CREATIVE DRIVE

The newsletter that answers every question a rock could have

NUMBER 23

Is empathy important to a creative person? Why should we care?

?

Excuse me, but I'm slightly perturbed right now. I had just poured two mugs of tea but then discovered that we had run out of gummy vitamins. Not one gummy could be found, but just one split in two might've saved us from the torture of the alternative: a dry, grainy multivitamin tablet with the taste and texture of a hay bale.

Surely you know the kind of "supplement" I'm talking about. What a miserable thing. It's almost as bad as the vitamin-B3 pill, which is equally large and even grainier. The failure to wash either of these bastards down with the first wave of tea will mean you'll have a heap of slowly dissolving stable muck on your palate for the next three minutes. At least the fish-oil capsule is doable. If it's taken later, the tea won't melt it prematurely.

I don't like to gripe, so I'm not a habitual complainer. This brief bitch session is true to the moment, though, and it's an appropriate example for today's discussion.

?

Your Enviable Character

Could you sense the nastiness of the ingestion I've just described? Did it make you feel somewhat uncomfortable or even piteous? Did you say to yourself, "Damn right! How dare those health-food companies make pills that nobody can take safely or conveniently! How dare they push these products that taste terrible and smell even worse!"

Congratulations. You're a person to be envied. You possess a trait of which some in the public eye–politics and golf-resort development, for example–show no evidence. The trait is empathy, which Webster's defines as "the projection of one's own personality into the personality of another in order to understand him better; the ability to share in another's emotions or feelings." I have a problem with the first half of that description, but for me the second half says it all. This is part of my Zen experience, however. My editorial client, who ran a monastery, would occasionally use the example of a sick child that needed help. He described the child's sickness as a manifestation of karma and that we must recognize it as such. If we feel drawn to the child and her plight, it's because we're empathetic. We must also be compassionate, though, in order to act on the child's behalf. So, should we act? First things come first, the master said. "You must fix your own karma, or you will be powerless to help even a small child." Wow. Holy crap, did that feel terrible. Each time he used the example, the entire work group went silent. We could only stare at our laps and wait for the master to speak again.

When You're Paid to Say Something

I tend to speak up, though, and in that case I was paid to talk. It was my job as a writer and editor to encapsulate difficult concepts; to express them in ways that would be broadly acceptable.

"Isn't it fundamentally human to feel something? Could we really have no significant desire to help the sick child?"

"Of course," the Zen master said. "We are ordinary, and we have feelings, but we are easily led by what we feel. Why do you care that much about a child when you care so little about improving your own mind?"

Hmm . . . . Huh. Again the team members stared into their laps. I understood the answer because I understood the weight of the question and how to convey it.

What do we do in meetings where, as writers or other creative sorts, we have exchanges with clients who don't make such powerful statements? For a copywriter or technical editor, it's bound to happen once in a while. You'll hear various remarks that sound utterly light-weight:

-?????? "We want our product and services to be accepted by people in new markets."

?

-?????? "We want our new product to top its category within the first year."

?

-?????? "It's important for people to know how much value they're getting for the money even if they pay relatively more for it."

?

Should you laugh? I don't think so. How about a nice, long yawn? That's a no-no, at least because of the germs. Should you pretend you have a . . . . "Oh, wait. I have a call."

The Benefit of the Doubt

Inane questions or generalized assumptions don't necessarily indicate stupidity or a lack of empathy on the part of one's interlocutors. They simply mean a client might not be as skilled in the expression of such concerns. It's okay. As a writer you possess the skill, and that's why you were hired.

If we view such questions from a different angle, we can see the objective more clearly:

-?????? "Hopefully, consumers in other countries and territories can benefit from our effort."

-?????? "We've spent a lot of time and money on the development of this product, so we need to satisfy the company's faith in our hard work."

-?????? "There is no free lunch, so you get what you pay for. The market is full of products that pretend to offer what ours does, but they're a waste of money."

?

It comes down to the ability to listen and interpret. When we pay attention and maintain eye contact–when we let the speaker know we're present and interested–the quality of shared information improves dramatically. The speaker feels comfortable and empowered, so there's less need for egoism. You, as the listener, can ask better follow-up questions that will help condense the story as a series of memorable points. Then you can return to your workspace, step into the creative zone and crank out some beautiful copy.

?

Empathy: Not for the Meek

Empathy is a quality we should cultivate. We shouldn't simply assume that the writer and intended audience will connect. After all, if we don't listen, it won't happen. So, a smart writer will be able to outline the information that's provided. Because empathy is achieved when we reflect others' feelings within ourselves, it serves as the essence of our creative process. It becomes something new as opposed to an effort that's exclusively personal.

Create only for yourself, and the message will essentially be about you and for you. Perceive the path from point A to point B and on toward the target, and your work can reflect the generosity of spirit that gives, informs and entertains. The reader will willingly walk the path with you, seeing and memorizing the highlights that you've arranged along the way. First, though, you must walk that path through the process to ensure that every marker is discernible.

A QUICK EXERCISE

Let's look at some really silly ideas for slogans and find ways to a) obliterate and b) re-express them. Are you ready? This will be fun.

1.???? You've tried the rest, now try the best.

?

2.???? The world is ready for a product like this. Are you?

?

3.???? It's simply the best-tasting dogfood.

?

4.???? Remember when girls were weird and you were king of the hill?

?

5.???? Brilliance is knowing when you're good enough.

?

6.???? The Magic of Putting It All Together!

?

My God, are they awful. They might be the worst slogans of all time. (Fact: Two of them were suggested by my clients.) Nevertheless, they contain hints of concern that we can explore. Through that process we can reframe the slogans so that they read better, sound good and make everyone happy.

Go ahead and give it a try. In a future issue I'll show you how I'd destroy and rebuild them.

?

THANK YOU for reading this issue of CREATIVE DRIVE. If you enjoyed it, get a paid subscription. Just $8 per month gets you four weekly, expanded issues with more insight and helpful information. Send a PayPal to [email protected] , and we'll place your name on our confidential list.

See you next time!

?

? Copyright 2024 by Lawrence Payne. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed without permission.