Bev's Blog

Maybe I’m telling my age, but I remember a shop called Insty Prints where we would go when we needed to change our price lists or print a flyer. They used big printing presses and it was not easy or convenient. When we hired a graphic designer many years ago to design our first “real” logo, he set us up with another printing company that took care of our letterhead, envelopes, business cards and newsletters. In those days, you could not just change your literature on a whim-it had to be thought out and the purchased in high quantities to use for a long time. In addition, our graphic designer provided Pantone ink colors that were to be used each and every time along with specific papers. It was “tight!”

Today, we can change our look, our colors and our logos whenever we want and get pieces printed either using Photoshop and our desktop printers. The problem is we have too much latitude, not enough training and many I see are destroying their identity in the marketplace by changing too often and too drastically. A brand must have continuity to be successful in being recognized. A logo should not be changed more often than every five years and then, not drastically, but just refreshed.

Do you think you don’t have a brand? Well, read on.

Whether you know it or not, you already have a brand and your customers are having a “brand experience” every time they interact with you, whether it be with your products and services or your staff. In order to craft this “brand experience” in a calculated way that is beneficial for your business, you must have a strong understanding about what exactly a brand is.

Brand is the totality of your company and its business.

“A brand is the sum of the good, the bad, the ugly and the off-strategy,” says Scott White, one of the nation’s leading branding consultants and a valued expert companies like Sun Life Financial and Franklin Sports rely on. “It is your best and worst product. It is your best and worst employee. It is communicated through award-winning advertising as well as those ads that somehow slipped through the approval cracks and sank anything riding on them. It is your on-hold music and the demeanor of the receptionist who puts that valued client or prospect on hold. It is the carefully crafted comments by a CEO as well as negative buzz by the water cooler or in chat rooms on the Internet. Brand is expressed through written, audio and visual content. It is interpreted through emotional filters every human being has—where anything can happen. Ultimately, you can’t control your brand. You can only hope to guide it.”

1990-a quiet and dark room…a powerful image on the screen…David Peters, a gifted photographer and storyteller was entrancing the audience with the story behind the image on the screen. As we dabbed at our eyes, we were all amazed with the intensity of emotion in a simple photograph and how the emotion rocketed out of this atmosphere simply by hearing the story behind it. For me, the experience was so deeply touching that I could not speak; only weep.

2011-Cabo, Mexico…a meeting with a young man named Ivan, a 25 year old, up and coming artist who is describing how he sees the next piece to create in dreams he has during the night. As he proceeds to show his brilliant work, he describes a motorcycle accident he was in a few years ago and how he sustained a head injury. From that time on, he says, images of what he is to create next appear in dreams. The very next day, we literally got on a bus that dropped us off a couple of blocks from his art gallery and ran to get there to pick out a piece to bring home. Why were we so excited? Of course, the work itself was one reason, but  knowing the story behind the art took our desire to have a piece of his art to new levels. We picked out a piece that was much more than we wanted to spend, but it didn’t matter any more. We just had to have it! After all, we now personally knew the artist and his story!

We take every experience we have and figure out how to use it in our business, especially something as powerful as emotion and storytelling!

Years ago, when we were creating our Relationship Black and White imagery, we knew we wanted to use the dual tools of storytelling and emotion to bring our art to new levels that our clients would greatly desire-we wanted to be the photographers that got to “the heart of the matter.” We wanted our clients to desire our art as much as we desired Ivan’s art and we wanted them to weep as they stood before their portraits like I did looking at David Peter’s work.

It was during this time that we crafted our Mission Statement, “To create what only the heart can see with the quality that only a few can produce.”  

Note that we put the “heart” first in our Mission Statement, but we didn’t leave out the foundation of quality photography. Emotion should not be an excuse for poor photography!

We wanted our clients to come to us with their stories and let us tell it through our photography.  After all, any photographer (and most clients) could take a decent photograph, but nobody was telling an intimate story through their images like we were. In order to do this, we started asking for clients’ stories during the Design Appointment. It could be as simple as an anniversary or as deeply emotional as just being diagnosed with cancer. It was our “task” to create an image that reflected the story we were told. And we did! And it was wildly successful…and it deeply affected us!

“Behind every face, there’s a story.”

We started seeing our clients in a different way that was deeper and more intimate. We became more vulnerable in the camera room in order for our clients to let their walls down. Sessions often ended in tears and hugs-it was amazing! After three years, these types of portraits became 85% or more of our business and took us from poverty to prosperity. Now, after nearly two decades, these Relationship portraits (our name for them) are still 50-60% of our business.

As Dr. Seuss says in one of his books, “Oh, the places you will go.” With this emotional approach to portraiture, we were changed as well as our business and our clients, and we have not looked back. We love the deeper relationships we have with our clients and it is so satisfying to create and sell these portraits that have so much meaning to them.

Does your photography show emotion? Are you the storytelling photographer in your community? Here are some steps to get you on your way…

1. First, is your style emotional? If not, create a segment of your business that is. For example, if you photograph babies and children, maybe you could create a “Night, night” style where you photograph kids in their pjs with mom or dad reading them a bedtime story. It doesn’t need to be the only thing you do, but simply an emotional supplement to your main style. Emotion draws people in!

2. Use emotional words in your marketing. Quotes are a wonderful way to do this. Go to www.quotegarden.com to find amazing quotes on many topics.

3. Learn how to let your walls down in the camera room. You cannot be a stick in the mud and get emotional results in your work. You have to be emotional to draw it from your clients.

4. Music is a huge part of setting the atmosphere. Use appropriate music to reach the feelings you desire.

5. Write out a plan to use during your planning sessions to get your clients’ stories. Ask leading questions such as, “What is your favorite thing about your son (or daughter, husband or wife)? Write it down and challenge yourself to capture it in the portrait.

6. Create amazingly emotional videos to show your clients during their planning sessions. Put these on your website and YouTube. INFUSE EMOTION!

CHECK OUT OUR NEW (EMOTIONAL) VIDEO HERE
Have a great, emotional and creative week, everyone!

Bev

www.timandbevwalden.com

As we continue our series on Life is a Highway, using traffic signs to symbolically teach us lessons, I thought I would take this week to talk about policies and decisions we have made over the years that have successfully paved our path. Many of these decisions rested on us “not entering” into certain mindsets or policies, but instead, choosing a different road.

First “Do Not Enter” decision…taking control of our time

When we first started our business, I remember that we would take an appointment any time of the day and any day of the week. We worked from early morning until late at night, weekends and holidays, while my parents babysat our young children. One day, worn out and nearly burned out, we sat down and made the “Do Not Enter” decision of setting limits on our time at the business in order to make time for our personal lives and our children. No longer were we saying yes to working anytime our clients asked us to. We realized a HUGE life lesson that we must take control of our time; it wasn’t our clients’ job-it was ours! If we let them, they would book us on Sundays, Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving, every evening or anytime we allowed.

Our schedule was altered to allow family time by limiting evening appointments to two nights each week. We no longer went in early, adjusting our opening time to 9:00. Today, it has been shifted again to 9:30, with the first appointments booked at 10:00 and we close at 5:00. We made the decision to never work on Sundays in order to devote the entire day to church and family. From that time to today, we “Do Not Enter” the arena of working day and night without limits!

Second “Do Not Enter” decision…projection sales

Many of you don’t remember the time before digital came into play, but when we first started our business, we shot film. Even in those early days, we were determined to project our images for the sales appointment, but with negatives, we had to find a place to process our film and then make positives (slides) from the negatives. The only place in the beginning was in California and the slides were called Transviews. They took two weeks to get back and then we had to load them into a projector, show them on a screen and manually pull out the rejects. The zoom (to show sizes) was me, picking up the projector and walking closer or farther away from the screen, thus enlarging or decreasing the image size.

This method was difficult (though rewarding), but we were convinced it was the right decision for our business and we symbolically put a “Do Not Enter” sign on the idea of printed proofs. When digital photography was birthed in our studio, it would have been easy to post the images online for our clients to order or just hand over a DVD of images, but again, we had to make the “Do Not Enter” decision of not doing anything to damage our sales and reputation as print artists. Tim always tells the clients that the image is only partially done when the button is pushed in the session. The image can only reach its potential in printed form and we consider ourselves print artists, not digital artists. Even when posting an image on Facebook or our blog, we always put “DRPA” in the bottom right, meaning “Digital Reproduction of Printed Art.” When our clients ask what the letters mean, we have the opportunity to explain our passion as print artists.

Third “Do Not Enter” decision…discounting, giving away or lowering prices

At the risk of repeating a current theme, I wanted to again talk about how damaging discounting, giving away your photography, or lowering your prices is to your business in the long term. Though it may increase cash flow in the short term, the long term damage of drawing the wrong clients (those looking for a bargain) to your business is inevitable. We want  clients who love what we do and since what we do is unique in our area, they cannot go somewhere else and buy it at a cheaper price. When they love what you do, they will pay what you ask and they will refer their friends. Remember the two important “R”s in any successful business are “Return” and “Referral.”

Granted, reputation provides privilege, and we have a longstanding, good reputation in our area, so we can be a little more demanding, but whatever level you are at, be sure you don’t sell yourself short. There are many places that can undercut your prices, so you don’t want to compete on that. There are many places that have a more convenient location than you do, so don’t compete on that. You will lose!

Instead, be creative in how you can attract clients that don’t depend on the lowest price or a Groupon. After all, photography is a creative profession, right?

This week, write down your “Do Not Enter” decisions…in other words, decisions where you put a roadblock up and say, “I will not walk down that road!” Sometimes it is an easy decision, but more often, these kinds of decisions are not easy. However, they are critical to your future and must be made with much thought.

We have never regretted any of our decisions, but they have not always been easy, especially when pressure comes to do the opposite. So, stay strong and have a great week, everyone.

Bev

www.timandbevwalden.com

STOP…CAUTION…GO!

We must learn when to stop, when to go and when to proceed with caution. If we do nothing, paralyzed by fear or indecision, we will not move forward nor succeed, but will move backwards There is no such thing as standing still!

After nearly three decades in this industry, one thing I know today is that we are moving at breakneck speed through an ever-changing landscape which we must navigate with great wisdom in order to succeed.

Every Tuesday, from ten o’clock until noon or later, we have a marketing and brainstorming meeting with our staff. Ideas are discussed at length, dreams are laid out for inspection, goals are set, final decisions are journaled in Evernote and tasks are assigned to those whom it will take to proceed with the plans. Why do this every week? Very simply, because we need to move at the speed of light to keep up with the industry! Missing just one week can have devastating ramifications. Those who are not willing to put time into understanding the landscape of photography and today’s changing marketplace will certainly find themselves falling behind. Think about the old saying, “Success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.” There is no magic bullet and  hard work is certainly part of the puzzle, but not all of it. We need to learn how to successfully make decisions.

“The big fish are no longer eating the little fish. The fast fish are eating the slow. To succeed today, you must think quickly, act quickly.” Roy H. Williams

I once asked Tim about how he made business decisions and he compared it to surfing. Surfing? As he explained further, he said balancing in order to stay standing upright was a matter of understanding what was happening underneath the surfboard, in the water. Constant adjustments to the undercurrents had to be made, some big and some very small. If not understood, they would cause a fall. “One has to perceive with great sensitivity what direction to lean to keep your balance; it takes experience and wisdom to successfully ride the waves to the safety of the shore.” said Tim.

That is why education is critical for success for those new to the profession. And, that is why education is critical for those of us who are seasoned “veterans.” We are never in a place where we can sit back and stop learning. Click on the Coaching Community button on the right to learn about our online learning center.

Just as important as knowing when to go is knowing when to stop! Knowing when to stop requires a person with amazing decision-making skills!

“More decisions are lost by indecision than poor decision.” We have always heard that saying and we live by it. We make decisions and live with the consequences, but we have the experience to back them up. For those new in the business, it would be wise to connect with others who have more experience and learn from each other. Those new to the business bring a fresh perspective. Those who have been in the business awhile bring wisdom and experience. Now, more than ever before, opportunities seem endless. But, along with the opportunities, come challenges. We need each other to help sort through the massive amounts of information we take in daily in order to make the right decisions.

“Never has there been a time that I can remember where wisdom is not in knowing what to do, but what to pass up!” Tim Walden

When we go to a convention and visit the trade show, never it this statement more meaningful. With digital technology came hundreds…no, thousands of new products and ways of doing things. However, you must decide what fits you and what doesn’t.  Turn away from anything that muddy the waters around your brand and stick with fewer offerings. Simplicity is always the winner. Make a wise decision!

As more and more opportunities come your way, polish up your decision making skills so you know when to say no (STOP), when to proceed with (CAUTION) and when to (GO)!

Steps to help  you…

1. Evaluate all of the options first. Think outside of the box; get a little crazy. This is why we include our staff in the marketing meetings we have weekly. They have a different perspective and it is always helpful.

2. Think about the decision from all angles and weigh the outcomes. Talk it out or write it out. Do not be ruled by FEAR (False Evidence Altering Reality). “Fear makes its own plans.” Tim Walden

3. What is your “gut” feeling about the decision? Don’t ignore it.

4. Implement the decision. This is where Evernote comes in as we can assign tasks to various staff members and track progress. It helps us not to lose steam or let details fall through the cracks.

5. Evaluate your decision afterwards. Learn from it; draw insight and wisdom from it. Change it up if you need to and adjust as required. We usually have to tweak our decisions as we go along and it’s ok to do!

Have a great week, everyone! Bev

PS-Check out my Book Loft too! Just click on it at the top to see what books have impacted our business the most. Message me on Facebook.com/waldens education for photographers to see what I am reading right this very minute:-)

www.timandbevwalden.com

Inspiration can come from many places and recently, I thought about traffic signs and how they relate to boutique businesses! In this blog, the traffic sign I want to discuss is STOP!

As owners of a high-end portrait studio for many years, we (my husband and I) have seen many trends come and go. Today, one of the trends we see that is destroying boutique businesses is discounting. It seems to be the “thing” these days!

STOP! Don’t even try to compete with the the big stores like Sears or Walmart. You are unique and offer something they cannot…customized products, over the top service, passion and your creativity. Your target client is not their target client anyway. They attract price-sensitive buyers who are looking for the lowest price which they can offer due to their negotiating power. You cannot compete in that game! You need to connect with the right client who loves what you do and is willing to pay what it takes to get it.

We often say, “Create a GAP!” This is where success lies for the boutique studio rather than discounting. It is a different mindset. A GAP is the distance you put between you and any others with whom you compete. What creates GAPS?  Uniqueness in your offerings, close relationships with your clients, a high level of skill, over the top customer experience and again, you! Think about ways to keep increasing the GAP. Get creative!

Whether the discount is a Groupon or a free portrait, I am proud to say that over the years, we have not used this technique. We believe our product is valuable and worth the price we charge. When you give photography away, it is immediately devalued and in the consumer’s mind, worth what they paid for it-nothing! Unfortunately, once a client receives a discount, they expect it every time! Think about Bed, Bath and Beyond-I don’t shop there unless I have a 20% off coupon. I am not loyal; I only want a discount and will wait until I get one before I give them my money. And think about those who choose you based on a discount-are they really the client you want in the future? Again, it comes down to finding and connecting with the right client!

Many ask us what we do with friends and family who want our product discounted or free! We came up with the perfect idea, at least for us, and I wanted to pass it along. We realized that if we simply took an amount (a percentage) off their bill, they were oblivious to how much they saved, (it wasn’t real to them) or they were mad that we didn’t give it to them free! What we decided years ago (and it works like a charm) is to give a Gift Certificate with an amount on it that is pre-determined and depends on whether they are friends or family (in case they compare, we use the same amount each time). With this approach, they feel like we are actually handing them cash and the response is completely different-they are grateful! It is amazing that this small change creates such a positive outcome.

In this blog, it is my goal to make you STOP and think about your business and how you can create GAPS for a prosperous, long-term outcome. Don’t panic and make the mistake of thinking a discount will make everything ok! It will short circuit your long term prosperity, de-value your brand and bring you exactly the wrong client!

Have a great week, everyone! Bev

www.timandbevwalden.com

We have never been a business that offers discounts or coupons; our reputation and success has always rested on the value of our product rather than price. However, I see more businesses than ever before considering discounts in order to get people through their doors. While coupons and discounts may, in the short-term, generate cash, I don’t believe they are a smart move for business success. In this blog, I want to discuss 3 things to consider before going that route and some alternate ways to get clients through the door. Years ago, I remember our marketing director making the statement, “If you discount it, they (clients) will come (to expect discounts).” I believe this to be a true statement.

#1: Not sustainable as a long-term stategy.

Think about reasons prospects consider your business. They may love your style, your products, how you conduct business, your personality and so forth. Do you want to attract these buyers who love you or price-sensitive buyers, interested in saving a penny here and there? Offering discounts and coupons tend to attract price sensitive buyers who focus on price rather than value and artistry. They are looking for a bargain. Once they use the coupon or discount once, they may never come back. They are only interested in your business because of the coupon or discount. This is not the type of client you can build a long-term strategy on and it is really difficult to ever charge them the full price on any product once they have received it at a lower price.

#2: It could hurt your brand and lessen the value of your product.

Coupons can lower the perceived value of your brand. Especially in a high end business, the offer of any coupon or discount can make you look cheap. We have built our reputation as a boutique studio over years and years, but it could all come crumbling down in a matter of moments if people see our product offered with a discount coupon. Once a client gets your product at a discount, it lessens its value for any future purchase at full price.

#3: What about your loyal clients?

Offering discounts, especially to first-time buyers, can cause a sticky situation with your loyal clients who have spent money with you over the years and paid full price. If someone’s neighbor gets the same product as they have, but for half the price, it can create a problem. Our clients tend to run in tight social circles and they know intimate details about each others’ lives and they would know if this ever happened.

Alternate Idea #1: Gift with Purchase

We run a “campaign” every January and February and have done so for years where we will frame any black and white wall portrait purchased during these months in our gallery frame at no charge. We NEVER discount our photography, but we will use the gift with purchase idea (frame with purchase) as it encourages business during the slow months. However, we are careful about knowing the price of the frame and what we can afford to give as a gift to make sure we don’t hurt our profit margins. Think about items you can use for this ideas that are not normally offered. Try to avoid discounting your photography or giving it away. Give notecards, frames, mats, accordion fold books and so forth, but keep your photography sacred!

Alternate Idea #2: Gifts through Partners

We do drawings at special times throughout the year with our partners. For these events, we give a Session Fee and a portrait of significant size. In addition, we ask our partner to look through the people who signed up to win and choose another dozen that we can send a gift card to for a Session Fee and a smaller amount. This is a wonderful way to get new clients through the door while still maintaining our reputation and brand.

Alternate Idea #3: Working with Charities

This is another way to offer your product at a special price. For example, we do a pet charity event every year and the Session Fee is a $25.00 bag of dog food that will go to our Humane Society. In addition, we offer special collections that are never available any other time of year. This is a wonderful way to get new clients and not dilute future business or our reputation.

Alternate Idea #4: Auctions at Private Schools and Charities

In the beginning, we gave a small gift to a large number of schools and charities. After carefully tracking the type of client each brought us, we narrowed our giving to the two largest private schools in our area and just a few charities. This way, we can give a more substantial gift which draws the right type of client rather than an 8×10 which doesn’t draw that same clientele. It can also lead to special fund-raisers with the schools once you have built a relationship with them. It plants seeds now for a harvest later!

Every move you make in your business has potential for success or failure. Be careful what you choose for quick gratification if it hurts your future success.

Have a great week! Bev

www.timandbevwalden.com

RAK? What in the world is that? After I read the book, “Hug Your Customers” by Jack Mitchell, our staff  along with Tim and I met and decided to set up a program at our studio that would encourage all of us, including staff members, to take a more active part in “hugging our clients.”

We named the program RAK, meaning Random Acts of Kindness. We sat everyone down and talked about how we would execute this program and came up with the following ways.

First, we set up accounts at various places where we could order goodies on-line and set a studio limit of $30.00 per month per client. We figured on three to four clients per month as an average and knew we were comfortable with that amount. The accounts were a mix of sweets such as cookies and fudge, teas, home-made treats and even cheese from a Trappist Monastery. At times, when appropriate,  we bought gift cards from various places such as McDonalds or Fazolis and mailed them in specially designed cards from WHCC. We empowered our staff to make decisions without our approval.

“Anytime we have the opportunity, we encourage our staff to take on an owner’s mentality and this program did just that.”

Second, we talked about when a client would be a good fit for a RAK gift. Some ideas were if we heard a client had a rough day due to a bad circumstance or on the positive side, if one of our clients’ children did something great like win a baseball tournament. We even sent a gift when a client’s daughter got her braces off! The principle here is to let our clients know we are thinking about them and we care about what’s going on in their lives!

Finally, we needed a process to keep up with these events. Since we started this long before a software program ran our studio, I made custom pages for a day planner and kept detailed notes in it. We also entered any special dates we needed to remember on our studio calendar. Today, with specialized software running our studio and a calendar that is on-line, it is easy to put “hug” reminders on.

Just the other day, a client stopped by who was telling our staff about something that had happened in her life that was rough. After the client left, Tim asked Laura, our associate photographer who was standing nearby, “What am I thinking right now?” Without missing a beat, Laura replied, “We need to write a note and put a RAK gift together with some wonderful custom blend Apricot tea we have here from our tea supplier.” Slowly, a smile crossed Tim’s face as he quietly said, “Perfect!”

The saying goes, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” However, I believe it is the “small stuff” that will become the “big stuff” in the end. Through Rak gifts, we can touch our clients at times in their lives when they need to know someone cares and that is “BIG STUFF!”

Some of our favorite RAK vendors…

Gethsemani Trappist Monastery for their cheese and bourbon walnut fudge

Elmwood Inn Teas for exotic and unique teas and other tea related gifts

Bake Me a Wish Cakes for the most delicious and beautiful cakes with special greetings included

Najla’s Cookies for chunky, organic cookies or cookie dough to bake yourself

Vosage Chocolates for exquisitely packaged and sumptuous, yet very different chocolates

Cherry Moon Farms  for uniquely dipped strawberries that are yummy

Have a great week everyone and a very Merry Christmas! May you be abundantly blessed!

Bev

www.timandbevwalden.com

Last week, we talked about three tips on photographing children; intensity, asking questions and singing. This week, I want to add a few more top secret tips we have formulated over years of photographing children.

Off of their feet…what I mean by this is we ask parents to hold their children in their arms until the last possible minute, especially if we are doing a family portrait. Once a child is old enough to walk, they want to be put down and when that happens, there is no easy way for the parent to pick them up without a struggle. From the car to the dressing room and then from the dressing room to the camera room, young children are held. Another version of this idea is keeping a child’s feet off the ground, if we are photographing them alone, by having them stand on a short block. It’s amazing that this simple trick keeps them still and in place. They may wobble some, but they do try to stay on the block and not step off.

Pretending to cough or sneeze…this one ALWAYS works! It amazes me every time I pretend to sneeze that kids really like it and smile. Of course, we say they made us do it because we are allergic to them! Coughing is also great, but sneezing is the best! We switch between them during the course of a session.

Keeping our distance…when we first meet our young subjects, we don’t get down on the ground with them to try to make friends. Instead, although we are friendly, we keep a little distance, at least for the first few minutes. The reason; once a child is completely comfortable with us and the studio environment, we lose our advantage and a measure of control. We start the session very quietly at first in order to get the pensive and emotional expressions we are known for. Playing and fun come later for us and this is where we get more candid shots. Children will mirror what we do, so we are not silly, loud and playful when we want a more pensive look. On the other hand, if we are going for a fun and interactive look, we do get a bit more silly and loud.

Whispering…this “tactic” is great with small children that are antsy. We whisper a question and ask them to answer it. Because they really have to pay attention to hear us, they forget they are being photographed and we get some very engaged expressions.

What we don’t do very often is get toys out as they will reach out their hands to hold it and cry when they cannot. We work quickly, quietly and then increase the playfulness and depend on our word games and ability to engage our young subjects as the session progresses. By the end of the session, they are our best buddies! It goes without saying that we truly love children and they know it. Only as a last resort do we bribe with Smarties (with parental permission) and although it is not our favorite way to get through a session, it may work when nothing else does.

Here’s to happy times in the camera room with children! Have a great week everyone!

Bev

www.timandbevwalden.com

On a Carnival Cruise ship a few years ago, we were invited to speak to a group of young photographers. After we taught, we sat and listened to the other speakers, one of them a good friend, Drake Busath. A single statement he made stuck in our minds and we have not forgotten it. He said, “When photographing children, you must engage their minds.” This is now our mantra as we work with young children and I thought I would share our top three secrets that we use daily to engage their minds.

Intensity…it may sound weird to link this word with photographing children, but it is at the top of our list. Let me explain. When I say “intensity,” I mean you have to speak to kids like your pants are on fire! If you speak in your normal, everyday voice or in a soft voice with no energy, you will not capture nor hold their attention. I don’t mean yell; I mean speak with intensity. This is why we don’t ask parents or grandparents to help if we are having trouble getting a child’s attention. They just say their name (quietly) and then they may say “look this way” or “smile for Mr. Tim” and they do it in their everyday voice without any extra inflection. That does not help us. No, it takes a dramatic performance to capture and engage their minds.

Ask questions…this top secret tool goes along with intensity. When we ask a question, we don’t let them answer it. Instead, quickly and with much intensity, we say, “NO WAIT! DON’T TELL ME; LET ME GUESS!” That immediately gets their attention and they buy into our game. Many times, we know the answer to the question as it has been noted on our folder from the planning appointment. For example, we may ask their dog’s name, but we really do know it. We act like we don’t know for awhile, so when we guess correctly, they are truly surprised and engaged. Other things we guess at Walden’s: their favorite anything (ie: food, ice cream, drink, cartoon, movie, color), their best friend’s name, their pet’s name, their age, their middle name and so forth. Get comfortable with these questions so you don’t have to put much mental effort into it when you are in the middle of the session.

Sing…it doesn’t matter if you can or cannot sing, this is a sorely underused tool in most sessions. Buy a CD with childrens’ music on it and memorize the songs. I cannot tell you how many times this simple tool has captured a very young child in the middle of a tantrum and calmed them completely down. We were teaching at NEIPP school several years ago and had a baby who was sick as our model. Of course, this was not a great situation. However, I had just talked about the power of singing, and the entire class joined me in the Barney song, just to see if it really worked. When the baby stopped crying and started to look alert, the entire class broke into applause. Try it-it is powerful!

Stay tuned for more Top Secret Tips next week!

Bev

www.timandbevwalden.com