I just got back from Las Vegas, where I auditioned for America’s Got Talent.
It was an open audition, so it was just in front of a producer, not the TV judges (yet).
They told us ahead of time that we only had 90 seconds. For my act, I asked the producer to give me a random 20 digit number, I memorized it, then said it back to him. I feel good about my performance.
I won’t know for a few months if I’m moving on to a TV audition. It’s a long shot, but fingers crossed…
Here are some things I noticed about the other people auditioning:
1) Nobody, stood out…except me.
I auditioned with 20 other hopefuls, so I got to see them perform too.
Everyone else either sang or danced. Not that that’s bad, but you have to be extraordinary to stand out above thousands of other musicians and dancers. In my opinion, most of them were pretty good…but nobody was special.
I stood out, because my act was different. I memorized a big number within seconds. Most people had never seen that before…and I heard a lot of “Wows” after I did it.
Do something fresh and different to stand out.
2. Many weren’t prepared.
A) A lot of them rambled.
The producer asked everyone to quickly introduce themselves before their 90 seconds to perform.
“Hi…I’m Jane Smith…I’m originally from Texas, but I moved to Los Angeles 3 years ago. I started babysitting, but now I’m a bartender. I started singing when I was……”
Blah blah blah…
The producer’s body language said it all. It was bad.
I simply said “I’m John Graham, the Memory Man, from Salt Lake City.” Bam! Short, memorable, and everyone understood it.
B) I couldn’t hear half of them because they were so quiet/timid.
I get it. Everyone is nervous (I was too). But this is your ONE chance to show how good you are. Stand up straight, project your voice, and at least try to show some confidence.
C) A lot of them went over the 90 seconds and the producer had to cut them off.
To me, that shows they didn’t practice their act to fit in 90 seconds. That’s a bad look.
Why would they pick you for TV if you can’t show that you’re prepared?
I practiced my act over 25 times. I recorded it, I timed it, I tweaked it. When it came time for my audition, I knew exactly what to do and how long it would take.
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The next time you’re competing for a job or auditioning for a role, prepare yourself. It’s really easy to stand above the crowd when you polish your pitch, your resume, and yourself.
The world is looking for people to stand out. Don’t be average.
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