I realize in the last two posts I said what constructive criticism is not but I realize I did not really say what it is.
Before I was a stay-at-home freelance copyeditor I had a job in an office where I supervised, at one point, as many as 20 people. I attended numerous sessions on how to conduct a performance evaluation. I conducted probably over 100 performance evaluations.
Here's an example of constructive criticism.
1.Always start with something positive. You do A and B really really well.
2.Tell the person what they need to work on. You seem to be having difficulty with G and H.
3.Give them a concrete suggestion. You might have less trouble with G if you tried[fillintheblank].
4.Never go global. You really can't do this job at all, can you.
5.And never ever be so arrogant as to presume you know how hard the person is working or trying.
6.Leave the person feeling encouraged. If you were able to master A and B in a few years, I think if you focus on G and H with a few routines these things can get ironed out.
7.And for bonus pointsI really admire how dedicated you are. Learning is a process.
I've been a long-time reader of your blog. I read the comment that upset you before it was deleted. I found it weird, rude and cruel.
ReplyDeleteI make my living singing opera and teaching voice. Starting next season I will no longer be teaching because I am completely booked. The only reason I mention this is to let you know that in this industry you learn very fast that anybody who says the kind of thing Peg said is doing so because they want to cause damage. It would be incredibly unfortunate if she caused lasting damage to you.
I read your blog because it is inspiring. I so often get caught up in the bullshit of the industry (as we all do) but you remind me what it is to really love to sing. You remind me what it is to love the process of learning how to sing.
Please don't let someone who doesn't know you, doesn't know your singing and doesn't know your sacrifice dictate how you feel about what you do. Fuck her. Please continue to be the person and the singer that you are and aspire to be.
Dear Zachary,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. I was so stunned by that comment Peg made because she did not seem like a snarky person.
I think I feel so insecure because no matter how well I sing, I know in this day and age and location I will never even be good enough to be offered regular amateur singing gigs other than church solos.
When I sang in the 70s I did not sing nearly as well, but my teacher said (so I know it's not my imagination) there were far fewer people singing opera other than the real professionals who had been to conservatories. The amateur groups used to be for amateurs: people like me with good instruments that had a few flaws, but who could still give a good performance.
So I feel that people don't respect me. Mostly they politely ignore me whether I'm singing in one of these group coaching get togethers, which I stopped going to, because they didn't seem to be a source of networking, or online if I would write something about singing.
The thing that makes me most frustrated is I can't find a peer group. Some people at about my age and level who would want to perform with me and share the costs and legwork of putting something together. If I want to put something together I can always get people to participate, but they are usually at a higher level (which is not a bad thing in itself) so the invitations are never reciprocated.
There are days when I think I should just settle for being a church soloist but I am too much of a drama queen (I mean this in the good sense) for that.