Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.
Oscar Wilde
What Is The Best Thing About A Good Floral Design Demonstration?
When we watch a floral art demonstration, we see years of experience distilled into 20 or 30 minutes of creative energy. We marvel at the ease with which the design comes together, we write notes for ourselves so we can use the techniques and ideas that are displayed so perfectly for us. We draw the design and take pictures so we can remember the design in detail.
Sometimes it’s easier for us to learn by watching someone else. That way we can focus on specific areas that are important to us. Isn’t that, after all, the basis of floral art demonstrations?
How Could You Be A Great Floral Design Demonstrator?
Step to the other side of the bench. Be the demonstrator. Wouldn’t you be so much more at ease if you felt what you had to say was as engaging as your fabulous design?
After more than 37 years of helping subject matter experts like architects and engineers to be able to present their valuable information, I found a passion in floral art and design. There were so many generous designers who shared their expertise freely as I developed my skills.
What on earth could I do to repay them?
How could my own, seemingly unrelated, professional skills be shared with the floral design world?
Then one day, without thinking (I guess my automatic coach mode kicked in), I spoke to a well known designer after a demonstration, about her breathing and how a simple exercise before she starts a presentation could dramatically improve the opening few minutes of her demonstration, both for her and the audience. Next demonstration she tried it and still uses the technique to this day. It helps with her initial nerves and also makes her voice stronger at the start of the demonstration, meaning her audience is immediately engaged.
Where Do You Start?
But even before you think about fine tuning your demonstrations, you need to have a plan for what you are going to say. Planning is where all good floral designers start. You plan your design, you plan and prepare the components of your demonstration. What you have to say is one of those components.
It’s not enough to think that you will be able to talk about the design as you go along. You need to plan what you are going to say so you can be sure you have covered all the information you need to impart. It’s really easy to forget something in the fun of putting the design together and interacting with your audience.
So here are some quick videos on different areas of presentation that might help you prepare for your next demonstration.
With so many floral design demonstrations going online, here’s a comparison of the three different types of microphones I use for online activities. The links for each of these is below the video.
The links below will take you to Amazon where you can read reviews of each of the microphones I have talked about. If you purchase using these links I do receive a small commission (a couple of dollars at most!)
Samson C01U Condenser Microphone
Many of us have watched online demonstrations lately and not been able to see what the designer was actually doing. Here’s a video with some basic tips for getting your demonstration as good as it can be for your online viewers.