Early this year, I had an opportunity to work in the audio/visual booth of my local church. A few months had passed since I last helped out. In returning, I noticed a number of changes had been made. In particular, 3 teenagers were added to the team. As we were going through the normal process of monitoring sound and video, I was asked the following question by Fred (for privacy purposes, I have withheld his real name) “maybe we should zoom the camera in”. This question really made me reflect on how far I’ve come in life, as I used to ask the same type of question. My response was twofold:
- Do what you feel is right
- Take action, ask questions later
I also expanded on the benefits of taking action, with concrete examples of positive results from my past.
As a sound technician, a lot of decisions need to be made on the fly. Delays in taking action can result in awkward pauses or delays in the production. As I ponder our brief discussion, it is my hope Fred will continue to improve and gain confidence in his craft, that he will develop a proactive mindset, not only when he is monitoring sound, but in general life.
