When you think about businesses that are selling through the roof, like Alou or Skins, sure, you think about a great product, a cool brand, and brilliant marketing, but an often overlooked secret is actually the businesses behind the business, making selling, and for shoppers, buying, simple.
For millions of businesses, that business is Shopify.
Nobody does selling better than Shopify.
With ShopPay, that boosts conversions up to 50%, Meaning way less carts are going abandoned and way more sales happening.
So if you're into growing your business, your commerce platform better be ready to sell whatever your customers are scrolling or strolling.
On the web, in your store, in their feed, and everywhere in between.
Businesses that sell more, sell on Shopify.
Upgrade your business and get the same checkout Skims uses.
Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify .com slash westwood1, all lowercase.
Go to Shopify .com slash WestwoodOne to upgrade your selling today.
Shopify .com slash WestwoodOne.
This podcast is supported by The RealReal.
Meet Christine. She loves shopping.
And this is the sound of fashion overload.
Too many fabulous things.
Not enough space. So Christine started selling with The RealReal.
I've always loved collecting designer pieces.
Gucci bags, Prada heels.
But my style keeps evolving.
Selling with The RealReal?
Game changer. I earn more, and they do everything.
Seriously. Just drop off your items or schedule a pickup.
We handle the photos, descriptions, pricing, even shipping.
You just sit back and watch your items sell.
Fast. To our 38 million members.
And I get peace of mind knowing I earn more selling with The RealReal than anywhere else.
Exactly. This? That's the sound of your closet working for you.
The RealReal. Earn more.
Save time. Sell fast. And right now, you can get an extra $100 site credit when you sell for the first time.
Go to TheRealReal .com to get your extra $100.
TheRealReal .com. That's TheRealReal .com.
Hello and welcome to the English Like a Native podcast. My name is Anna, and you're listening to Week 22, Day 5 of Your English Five a Day, the second season.
reason. This series is all about expanding your English vocabulary and giving you a resource that you can dip into daily in order to feel more confident and more like yourself when communicating in English.
Today is Friday, so I'm going to be giving you one big story that brings together all of the vocabulary we've looked at during this week.
So, sit Sit back, relax and listen.
I've graced many stages in my life, and as a result, I have a treasure trove of stories, some hilarious, some horrifying, about what can go wrong when the curtain goes up.
The truth is things always go wrong in live performance.
But if there's one golden rule every actor knows, it's this.
Smile and carry on.
Most of the time the audience has no idea what's meant to happen, so if you don't give away that something's gone wrong, they'll be none the wiser.
Let me tell you about one particularly memorable mishap.
I was working as the headline singer aboard a cruise liner, performing in a lovely little theatre in the round.
That meant the audience completely surrounded the stage.
Intimate, close and absolutely no place to hide.
There was one number where I was entirely alone on stage, singing a heartfelt ballad.
I'd enter from stage left, walk to the centre, sit on a stool and sing my heart out.
Very classy. Immediately before the ballad, however, I was part of a high energy group number.
As that number ended, we'd all dash off stage and I'd begin my lightning fast quick change for the solo performance.
performance. My assistant was brilliant at these changes, thank goodness.
She could undress and redress me in seconds flat.
However, she did have one unfortunate flaw, a rather persistent case of halitosis.
I liked her a lot, but I always had to keep a bit of distance.
It was hard to focus on lines and Velcro when I was being asphyxiated by bad breath.
Anyway, back to the quick change.
Normally, we had everything preset and ready to go.
Presetting might seem like one of those mundane tasks, but it's absolutely essential.
One misplaced strap or missing accessory, and you're a wardrobe disaster waiting to happen.
On this occasion, though, something went wrong.
My halter neck dress, a stunning backless number, wasn't cooperating.
I had to remove my bra for it, which was fine, but suddenly nothing seemed to be working.
There was fumbling.
There was panic. Shoes weren't cooperating.
A hairpiece went rogue.
We were running out of time.
Finally, at the very last second, we got the dress fastened.
Just a single strap of Velcro, holding it together at the nape of my neck.
I took a breath, flashed my stage smile and was shoved out into the spotlight.
I floated onto the stage, graceful and poised, and began to sing.
The music was slow and emotional.
I walked to centre stage, opened my arms in a theatrical gesture and pop!
hop, the Velcro gave way.
The halterneck dropped forward and with it, so did the top of my dress.
In a split second, I managed to grab it just before exposing myself completely to an unsuspecting audience.
There was a collective gasp.
An audible wave of shock rippled through the auditorium but I carried on.
One hand desperately holding up the dress while my other delivered the most heartfelt ballad of my life.
When I finally finished the song the applause was thunderous.
The audience knew exactly what had happened and loved me all the more for for keeping my composure.
Backstage, I exhaled in relief, dignity mostly intact.
But the night wasn't over.
When you think about businesses that are selling through the roof, like aloe or skins, sure, you think about a great product, a cool brand, and brilliant marketing, but an often overlooked secret is actually the businesses behind the business, making selling, and for For shoppers buying simple.
For millions of businesses, that business is Shopify.
Nobody does selling better than Shopify.
With ShopPay, that boosts conversions up to 50%, meaning way less carts are going abandoned and way more sales happening.
So if you're into growing your business, your commerce platform better be ready to sell whatever your customers are scrolling or strolling on the web, in your store, in their feed, and everywhere in between.
Businesses that sell more, sell on Shopify.
upgrade your business and get the same checkout skins uses sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify .com slash Westwood 1 all lowercase go to shopify .com slash Westwood 1 to upgrade your selling today shopify .com slash Westwood 1 this podcast is supported by the real real me Christine she loves shopping and this is the sound of fashion overload too many fabulous Not enough space.
So Christine started selling with The Real Real.
I've always loved collecting designer pieces.
Gucci bags, Prada heels.
But my style keeps evolving.
Selling with The Real Real, game changer.
I earn more, and they do everything.
Seriously, just drop off your items or schedule a pickup.
We handle the photos, descriptions, pricing, even shipping.
You just sit back and watch your items sell, fast, to our 38 million members.
And I get peace of mind knowing I earn more selling with The Real Real than anywhere else.
Exactly. This? That's the sound of your closet working for you.
The RealReal. Earn more, save time, sell fast. And right now, you can get an extra $100 site credit when you sell for the first time.
Go to therealreal .com to get your extra $100.
therealreal .com. That's therealreal .com.
A few songs later, I was back on stage for the grand finale, a glamorous group number involving two females and two male singers.
I was in a dramatic skirt with yet more Velcro involved, because nothing says showbiz like fastenings designed for toddlers.
Right in the middle of the number, disaster struck again.
The Velcro around my waist gave way and my skirt dropped dramatically to my ankles, revealing my very sensible performance knickers to the crowd.
Once again, a gasp, followed immediately by raucous laughter.
My fellow performers burst into giggles and so did I.
We were all trying to hold it together as I yanked my skirt back up and we finished the number with tears of laughter in our eyes.
After the curtain call, the whole cast dashed around to the entrance of the auditorium for the traditional post -show meet and greet.
We were usually a bit sweaty by that point and tried to avoid too much skin -to -skin contact, especially if someone had forgotten their deodorant, which happened more than you'd think.
A flood of audience members came over to congratulate me and many commented on how professional I'd been during my wardrobe malfunctions.
One man laughed and said, I thought I was in for a classy night of music.
Not a surprise strip tease.
Best night of the cruise.
booze. Oh, and let me tell you, those sequined costumes?
They may look glamorous under the lights, but they have a secret weapon.
Friction. After a few shows, I didn't need to exfoliate.
The sequins had already done it for me.
Showbiz, all sparkle, no comfort.
So, what's the moral of the story?
Simple. Things go wrong.
In fact, in live performance, things always go wrong at some point.
But if you keep smiling and carry on with confidence, you'll not only survive, you'll shine.
Because chances are, unless you make a big fuss, nobody will notice.
Or if they do, they'll love you even more for how you handle it.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, brings us to the end of our very short Friday episode.
I do hope you enjoyed it.
I hope my wardrobe malfunction brought a smile to your face.
And I would would recommend staying away from velcro until next time take very good care and goodbye
