Show them you know them even better than they know themselves.
Work-outs are not a sprint (unless you’re sprinting to work out). We’re in the gym for the long haul. In fact, you never stop going to the gym. The gym is a perfect metaphor for creative work. You’re consistently whittling away at your creative project. You’re constantly writing. You’re constantly creating videos. You’re constantly shooting stills. You’re constantly hosting webinars. You’re creating products that people want. You’re making connections that others do not see. Like going the gym, creativity has no end. It is a discipline, a practice. The wrong question is “Was I creative today?” The right question is, “Did I practice my craft today?” Just like, “Did I go to the gym and get after it today?” or “Did I run today?” or “Did I do the reps today?”
Practicing your craft is a psychological win. It is akin to finishing a work-out. You’ve won. The more we do the craft, the more our wins rack up, the more prolific we become. As our work improves and its output becomes noticed, the more notoriety we receive. Good or bad — it doesn’t matter. Marilyn Manson still gets press and attention. Good or bad — it doesn’t matter. He isn’t picky.
Show them you know them even better than they know themselves.
We cannot please everyone. And we shouldn’t try. If we attempt to please everyone, what we create ends up vanilla, and no one takes notice. If we write for an audience, a specific group of people, we stand a far better shot at getting attention, especially if we understand them thoroughly. It is even better if we’re members of the audience for which we write. How can you improve on group relationships in which you’re already a member? Show them you know them even better than they know themselves. If you can reflect back to them what they think, know to be true, and feel, you click with them.
Your favorite rock or country artist has a message you connect with. They form a tight bond with their audience through the music, especially when they play live for them. There may not be a tighter artistic, emotional bond in existence than the one created by live performance. The musicians push toward the audience and the audience pushes back onto the musicians. It is an ebb and flow, an energy created and shared collectively. Some of peoples’ fondest memories are of live performances they have been a part of. The artists wouldn’t be able to create this energy, this flow of live performance without daily practice of their craft. While rehearsal and sound check may be rote, they’re essential to a good show this evening. Just another part of the daily creative act taken to the road. The band will do their best to show you they know you and create a sense of belonging with you.
There is a common saying in public speaking circles that ought to be a recurring theme in each speaker’s mind whenever they give a talk: people may not remember what you said, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel. While you may think your facts and figures and graphs are important to include, they may not be as important as you think, especially when “this slide is a little hard to read…” Some speakers spend too much time on the facts, on the logic of their argument, when a better angle is to focus on the emotional aspects and its appeal. We simply do not have enough time to convince people otherwise. While speaking and comedy are both about material and delivery, we may choose to focus more on delivery — the How — than the material, the What. And, of course, putting the Who, the Audience, first. Always first.
