Learning to think and craft ideas, and to creatively express ourselves, is a contribution to our community and a way of participating in the conversation of culture.
That conversation is multi-directional: Developing appreciation for ideas and stories and experiences of other people, and the ability to pay detailed attention to them, are intrinsic to creativity.
For the pragmatists, yes, there are benefits: the ideas of others are nutrients to plow into your creative fields, and nourish the seeds of your own ideas.
But silence, observation and listening have their own rewards.
Audience
As creators, we are used to thinking of audience as a kind of target: who will see this or hear this, and who won’t? What are we trying to communicate, and to whom? Audience is that set of people we’d like to enthrall with our performance or ideas.
When we go to a gallery or a performance by other artists, we think of ourselves as members of their audience.
But audience has a meaning beyond groups of people. Its roots in the romance languages are the same as those for the word audible, and relate to hearing and listening. Audience isn’t merely a group you focus on or join, it is something you can give — the gift of your attention.
Giving an audience might bring to mind antiquated notions of royalty, of a higher class deigning to a lower one. Forget that association, or, even better, reverse it: in a world with so many stimuli clamoring for our attention, paying attention is an act of elevation.
If creative expression is a mix of thinking, exploring, articulating, crafting, presenting, sharing, and storytelling, the flip side of that process is listening, observing and absorbing.
The final exercise for May: Make space in your life to behold and appreciate the lives and stories of those around you.
Put down your pen, don’t go to the studio, don’t click the shutter on your camera, don’t put a fresh canvas on the easel.
Set your ideas aside for a little bit, get out of your own head, and let someone else fill it up for a while.
A Few Tips for Listening
Don’t judge, or wear your own opinions on your sleeve. You often learn more about a person if you are open and receptive, rather than framing the conversation with strong statements about who you are or what you do or don’t believe.
Focus on the details — in the moment. Don’t get caught up in taking notes, or thinking about your next piece, or thinking of their words in some other goal-oriented context. Leave your own projects and plans for another time. Listen without pre-text. Notice their cadence and emphasis: What catches their throat? What brings out a gleam in their eyes? What makes their eyelids flutter?
Don’t anticipate or interpolate. Don’t fill in the blanks and assume you know what you don’t know. Ask questions carefully — if at all.
Be patient. Don’t rush the other person. Part of making space is also making time.
Let silences happen. Let the other person unfold the stories they want to tell, the way they want to tell them. The best parts often come after pauses.
Practice empathy. Listen to understand another person’s perspective, not reinforce your own.
Show reverence. Both verbally and non-verbally, let them know you appreciate their time, and their sharing their life with you.
If you enjoyed this post, you may want to read past exercises.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for this series of thoughtful exercises!
The phrasing for audience made me think of how important it can be to have an audience of any kind — that audience enables us to “be heard” and provides a sense of connection.
Flipside, really listening to people with empathy reminds us “it’s not all about me and what’s in my head” … we are not creating all alone in some void — we are part of humanity, we are connected, immediately, in this world.
I hope you will add more exercises in June.
Thank you, Barbara. I do plan to continue posting exercises, at a slightly slower pace than May: probably one or two a month.
I think that sense of hearing and connection and feedback is really vital to artistic — and personal — growth.