Audience of One
On the path to getting unstuck when creating.
As a part of my job, I spend a lot of time in PowerPoint.
What I’m usually doing is curating or creating content for a workshop that I need to facilitate.
I try to stay true to a simple rule: Make it clear and engaging.
Sometimes, in the process of building a workshop, I get stuck.
I’m not sure if the particular activity I’m working on will be engaging enough, or whether the content I’ve curated or created will land clearly enough.
It’s really hard to anticipate how someone in a workshop might respond to a given element, regardless of how well I know the audience.
What usually gets me unstuck, is narrowing down the audience.
Down to just one person.
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“One of my main goals starting out was that I wanted to be the artist that I would want to be a fan of. “ - Billie Eilish, Musician
“I do everything because I like, if I don’t like, then I don’t do.” - Dani DaOrtiz, Magician
“Deliver to the world what you would buy if you were on the other end.” - Charlie Munger, Investor
“We create our art so we may inhabit it ourselves.” - Rick Rubin, Producer
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The audience that really matters, is an audience of one.
You.
Design the activity that you want to participate in.
Cook the food that you want to eat.
Curate the playlist that you enjoy listening to.
Write the book that you want to read.
Look for what you find interesting, and follow that.
In addition to getting unstuck, another benefit I’ve found when applying this filter in practice, is that it’s much easier to know when you’re done.
When you’re trying to please an audience of more, you run the risk of endless tinkering. You think that if you tweak just a little more, then it will be a little more appealing. It won’t. It’s a bottomless chase.
Each time we try to please an audience of more, we’re entering the realm of guessing.
To stay within the realm of truth, focus on an audience of one.
You.
