upon.
What professional vocabulary does she use? She begins by talking about her goals for teaching at the Gailene Stock Memorial Award Workshop and continuing Gailene’s legacy. Next, she describes her first experience with ballet, which was watching a video of Lesley Collier at the Royal Ballet’s production of La Fille mal gardée (The Wayward Daughter). This inspired her to begin dancing when she was a girl. Since she grew up in London, it was a natural progression to join the Royal Ballet in Covent Garden. She started with the school as an associate in their part-time program, which is what some students do before they begin their vocational training. She then describes her first experience being on the Opera House stage as a page, which is a servant, in Cinderella.
She first met Gailene for an audition when she was twelve, and she attended the school for the rest of her training. David Peden also taught and supported her and they both gave her the confidence she needed to be a better dancer. She feels this is an important thing to teach younger students because they’ve got such passion and drive.
For the Level 1 dancers, she wants them to enjoy themselves and learn to concentrate in a studio environment. For the Level 2 dancers, she wants them to begin to focus and develop their muscles. For the Level 3 dancers, she wants them to improve their professionalism, artistry, and passion for dancing. Finally, she gives some advice to young dancers that they should look at their strengths and weaknesses and focus their energy on what needs more work.
Sometimes it’s difficult to catch our own speaking mistakes because we’re focused on what we’re saying instead of how we’re saying it. A good language coach can point out the little areas for improvement that are the difference between being a good speaker and a great speaker.
At Artglish, we help artists and designers to speak confidently about their work. We coach you to speak professionally using the best vocabulary and correct pronunciation. If you want to learn more, click here to join The Studio and try some free ways to improve your English, or check out our Lessons page to learn how Artglish can help you succeed.
I’ve chosen 5 words or phrases for you to focus on today. They are in bold. If you don’t know them, look up the meaning, synonyms, antonyms, and other forms of these words. You can find links to Merriam-Webster dictionary sites at the bottom of this page.
To see the original video, posted by the Gailene Stock Memorial Award Workshop on August 30, 2017, click the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp3fkIan2uU