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 from jewelry designer Tal Man about three of her collections for Talia.
As you watch this interview, consider these questions: Does the artist/designer 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 Man do well? She gives a completely confident and dynamic interview and is a very engaging speaker. She smiles a lot and looks at the camera or the interviewer when she’s speaking. Her volume and speed are good, she speaks clearly, and she’s easy to understand. Her posture is good as well, and she gestures very effectively to add emphasis to what she’s saying. She also uses good vocal variety and avoids filler words.
What could she improve? Man is a very effective speaker, but I do have a couple of small suggestions for improvement. She adjusts her hair a couple of times in the middle of this interview, and it’s a little distracting. Many people play with or touch their hair when they are nervous, so it’s a good idea to avoid this so you don’t give the impression of nervousness to your audience. She also uses the phrase 24/7 twice in a row. This may be difficult to avoid when you have a short interview that is cut down from a longer one, but in general, it’s good to use a variety of words and phrases so you don’t sound redundant. Some other ways she could say the same thing are: constantly, always, continuously, day and night, around the clock, perpetually, or unceasingly.
What professional vocabulary does she use? She begins by talking about her goals for how she wants women to feel when they wear her jewelry. Next, she introduces herself and talks about her inspiration. For example, she mentions that the skyline of New York City inspired her Brio collection, and she says that she has more ideas than she can manufacture. She also shares her background and describes how her passion for creating jewelry began. Then, she talks about her mentor and what makes her work unique. Finally, she explains her goals for her designs, and how her customers can assemble the charms in her collections to mix and match their jewelry to suit their mood.
Even though this designer’s English is not perfect, she speaks very effectively and confidently. Sometimes the way you speak can be more important than what you say. A good language coach can give you tips to be an effective and engaging speaker, even if you’re still working on improving your English.
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 Richard Magazine on April 5, 2018, click the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt-NSlgXLDo