(Minghui.org) I recently learned that a few practitioners were handing out Shen Yun Performing Arts flyers outside supermarkets without much consideration for the supermarket or its customers. They stuffed flyers in everyone's hand, and as a result flyers were littered in shopping carts and throughout the parking lot.
I'd like to share some of my understandings on promoting Shen Yun in shopping malls.
Being Proactive and Polite
A typical situation at our Shen Yun kiosk in the mall is that a practitioner stands by the kiosk holding flyers. They wait for passersby to take one or see who is looking in their direction before introducing the show to them. Another situation is that a practitioner gives a flyer to whoever shows interest, and that is all he/she does.
I've also observed a more proactive situation in which the practitioner sincerely greets passersby, or even jokes with them to make them feel relaxed and happy. Many Westerners are very open and kind, and treat us in the same way.
If someone shows an interest in the show, and we immediately simply hand them a flyer, I think it is rather rude, and equivalent to saying, “I don't want to talk to you. You can read about it instead.”
Those who pass by our kiosk are likely to have great predestined relationships with the Fa. It appears that they just “happen to pass by,” but it may not be a coincidence. So we should not let them miss this opportunity.
A practitioner whose third eye is open noted some interesting things she saw. “The area around the Shen Yun kiosk emits a very strong energy,” she said. “As soon as people pass by, their karma falls off in big chunks. Their bad thoughts tend to be suppressed, and its easier for them to be saved.”
When I started manning the kiosk, I did exactly what the other practitioners did by standing there waiting for people to stop, or trying to make eye contact with those looking in my direction. I soon noticed that my behavior was becoming mechanical over time.
I started thinking about how to create more opportunities to talk with people, so that those with predestined relationships would not miss the precious opportunity to hear about Shen Yun. Their knowing sides long for salvation, but their human sides need to be woken up somehow.
Master said:
“Don't treat it like ordinary people do when they distribute materials, where you've done your job when everything has been given out. You are saving sentient beings. Otherwise what are you here [in New York] for?”
“Be both a little more polite and a little more proactive. That way people won't be put off and we'll be able to give them materials, too--I think that would be better. If you wait for people to come take them, while it's possible your thoughts are on saving those people and you are telling them [in your mind] to come take it, when people's human side gets strong, the knowing side won't be able to come into play. The people in Manhattan, for example, are all really busy. Their minds might be occupied with thoughts of making money, going to meet someone, or closing some kind of deal, and so they hurriedly walk by. So while they are thinking about something, that thought you send out could make their knowing sides want to come over and take your materials, but their human sides are still strong, and so they might miss the opportunity. So, what I'm thinking is, it would be great if we could greet them politely and be a little more proactive.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York”)
Simply stuffing a flyer into a person's hand doesn't conform to Master's teachings of being polite. In addition, having given out a flyer doesn't mean that we have saved that person.
It is also not proactive to stand there quietly and send forth righteous thoughts, waiting for people to stop and ask for a flyer. I’m sure we have all experienced people walking by in a hurry, as if not even seeing us. But, if our thoughts are righteous, as soon as we greet them, they may suddenly stop, as if just awakening from a dream, and say, “Wow, this is what I've been planning to buy.” This has happened to many of us.
Putting Some Effort into It
During a training session for promoting Shen Yun, some practitioners told me to memorize a few simple phrases such as “World-class show” and “Best performance of classical Chinese dance,” and then repeat them when people pass by. I didn't find a problem doing this in the mall for the first few hours, but as time passed, it became too mechanical again, and the words weren’t coming from my heart.
One day, at a very high-end shopping center, busy crowds kept passing by, but no one stopped at our kiosk. I realized that I hadn't been putting any effort into my work. Therefore, I started to pay attention to the crowds of people, thinking about how to connect with them so they don't miss their predestined chances.
A well-dressed elderly lady was walking in my direction at that time. I smiled and said, “Experience divine culture.” After passing by me, she suddenly stopped and turned around. “Must be the best then,” she replied. I then took the opportunity to introduce her to Shen Yun, and she bought tickets for the show.
I later remembered this experience, and realized that it was because my mind was without any distracting thoughts and completely thinking about saving her.
Another time, a man quickly walked by. I didn't know where it came from, but I blurted out, “You must be an artist.” He stopped, looked surprised, and asked, “Why?” I replied, “Because you have a unique artistic temperament.”
He walked over to our kiosk, and after hearing the Shen Yun music from the TV set, he said, “This is something from the heavens.”
While I was thinking about what to say to keep people with predestined relationships from hurriedly passing-by, a well-dressed gentleman came to our kiosk and said, “Let me teach you. You need to learn how to ask questions, very good questions.”
I took this as a hint from Master, and started putting effort into studying everyday people's sales techniques. I wandered through the mall and watched how different people promoted their products.
I gradually got better at it. I kept my body straight and walked towards people with a smile on my face.
If the person looks Asian, I ask, “Are you from …?” or “Are you from Asia?” Typically they will stop and answer my question, and I can start a conversation about Asian culture.
If the person has a child with them, I may say, “The show is great for kids. Would you like to know what education experts say about the show?” I may praise the girl, saying, “You're so cute. Do you like dancing?” If the child is a boy, I might ask, “Do you want to see something really cool?”
If a couple comes by, I may ask, “Do you want to have a wonderful night out?”
If the person looks very important, I tell them that this show cannot be seen in China. If they have a faith or religion, I tell them about China's lost divine culture.
One day, a middle-aged man passed by. I said with a smile, “You look very tired.” He stopped and I told him about Shen Yun. I think he felt my good intentions.
I believe the first few seconds in meeting someone are the most important. Then, as long as they are willing to stay and listen to an introduction to Shen Yun, they will admire Shen Yun's beauty and feel the energy of compassion that is good for them.
Gradually, I came to understand that is not important to try to find the right words to say, because when our hearts are pure and we are focused on saving people, the right words will come out naturally.
Master said,
“Your enlightened, original nature will automatically know what to do.” (“Expounding on the Fa” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
As we introduce Shen Yun to people, our fields emit compassionate energy, and it gets stronger and stronger in cleansing the bad elements that try to prevent people from seeing the show. The energy is so strong that it can change a person's thoughts as they pass by.
I've noticed that if one person stops at the kiosk, there is a good possibility that the next person will also stop. Thus, our kiosk will look very popular and busy in no time. Sometimes our location in the mall appears not to be good, but the effect was unexpectedly good all the same.
I wouldn't normally hand a flyer to someone when they approached our kiosk. Besides thinking it is rude, they might just say, “Thanks. I'll read it at home.” Or if someone else then tries to give them a flyer they may just say, “I've already got one,” and pass by.
I will usually wait until they have been to the kiosk, and seen or heard what they needed to, and then offer them our flyer as they are about to leave, so they don't lose their predestined relationship with the Fa.
Any Shen Yun ticketing site, including our kiosk, is watched over by gods. Sometimes practitioners say it is hard to sell tickets at one site, but easy at another. But what I've seen is that when everyone holds the same righteous thought, things can quickly improve.
There are huge crowds at some ticketing sites, yet tickets are hard to sell there. I've seen some reasons for this:
1. The coordinator might have arranged for too many practitioners to be there, and the practitioners then tended to leave their shifts after working for only a few hours. Also some practitioners were chatting too much with each other.
2. Practitioners do not put enough emphasis on how to introduce Shen Yun to people. Perhaps it was okay to memorize a few sentences in the beginning, but after having sold tickets for so many years, couldn't the old forces be using our lack of effort as an excuse to stop people from buying tickets?
The above is my personal understanding. Please kindly point out anything improper.
Category: Improving Oneself
