Fwd: I Just Spent 5-Days With the Director From Hell ... here's how it went down ...

On Aug 7, 2019, at 1:18 PM, Oren Klaff <oren@pitchanything.com> wrote:

They locked me in a room with her ...

Quick question ... have you ever heard a recording of yourself ...  Did you LOVE the sound of your own voice? Don't worry - no one does. CORRECTION: no one does until they use this $10,000 microphone... It makes you sound like Liam Neeson. Let me explain what's going on here -- I just recorded my FLIP THE SCRIPT audiobook ... I'm in the same recording studio Blink-182 uses. It has 4 airlocks and "soundlocks" just to get into the recording area, … professional soundproof walls…  On the walls I see Blink-182 Platinum albums and Golden Guitar Awards… the place looks like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As I step in the recording room, I notice .... NOTHING. Only 3 things in there. A chair… A microphone… And a gun safe? "Huh!" I hit the red button to talk to the sound engineer on the other side of the glass window... ME: "Did you think I was gonna shoot myself in here?" CLICK. (they have to press a  button to talk you, like you're on death row or something) "No sir.  that's the Microphone safe. You're using a $10,000 Sony C-800G. We keep it in the safe." NOW ... it dawned on me the level of game I'm playing here. It was time for a test read of the opening paragraph of FLIP THE SCRIPT ... here below. 1st PARAGRAPH: THE BIG IDEA: I don't like being pressured into making a purchase. And I'm not alone. The moment we feel pressured to buy, we pull away. And if we're told what to do or what to think, our defenses go up. In other words, buyers don't put much trust in you and your ideas. However, everyone trusts their own ideas. Accordingly, today, products are bought, not sold. BUY ON AMAZON! BACK IN THE RECORDING ROOM... They let me hear the sound of my own voice: During the playback, it was weird because I didn't hear MY OWN voice,  I heard Denzel Washington. Or it might have been Brad Pitt. You have NEVER heard yourself sound that good. CLICK. (you have to push a red button to talk to them.) ME: "Guys, remind me to buy a microphone just like this!" SOUND ENGINEER: "Sure, but don't forget to buy the $250,000 mixing board too!" Ha!  First class equipment, Blink 182 sound engineers...  This is gonna be a cake walk! THEN… as I'm looking into the sound room, I see this lady walk in. I mean, we're talking real librarian here. Stone faced … Scowling. Emotionless. Glasses to the end of her nose…  You know the type. I ask out, "Who's that?" Turns out, this is the THE AUDIOBOOK DIRECTOR.  ... which confused me because the last time I did an audiobook, I just went in and read the book on my own.   In other words ... Up to this moment, I thought I was "The Director."  I mean, it's an audiobook, not "Avengers: Infinity War." I thought I was in control… I thought I was in charge... And I definitely knew what needed to be done!  But then, THE DIRECTOR takes over. She pushes the button and says, "Please open your manuscript to page 5 and read the introduction on top left." Hastily, I obey her orders. I read for 20 seconds.  She hits the button again, "STOP. Please repeat line 9, slow down and speak more clearly."  ME: "What!" And so it goes on for hours and hours ... Every time I think I'm on a roll, she says "CUT. Please go back to line 3, it's pronounced "Geneva"… not "Geneva." ME: "But that's what I said, Geneva!"  DIRECTOR: "No. it's Geneva. Genev-Ahhh" Sigh. I try to copy her perfect French accent, and continue. "STOP. Go back to the top of the page please. Monsieur… monsieur… pronunciation is monsieur."  This goes on and on - and then - I get to part of my book where I start a huge negotiation with a Russian Oligarch .. The red light goes on.  Dammit! "CUT. Go back to top of page 23, use a Russian accent please" ME: "I don't have a Russian accent! I live in California!" Here I am trying to get a Russian accent out like 30 times in a row, then eventually, surprisingly … I nail it! How did I just nail an authentic Russian accent?! Well, I finally started LISTENING to the professional director who had been hired to help me out.  Fast Forward to Day 5: THE AUDIOBOOK IS DONE ...  We finish the audio book, and it's awesome, but I'm completely worn out. Give me a drink! I just had just performed 5-days straight for an experienced Hollywood director … Before she left, I HAD to ask her… "Hey, does Ray Porter mess up?" (Ray Porter is my favorite audiobook narrator, he did THE DOORS, METALLICA, Hooper, etc.) "Ya, he messes up too ...  ... but you did good.  This is actually one of the best audiobook recordings I've ever been involved with." Hell yeah, I thought to myself. Here's the big takeaway (you can take this lesson to the bank): Who knows why, but for some reason, you, me ... everyone ... we tend to think that we're as good as a Professional Coach, or in my case, as good as a Hollywood Director. This is self-destructive, but we do it anyway ... I see this same thing happen when I train people to pitch. They spend the first 2-hours telling me how good they are… Then in the "2nd stage of training" they explain that my advice is "pretty good", but ... they know a better way to do it. In the 3rd stage of training they're like, "oh ya that's a pretty good idea you have there".  Like they're "approving" MY method. Then, they enter the 4th stage… which is where they start respecting me as The Professional in The Room Who Knows What He Is Doing. The 5th stage… finally ... people start working WITH me and not against. I wish I had just gone into the recording studio on Day 1 and said: "You're the Professional, just tell me what to do, ok?" I should have said:  "Help me be the best I can be. I trust you; I love you… let's make something great!" We could have finished the book faster with less stress. I could have learned more about acting and recording. I could have had enough energy left to go out partying with Blink 182 :-) Lesson learned. When you're lucky enough to get an experienced Coach or a Director to help you, it's time to let go…  You're NOT as good as the coach or the professional .... why else would you need him or her? Just remove your ego from the start… admit you own your weaknesses, own them, then work hard, get with the program and create something great! I can give you a head start if you want to create something great: MY NEW BOOK RELEASES THIS WEEK - GRAB A COPY I suggest you "Grab a copy now", because it is very likely to sell out and you'll have to wait for the re-order.  Oren Take this chance now to Commit to something small that will make a big difference in your life. Click this link to visit Amazon and order an Advance Copy of my new book, Flip the Script ORDER FLIP THE SCRIPT HERE direct link: https://www.amazon.com/Flip-Script-Getting-People-Think/dp/052553394X

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