Have you ever wondered why we cry at certain movies? Sometimes they are happy tears, often they are sad ones. How is it that we can get so involved with characters we don’t know such that within two hours, we are shedding tears for their fate?
I was asked that question by a reporter once. I came up with fancy-pants theories about family of origin issues and general cultural angst. But now I am rethinking it.
Artists use their skill to create responsiveness in their audience.
Art can amplify emotion and create great impact very quickly. But how do the artists create that intensity of feeling?
(Note: These are my notes from my conversation at TLC2010 with Jeff Zeig about his new interest and project, a documentary.)
Jeffrey Zeig, Ph.D. is the Founder and Director of the Milton Erickson Foundation, having studied intermittently with Dr. Erickson for more than six years.
Jeff spoke to us at the 2010 Therapist Leadership Conference about his current area of interest: How art amplifies emotion and creates impact. Currently, he is working on a documentary called: The Art and Science of Impact with Viktor Frankl’s grandson, Alex Vesely.
To get a sneak peek at this new documentary, please play the 3 minute video trailer below. Then let us know what you think!
(If you don’t see the video below, you can watch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9zVieFzLd4)
Let me share what I learned from his presentation:
The deepest level of rapport we can have, not only with our clients but with our children, loved ones, and friends, is called attunement. It often is created and enriched by emotional experiences.
Jeff says, “There are moments when you want to amplify emotion — in therapy and in life.” He is examining how we can have greater impact in our work and in our lives by exploring how artists use their art to create greater emotional impact for their audiences.
For example, if you listen to the first 90 seconds of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, you hear the first four, very strong notes. These notes are followed by lighter notes – going back and forth and rolling into crescendos. These contrasts (again whether in life or in our sessions) evoke emotion and can have great impact.
Often times, we as therapists sit in the same posture – session after session – and speak with pretty much the same tone of voice. But imagine if you saw a classically trained Shakespearian actor, say Richard Burton, sitting on stage like a therapist saying in a soft voice while looking at the audience, “To be or not to be?” Would that have the same impact as he would have on stage moving around and saying those words in a strong voice with pointed gestures? (Not that I am recommending you do that in session, but it is an interesting thought when thinking about evoking emotion.)
Art is about amplifying emotions so Jeff is looking at art (architecture, interior design, choreography, music composition, painting and especially movie making) and deconstructing those arts into elements of impact to learn how artists amplify emotion.
For example, when you go to the movies, attunement is really important. The director needs to get you attuned with the film to get you interested in the story. How does he or she do that? What are the auditory or visual cues or sequential techniques that help get you into the characters and feel your way into the story? If we look at how that is done, can we apply some of those techniques to our own work to create more attunement and create deeper emotional impact?
For the documentary, Jeff interviewed James Foley – an A-list Hollywood movie maker – who created 11 feature films including Glengarry Glen Ross. Jeff says, “I spent two hours with him going over the first five minutes of his movie, Perfect Stranger, with Halle Barry and Bruce Willis. The first five minutes are the title sequence. He showed me how he built attunement and created responsiveness with the audience – all in the first five minutes of the film.”
Imagine if we learned how to connect with our clients that quickly!
This documentary won’t be out this year but I have a surprise for you. I have the video trailer for this documentary which I will show you in a moment. I found it really interesting.
This documentary, again, is called: Art and Science of Impact. Jeff told me, “This project is about synergy. If we are to advance in our field, we need to do more than just immerse ourselves further within the field. Let’s look at other fields to see how they create attunement and impact. Then we can deconstruct it and apply it to our own work and relationships.”
Now – your turn …
What do you think?
Do you find that art evokes emotion?
Can you see how we easily attune with characters in a play or movie?
Might it be a good idea to see if we can deepen our level of rapport with our clients by studying how artists create emotional impact?
I look forward to hearing your comments. Please share them below in the comment section below.
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uate school business class, years ago, I studied “entrepreneurship.” This was about creating a business and selling products. At the time, I was a computer business consultant in Hartford, Connecticut, USA. I was considering starting my own computer consulting business and took this class to see entrepreneurship in the consulting business might be a good avenue for me.
On the minds of many therapists are these two questions:
Research is pointing to the idea of clinicians using a “feedback measure” (which can be as simple as a checklist or a rating scale) given to routinely to the client. These type of feedback measures, can help reduce client dropout rate and improved outcomes by as much as 50-65%.
Are you saying ‘yes’ too often?
In our therapy or coaching practices, in order to say ‘yes’ to the right things, we have to say ‘no’ to other things. Frankly, I never want to say ‘no’ to people or projects. This leads to overwork, fatigue and burnout.
In order to create the space for new opportunities, new ventures, new relationships and even new clients, there needs to be, well, space.
What do you need to say ‘no’
to so there is space for ‘yes’?
Here is a suggestion. Make a list of the activities that you have committed to – personal or professional. Estimate the time it would take to complete them all. Now, after you get over the shock of what you have committed to, begin to flag the ones that bring you love, money or joy. Then look at the ones that trigger anxiety. Do you have to do them? What would really happen if you said ‘no’?
Our profession can lead us easily to compassion fatigue. Please don’t let that happen to you. Stand up and say ‘no’ to the things that don’t serve you. I can almost guarantee that you will see new opportunities that you never saw before.
For me it will be saying no to tweaking the blog and saying yes to completing the writing of my new book, The Entrepreneurial Therapist.
What about you? What will you say no to? Please share in the comments section below.
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