Conversations during autograph signings

[raymund]

Hi guys,

 

last year was the first time I started paying for autographs at Showmasters events. However, whenever I actually met someone, I was just stood there next to the actor/actress in near-silence, and I found myself too starstruck to muster any interesting conversation.So I was wondering, when you meet these guests for their autographs, what kind of conversations do you have, what kind of things do you say? Is everyone talkative or does it really just depend on the person? Give me some examples of conversations you have had, I really don't know what you're allowed to say and how long you have to say it (since queues can be super long at times). Thought this would make a good discussion post, especially for newcomers although I can imagine it has been made countless times before...

Edited April 29, 2014 by raymund

[Rockstar6662]

Guests are just people. Some are outgoing and will start asking you things, others are shy and you need to instigate the conversation. I always do a bit of research in advance and think of something to ask about so there's no awkward silence.

 

Sometimes it's very random for example last time I met Torri Higginson from Stargate (for those that don't know) we managed to get talking about Cardiff as that's where I'm from originally and she has family there. And at Chevron I was talking to Rachel Luttrell about Sesame Street as she'd tweeted she had been up early watching it. Sometimes these random conversations are the best and I think the guest likes to talk about something a bit normal and not just their shows, though that's obviously not a problem either.

 

Best advice is to try and be prepared and just think of them as a person who's work you happen to like and not a big "Star" :)

 

And try to be aware of how big the queue is behind you and not expect to stand there for 10mins. If it's busy I always try and keep it to a quick comment or one quick question and move on. If it's quiet of course some guests will be happy to talk for ages.

Edited April 29, 2014 by Rockstar6662

[raymund]

I think the long queues are definitely the most off-putting part, I'm going to try and meet the guests when their queues are practically empty

Edited April 29, 2014 by raymund

[Squirtchy]

I've spent 10 minutes talking to John Rhys Davies about my work, then him working with Harrison Ford, then about working with the rest of the fellowship of the ring! Anyone know's met him thought knows he will talk for ever, he's really worth meeting. A good thing about him is HE starts the conversation! Chris Judge (Stargate SG1) is another good talker! Always shakes your hand and says hello! I've chatted to Jenna Louise Coleman about the photo i'd brought to get signed which was nice as she had a huge queue!

 

Warwick Davies was another talker, we got talking about passports, going abroad, and travelling!! Which he brought up himself!

 

As i'm writing this i'm thinking of more names of those who talk, Rose Leslie, Craig Parker, Billy Boyd, the list goes on and on!

[GoldenGreen]

Time for conversations can be limited for the very busy guests, but as someone said above the guests are just people like us !

 

Some guests will be very chatty, Brian Blessed for example, once you start you may be there a long time, although Brian will be doing most of the talking !

 

Others might be shy, which isn't that unusual for actors, because whilst they are comfortable playing roles, they are not always as comfortable playing themselves !

 

Sometimes guests can be tired or jet lagged, or perhaps like the rest of us just feeling under the weather, so there are not always going to be up for a chat so you may need to see what sort of reaction you get, but basically I would go with :

 

- Saying Hello

- Ask them are they having a good day

 

If they seem quite chatty, then I might say:

- I really enjoyed your performance in

 

If they are chatting about it, I might then ask a follow up question so you just kind of gauge it on the day.

[angelbacchae]

I love the chance to chat with my favorite actors! Normally I'm quite shy and don't talk much, but when you meet some of your idols, you're just so excited that you forget your shyness. Usually when I tell them my name (Kati), they almost automatically ask where I come from. If they have any memories or other opinions about Finland, that's something they immediately start to talk about. I might end up asking question(s) about the shows they've been or their current projects.

 

Most of the actors who I have met have been totally lovely and don't mind having a chat, even though there would be people behind me. I remember last year Noel Clarke was quite busy, but he politely asked me the general questions, "have you had fun?", "who have you seen?", things like that. But when there are long queues, I might just say "hi, nice to meet you", show them my name, take the autograph and thank them. Unless of course the guest starts a conversation. :)

 

If a guest seems to have a bad day, don't push, but respect them.

 

Be friendly. That's a very simple advice which usually leads to a very positive experience.

[LadyDeTemps]

Every times I've got autos no matter how 'cool' and 'unphased' I expect to be...it tends to go.

Hello. [insert very short statement I've been over thinking and mentaly rehersing in my head], excited squeek and or giggle, followed by 'thank you'.*

 

*I got brought up with manners I did.

[Zahariel]

I was and still am the same as you 'raymund' so I try to research something interesting to chat about briefly whilst they are signing the item but as 'Squirtchy' says its the spur of the moment things which lead to the best conversations.

 

I had a photoshoot with Robert Duncan at Chevron where he asked when I stood next to him, "What do you want for christmas?" this threw me and resulted in a very genuine smiley photo for both of us. When I went to get it signed we had a good giggle about it and how as a teacher he is used to makeing people feel at ease...

 

Alex Zahara (also at Chevron) was great too, he asked me to tell him interesting things about myself so he could tailor the personalisation to me - we had a brief chat about what Ido for a living and he seemed genuinely interested.

 

I still get nervous when talking to them - worse when you're the only one in the queue... Worst one was Suanne Braun - she had just done a semi long interview and I got all shy and just said thanks and smiled... felt like a twit too after...

[mrsmikaelson]

Every guest is different, I'm quite shy (at first or until I've had a drink!!) and some guests will pick up on that and do what they can to put you at ease and converse with you, Brian Krause overheard me talking to my mum in the queue as I handed my pic over to be signed to his assistant, I just so happened to be saying to mum that I thought it was a shame there were no shirtless shots (yes I'm shallow!!) of him like there were other guests and before I could even splutter out a hello he'd whipped his shirt up to flash his beautifully toned tummy and asked me why would I want to see this old thing with a gorgeous smile and a wink, quite how he expected me to carry on a conversation after that I will never know, to this day though it's one of the nicest encounters I've had and the fact that he was relaxed and chilled enough to do something like that was great

 

Or you could just be a clumsy devil in my Adam Baldwin photo shoot he went to shake my hand I went to put my arm round him, it was all very awkward and I ended up standing on his toes, he was lovely about it, but it had the added bonus that he remembered me when I went to get my auto from him and we had a great conversation about me being clumsy and him coming to the rescue, that and I had an Independence day photo for him to sign so we conversed around that too.

 

The easiest way is if you are shy and nervous just to go in with a nice polite Hi how are you and you can't go far wrong, with guests from overseas one of the best questions I find is are you enjoying England and are you seeing anymore of it or going straight home, that can lead to all sorts of chats and I once got a restaurant and hotel recommendation for when I visited New York.

 

And if all that fails just take some one else with you who can chat for Britain and chime in when you need to, my mum is the best she can and will talk to anyone about anything and has no fear she doesn't care if they're famous or not to her they're all just people so quite often if I'm very starstruck I let her go first and start the conversation up and then piggy back onto it from there.

 

The more events you do the less nervy you'll be, at my first con 12 years ago I couldn't speak for nerves at meeting the stars now there are only very few that render me speechless

 

 

Eeeek that post was longer than I intended

Edited April 30, 2014 by mrsmikaelson

[Wizzy5395]

I freely admit that back in 1993 I was very nervous and a little shy when I met Marina Sirtis. Whilst I was attending a Star Trek convention in Morecombe. It was my second convention.

 

But I grew in confidence as I got a little older. I found that working at a Hospital helped.

 

But most of my conversations at signings are about my name. It's been fun to see the guests reactions.

The best so far has been Rachel Luttrell's. As she actually signed the picture 'Love the name'.

[BSG_Girly]

The guests are all just people - they just have awesome jobs and we admire what they do. I totally get why people get 'starstruck' but i always just chat to them like i would anyone so topics vary from how their day has been to what their interests are.

 

I am very outgoing and chatty so I've never struggled with chatting to guests - my shy friends tend to use me as a way of chatting to guests and building their confidence as then they can just contribute to the convo that ive started :)

 

Best advice I've seen on here is just to be polite, friendly and respectful and you'll be fine. It also gets far easier with time as my first couple of cons I did get 'star struck' a couple of times with actors i totally had the hots for haha....but that was about 11 years ago now.

Edited May 27, 2014 by BSG_Girly

[minchb]

Hayden Panettiere was one of my first that I'd met back in 2007. I adored her at the time (I was 14 and she was my idol!), so when I met her you can imagine how I reacted. I couldn't speak and I was shaking, so she tried calming me down by talking to me for a minute or two. After I met her and was leaving, I turned to look at her and as she noticed me looking, she waved goodbye to me with a huge grin on her face. She was lovely and I still admire her now.

 

As I'm now older and have met many more, I'm a lot more at ease and confident with talking, they are just people like us at the end of the day. Being polite is always a definite. Just ask how they are, how their day/weekend has been, and I'm sure it could lead to more. There's nothing like meeting your favourite person .

Edited May 27, 2014 by minchb