You’re probably familiar with the phrase “seeing in the mind’s eye.” Being a visual person, every time I hear that phrase I always picture the Illuminati symbol.
Lately I’ve become increasingly aware of another such sensual phenomena: hearing with the mind’s ear. This has become more apparent to me because I’ve been spending a lot of time writing lately. I have come to find that my writing inevitably sounds much better in my head than it does once it gets out into the world.
I suppose the mind’s ear is also why everyone thinks they sound great when singing, but when it comes right down to it, most people are pretty lousy. Me included.
I work with a lot of non-creative-types and have noticed something about almost all of them. When we are discussing a project, especially ones that involve a lot of visuals, like a video, you can see in their faces that they have images brewing in their mind, but they do not have the ability to give birth to them. And if they are brave enough to doodle it out, the images do not resemble anything that I am sure is what is pictured in their mind.
They always say the same thing: “Well, I can’t draw”.
Unlike most creative thinkers, I don’t think everyone can draw, much in the same way I don’t think everyone can sing, or are proficient at other forms to expression to convey what they are getting at. Case in point, my dancing ability has been compared to a one-person riot.
Words are so very different from pictures. Words come out of your head and can be changed with a flick of the pen or a quick tap on the keyboard. Words, even in the real world, are still so abstract. They’re malleable.
Images have permanence. They are there for everyone to see. They take longer than a moment to create, so they are more easily criticized.
Can creative forms of expression be taught? Absolutely. But the key, and most of the world is unwilling to do it, is practice. I took dance lessons for 10 weeks, but never practiced and still cannot dance. My daughter took piano lessons and never practiced. She can read music and can certainly play the piano, but she does not make beautiful music.
Learning to make images is as (or often times even more…) important than using words. Giving the abstract form is key to success as a creative leader with new technologies allowing us to reach people in very exciting ways.
Make sense?