Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2003 5:06 pm Post subject: Stage Fright!!!!
I just wanted to continue my post from the old website. I have had Scotts tapes for over a year now and have practiced at home and have become real good at most of the moves. When I am at home man I can stick all kinds of moves gracefully. My biggest problem right now is when I get to work I completely freeze up. I have a bad case of [b:129b1ced13]Stage Fright [/b:129b1ced13] . It is kind of hard getting the people that I have been serving for a long time used to the new style without getting lauged at or called a show-off. Not just that the floor in our bar is almost like brick and if I drop something it will for sure shatter. I have always been able to do the little things like flip the glass from one hand to another but I want to take it to that next level. Someone out ther please help with some advice on how to get over my FEAR!! Just go out and do it does not help in my case.
Joined: 01 Dec 2003 Posts: 103 Location: Western Slope of Colorado
Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2003 6:28 pm Post subject:
I tried to post yesterday, but it didn't go through. Dont sweat it if people laugh when you mess up, do they know how to do it? Have they spent countless hours practicing? Chances are they havent and they laugh because they are jerks. Take your time in bringing flair to where you work, start with the simple stuff you learned in the beginning, the stuff you can do in you sleep. If the nerves get you, practice more at home.
Once you start successfully completing simple tricks, add variancies to them. It really sounds to me like your'e freaking yourself out, and if your'e doing that, then practice more at home right before you go in so youre all warmed up...... best of luck. _________________ The odds are good but the goods are odd.
Joined: 15 Nov 2003 Posts: 1 Location: Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2003 1:40 am Post subject: stage fright can be a good thing
Dear Teejay;
Jessikate had some great advice for you. Perhaps I can help as well. I have been watching working flair and judging flair competitions since 1994 and as office manager for EXTREME BARTENDING.COM, I have attended many of Scott's seminars and talks. I also have a theater background and have experienced stage fright in it's many forms personally.
Stage Fright can be a good thing. It is an early warning system that tells you to concentrate and focus your energy in the present moment.
If you don't let it stop you, it is kind of a "heads up, ready, set, go for it!" type of feeling.
Preparation is everything. Here's one way to prepare to take your flair to work:
1. Choose a drink that you make often.
2. Break it down into it's steps and the ingredients, equipment, & tools you use.
3. work out a simple sequence of 2 oe 3 risk free moves ( ie. using garnishes or mixing tin or
ice cubes) and practice making this drink using these moves until you can do it in your sleep. Get the routine into your muscle memory.
4. When you take it to work, every time you make that drink use those 2 or 3 moves. When this becomes automatic, go back and add 1 or 2 more moves using equipment or ingredients for that same drink. Always practice in the order of moves that you usually do to make this drink. Later, move on to a different drink.
5. Concentrate on your customer rather than your self and if you make a mistake, let them think it was intentional and joke with them, ie.
if you drop the lemon garnish, smile and say "bad lemon!" Keep on going and NEVER APOLOGIZE, unless of course you spill something on your customer which you will never do.
The kind of Stage fright that stops you, usually goes away with PREPARATION. Take your job seriously, but don't take yourself seriously. Put your attention into making your customer feel relaxed, welcome and important. And start with the non-risk moves in vol. 1 of the Working Flair Starter Series. Remember, Have more fun than anyone, and Serve It With Style!
Let us know how you do.
_________________ Karen L. Young
Office Manager
www.extremebartending.com
Dare to Dream!
I would recommend that to get over your stage fright that you keep things simple.
When I first started out before my employeer purchased the extreme bartending tapes, I would just do a lot of bottle flipping and glass tossing.
I found that I wasn't nervous and my customers seemed to appreciate it more when I did less of the show offish moves and more of the functional moves.
I would tend to use the exact same routine over and over until my regular customers came to accept the simple bottle flips from one hand to another and tossing the glass over my head etc. to be part of how I served every drink.
Once they accepted this kind of presentation as standard they paid attention when I added new and interesting variances into the routines.
Joined: 02 Dec 2003 Posts: 10 Location: New Jersey
Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2003 3:22 am Post subject: stage fright
stage fright is a good thing . I have it all the time, it makes you work harder to get better.I had to be one of the opening bartenders to open the best flair bar in town , with 3 months flair experience..... its all about the entertainment, i dropped spilled and made an ass out of myself but you know what my guests smiled and came back and each time they came back they wanted me to show them more tricks. the best bartender ive ever seen in action is flippy at carnaval court , he can make the grumpiest old man smile . smiles make people come back and most of all tell friends and family which turns into repeat business. then it turns into every thursday mrs and mr bob come in and are mad because they cant sit in your station and tell the bartender ask him he knows what we drink.our stools are our business we control what we make its all about the entertainment. enough rambling ..........Flair
Stage fright... it sucks. I get it, I think in a sense, we all do. I dont know any flair people who can hit the same moves they do in the garage, or the backyard at work.
I used to have the worst stage fright on earth. I could hit wicked three bottle sequences, multiplexes, all kinds of crazy stuff when I was practicing... but at work... not so much.
I couldnt even drop a lemon into a glass with people watching, and a concrete floor underneath me.
I have since overcome most of this...
I hung up the flair bottles, and took away the mats, and started practicing with full and half full bottles in my garage bar. It was really slow at first... I was intimidated by the glass, and the concrete.. and the liquid in the bottles.
I did this for about three weeks, until the fear of dropping went away. I got to the point that I dont even really think about what is underneath me... or how full the bottles are. I must admit.. I filled a couple of trashcans with broken glass before I got over the fear.. but it works.
I think I must have ignored an important lesson I got from the seminar... practice does not make perfect.. perfect practice does.
Make your practice as real as possible. Limit the space you have to work in.. flip over a hard floor... have bright lights in your face... flipping with plastics in a wide open yard comes back to haunt you... at least it did me.
Joined: 08 Dec 2003 Posts: 9 Location: Gallipoli Italia
Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2003 4:59 am Post subject: Paura,"stage fright"
he he I do have every time I make my first drink of the night...
it is ok.
that means that we have fillings...he he he
follow the advice of our dear Karen...
ciao Karen
I am sure that you will go over the bad moment...
my little advice...
go and have your practice to the parck,
you will meet people,you will start to have more confidence with your self...
sorry my English...
I am Bad...
visit me at www.wfbs.it
I am a clone of the Jung's family
grazie ancora Scott&Karen
Anselmo Cazzaro _________________ I love life,
I love my Job.
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. It is kind of hard getting the people that I have been serving for a long time used to the new style without getting lauged at or called a show-off. Not just that the floor in our bar is almost like brick and if I drop something it will for sure shatter. I have always been able to do the little things like flip the glass from one hand to another but I want to take it to that next level. Someone out ther please help with some advice on how to get over my FEAR!! Just go out and do it does not help in my case. 
every time I make my first drink of the night... 
