listening broadly and listening deeply both inspire new ideas. listening broadly exposes you to variety that you can incorporate into your own work; listening deeply gives you insight into how to capture a specific idea in your work. i’ve found that the art of listening deeply surfaces across many fields:
in drawing and design
craft matters, but drawing classes aren’t just about hand motions. if anything, my drawing and design classes have been focused on helping me deeply see – how are light and shadow meeting on this building edge? how is this color made? being able to look for and build intuition for these questions is what makes my charcoal more accurately match the world, my paint more vibrant and true.
to draw well, see deeply.
in product management and leadership
speaking well matters, but good communication isn’t just about choosing the right words and saying them confidently. if anything, my experiences as a product manager have been focused on helping me deeply listen – why is my coworker feeling troubled about our approach? what is this user really thinking when they use the product? being able to listen for and ask after these questions is what makes highly effective and empathic leaders.
to communicate well, listen deeply.
in music and conducting
how you move your arms matters, but good conducting isn’t just about precise motions. if anything, my conducting class has been focused on helping me deeply listen – how are the violins in conversation with each other? how is the viola adding depth and color, or the bass driving the harmonic transition? how does the timbre of the string articulation affect the emotion? being able to listen for and account for these questions is what makes a conductor connect with her musicians.
to conduct well, listen deeply.