There will always be people in a choir who inspire others for very different reasons:
They:
have a beautiful voice
have a strong and secure voice that is easy to follow and gives confidence
always seem to know what they are doing
have learnt the songs off by heart
encourage new members
wear interesting/different clothes
turn up each week, always have their music well organised
have made notes that the MD gave in previous rehearsals
their general demeanour during a rehearsal is very positive and supportive
do many things for the choir outside of the rehearsal
Recognise those people and genuinely tell them why they inspire you or what you feel they do so well, this will make them feel valuable and good about themselves and make you feel good too. You never know but a return compliment might be forthcoming and you might learn something about what you do that inspires somebody.
I have learnt that people find it hard to give genuine compliments directly to the person in question. They might tell others what they think is good about a particular person but never say so to their face. I wonder why?
Learning to accept a compliment is hard too, a lot of people just tend to brush it aside as nothing special. If you receive a compliment just say thank you and smile. It is the other person’s opinion after all and they can’t be wrong.
New members especially might feel nervous and need support. Remember a time when you felt nervous and new to a situation, what was it that somebody did for you or said to you that helped you calm down a little or boosted your confidence? Something that comes very easy to one person can be very difficult for another and people who are naturally good at something don’t always understand why that can be so hard for others.
Exercise
Who inspires you and why? Have you told them? Why not?
What might you be doing that inspires others? What would you like to be doing that inspires others?
