Your Public Best - Lillian Brown [94]
ACCEPTING AN AWARD
Some of the worst speeches are given at awards ceremonies. You may have wondered why a recipient is totally surprised into speechlessness. You may have cringed at the endless thanking of people the audience has never heard of and has no interest in. Somehow, the person receiving the award diminishes its stature when he or she makes an incoherent or self-serving reply.
If you are being given an award, write a well-crafted, well-thought-out, graceful, and brief acceptance speech or statement that expresses appropriate appreciation. Don’t thank a long list of people who think they deserve to have their names mentioned over the microphone.
As an award winner, you have already achieved recognition for your talents. In your speech, you have a rare opportunity to be eloquent and effective and to add to the significance of the award. As a nominee you know in advance there is a chance that you will be the winner, so prepare a successful and graceful acceptance performance in advance.
Similarly, some of the most boring photographs are taken at awards ceremonies. Professional photographers groan when asked to take “handshake” and “holding up the plaque” or “passing the check” pictures during or after an awards ceremony. Many sponsors of an awards event want such pictures for the files, to send to you later on, or to make the boss (the one who is shaking your hand or handing you the check) in the picture happy. But only amateur newsletter editors are eager to publish such unimaginative, stiff pictures.
If you are asked to be in such photographs, go ahead and pose for the fake handshake or check passing. However, to help out such a situation, try to subtly suggest an alternative pose. For example, you and the other person could be talking to one another naturally, hands at sides or one of you gesturing as if in normal conversation. Or the two of you could be seated at a conference table, deep in an important discussion.
Anything is better than the faked handshake picture, except perhaps for one that later gets captioned: “______ and _____ are doing _____, while _____ looks on. (More tips on being photographed are in the section called “Being Photographed.”)
WORKING WITH AN AGENT
As a successful public person, you may become so well known that having some kind of agent makes good sense.
A booking agent or agency can keep you constantly on the road giving speeches and making other public appearances or limit the appearances you make, according to your wishes. If you are to be paid for events, the agent will advise you on the best fee to charge. The agent can also negotiate fees for you—something you might be reluctant to do for yourself.
A literary agent can assist you in getting a publisher for your book or other writings. He or she may drive a harder bargain with the publisher than you would yourself because he knows the ins and outs of the publishing business.
Basically, hiring an agent is a business arrangement whereby the agent receives a certain percentage (often ten to fifteen percent) of your contractual earnings. He or she makes a living from your efforts, so that the arrangement has to be profitable for him as well as for you.
Obtaining an agent is a personal matter that you should not go into lightly. There are many horror stories of love-hate relationships between agent and client, as well as mutually profitable, longstanding arrangements.
Many very famous people use agents not only for booking or scheduling purposes, but also as a first contact and screening device for potentially bothersome