Twin Cities Daily Planet: When I was growing up my mother would always remind me to say “thank you” whenever someone complimented me. Actually, it wasn’t so much reminding as it was public nagging—as though it would never occur to me to show gratitude on my own. If I told her of praise I had gotten during the day she would respond with, “Did you remember to say thank you?” and I would always make sure to tell her that I did or else she would insist that I write the unnamed giver of flattery a Thank You note for their kindness.
8 comments:
This is a really great article, and is so true! In high school, sometimes I felt as if the endless hours I put into my theatre company went unappreciated and unnoticed. However, when opening night rolled along, or when we made extra money at a fundraiser I organized, parents, students, and teachers would thank me. Sometimes it was just a few sweet words, and sometimes it was a handwritten thank you note. But regardless, those words made everything worth it. Now, I wouldn't have done it if I didn't love every minute of it myself. I would still be in the same exact place without those words of appreciation. And the reality is that artists are not and will not always be appreciated, but that is not why we do it. And if it is, then you are simply in the wrong business.
I agree with Jess, I think this article is so great and so true. It's very rare that people will just randomly appreciate something that someone else does, and when someone appreciates something so personal as art the gratification of doing something that matters to at least one person is overwhelming. I'm never ungrateful for being able to be a part of the theater community and I think it's so important that all of us, not only keep creating things but also that we keep thanking others for what they have created. Like Jess said, the words make it all worth is, and that is why we do what we do.
I am in agreement with Jess and Mariah. I don't think we would be in this business if it were just for money or some other measure of success. When someone compliments my work I too feel very overjoyed, though I'm not sure I would describe it as a hug of cotton candy, and just one kind word is enough to keep me going through whatever else I am working on. I think as an artist, we take the risk of making art knowing that not everyone will appreciate it or even like it, but that we must keep going. As long as we understand that, I think it's good to receive a little positive feedback, just to know there's been an impact made somewhere.
Like my classmates, I agree with what this article has to say. A compliment can get you a long way; if someone takes the time to say something good about your work, chances are they might tell someone else about it as well. And if you take the time to say thank you,that person might be even more inclined to tell someone about something that might land you an interview or a job. Compliments and thank you's don't pay the rent, but they help you create a network, something always useful no matter what you work in.
I think this is an extremely important thing to remember when working in the art field. I often got the feel in high school no one notice the countless hours I put in designing and building a set. In the end the only people that got that thanks was the people on stage that were recognizable. Now I have lost that impulse that people don't care and focus on what people say to me about it. It often seems that people have trouble stepping out of their comfort zones to tell people they did a good job. So when they do I always thank them and am glad they were willing to speak up. To that end I will always try and speak up and tell people they did a good job. Some times that little act of thanks can make a huge difference in their day and life. When people respond to be with a dry tone however I reconsider my comment. People should thank those who notice as much as people should notice and pay attention to aspect they don't focus on.
This applies to so much more than only careers in the arts. A genuine "thank you," more than just the quick one you give or receive out of courtesy after a routine exchange, is rare. And yet it can make all the difference. We are all busy. It's hard to stop and take notice of all the things someone else is doing when we are consumed with our own work. Of course none of us expect to be thanked constantly, that would be excessive and frankly it would lose impact after a while. However, it is in the moments where we are stopped, looked at the eye, and thanked, that we know we have gone beyond what people have expected of us. Furthermore, it makes us want to return the favor to someone who is helping us out in ways that they might not even be aware of. Art isn't thankless, no. And no other careers should be, either.
Although this article has a few good points, I tend to disagree with most of it. When someone says thank you, I find it kind of useless. Yes, I'm glad you enjoyed the show, but no one is perfect. There is always room for improvement. It sounded as if the author was saying that there are many perfect artists out there, who deserve to be complimented. This won't get the artist very far. I would expect compliments in elementary school or middle school. In high school, my art teacher probably gave me a compliment once every four months. Instead, he critiqued my work, found the flaws, and made me fix them. Although I didn't appreciate it at the time, now it means the world to me. Those critiques made me better, and I still have so much more to improve on. I just don't know if thank you is the right thing to say to artists. Definitely, audiences and viewers need to speak up and speak their minds, but compliments are not always the best answer.
Thank you's are very important, and in any field of work. Even when you don't feel like you deserve the compliment, or that it is even genuine - but the mere fact is that it is just 'the right' response, and though I think that a lot of people have seemed to forgot how much a "thank you" back actually means to some people...it is still much appreciated today. I don't know, you'd think that it's just automatic. Second nature.
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