What’s the right way of using feedback?
Feedback is a tricky thing. We need it, but it can also drive us completely off course.
Creative work is always a result of the uniqueness of the artist and the needs of his or her audience.
Nobody creates in isolation.
Okay, some people do.
But they are probably not the example to strive for. They spend years quietly tinkering away on a creative project, only to realise that nobody cares about what they have built.
And then they repeat the process again. And again.
They only focus on what they themselves care about, without any consideration for other people.
From where I stand, this is not art.
It is not art because it is not making an impact or a contribution in any way. It might be unique work, but it doesn’t affect the lives of other people in any way.
The other extreme
You can see the other extreme in the work of many creatives who have risen to fame, but who become too obsessed with what their audience thinks and wants.
Whereas they used to be highly creative in the past, they now only think about what is popular.
All of their work is determined by what their audience expects of them. In extreme versions of this, the commentary of their audience becomes their whole content.
As a result, they are loosing their own uniqueness.
Seth Godin wrote an amazing blog post about this today. I have to share this thing in its entirety, because it is the best summary I have ever seen:
You’re devoting your life to making something important. Something helpful. Something that matters. Mostly, something that hasn’t been done before, that’s going to bend the curve and make an impact.
If you begin and end with surveys and focus groups, all you’re going to do is what’s been done before.
We’re counting on you to trust yourself enough to speak your own version of our future. Yes, you’ll need the empathy to put yourself in our shoes, and the generosity to care enough to make it worth our time and trust. But no, don’t outsource the hard work of insight and creation to the rest of us.
That’s on you.
How would I define feedback?
From where I stand, feedback means checking in with your audience from time to time. Its main goal is to see whether or not what you are doing makes sense to anyone.
You are not asking your audience to direct your work.
What you are trying to find out is whether or not people get what your work is all about.
The questions you should ask yourself are:
- is your work relatable?
- does your work succeed in touching people’s emotions?
- does your audience understand what you are trying to communicate?
The end version of your work exists in your head alone. Nobody can tell you what you should build, and how to get there.
What people can do for you is to give you an idea of whether or not what you have done so far, is having the effects that you were looking for.
Share your work in progress with a limited group of people.
Their reactions will tell you everything you have to know.
It is not so much their suggestions you are looking for. Relying on suggestions too heavily is another way of diverging from your own uniqueness. It is their reactions, which are telling you everything you need to know.
You know you are on the right track if:
- your audience understands what you are trying to say
- your message resonates with them
- you are triggering their emotions
If your work doesn’t fulfill any of these three factors, then you know that you are going to have to make significant changes. In which direction you are going to have to change, however, is up to you again.
Check in with your audience like this on a regular basis.
This is the best way to avoid the disaster of creating something, which nobody wants.
Conclusion:
Creative work is always a result of the uniqueness of the artist and the needs of his or her audience.
In order to create unique work, you have to be the one who is in complete control over your own work. Blindly accepting other peoples suggestions, is the worst thing you can do.
If you do, then it is no longer your own work.
But you can also not go without feedback completely. You need to check in with your audience on a regular basis. You need to see whether or not what you are doing is making any sense to them.
Look at their reactions.
Not at their suggestions.
Based on your audience’s reactions, you can make the decision in which direction you are going to take your work.
In this way, you remain in complete control to create something that is both unique and meaningful to people.
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