How do you celebrate choir newbie successes?
Watch me chatting more about this HERE on our Creative Choir Leader Page.
Once we’ve shared the punch line of a joke, it can’t really be told again. The first time is the only time.
It’s the same with a choir newbie’s debut performance with your choir. It happens once and that can never be repeated. And for that reason it is a key milestone to be celebrated!
So my question is: How do you celebrate your newbie member’s first successes and why is this important?
Recently, I’ve begun thinking how can I give my singers more recognition. This is important because they need to know that their contribution is important. The time and effort they give to the choir is valued by our community.
I also want to recognise their progress and in doing so, help them to recognise it too. From thinking about joining the choir to learning new songs, and hopefully performing with us. I hope that if my singers are feel valued, then they will also feel motivated and as a result, they will keep turning up, as fully participating members of our choir community.
Lowell Milken is an international businessman and philanthropist. He has earned a reputation as a visionary leader in education for the creation of major philanthropic initiatives in education, music and design. He said, “The power of recognition is one of the strongest forces for stimulating human and social action. Yes, recognition is a powerful motivator – to those who receive it as well as those who observe it”
We can all win as a community when successes, achievements and progress is acknowledged – even if those things are just tiny steps forward. Perhaps, it’s learning their first song. Perhaps it’s singing a song by memory for the first time or taking on a short solo.
So what am I going to try this coming year?
I’m going to try something super simple – and that’s the whole point actually. I’m going to recognise those members who sing their first gig by taking a photo of them holding our new Great Day Choir First Gig Star – photo booth style. It’s a simple little strategy.
So, I’m going to take the photo directly after the performance and then share them on our choir social media and weekly email. They are going to be our way of saying well done; We recognise and are grateful that you have gone the extra mile by taking the (optional) opportunity to participate with the choir, perform and give back to your local community.
And from an admin point of view, I will be able to easily track when people first started performing with my choir and how soon after they joined. This is imporant for me because I’m also going to be tracking the number of performance my members participate in as a part of a wider recognition strategy.
I have lots of Christmas gigs coming up….so watch this space as I add photos of my newbie members with their star!
How are you going to acknowledge and recognise your new singers in the coming year?
How about sharing your idea in our Creative Choir Leader Group HERE