Listening

I have been thinking a lot about LISTENING this week, both listening to myself and to others. I was in Helsinki for work, script consulting on a tv series, and I also talked to the drama department at the national broadcaster there about my method as a script consultant. The talk at the broadcaster really made me think about my process, method and to question what exactly it is that I do when I consult. How come we get results, and why does it work? And I realized on my way home yesterday, a thousand miles high above the clouds, that part of it has to do with listening. One of several parts of my job when we do the workshops is that I need to really listen to be able to hear what they really are saying.

Script development, film and tv is a FEELING kind of business. What we do are supposed to have an impact on the audience. The people involved in the process all have opinions on how they see the project, all of them have opinions on what it should be, and could be. My job is to make them unite and then facilitate a way to further the development process. People rarely tell you facts, instead they tell you their feelings or their personal point of view, or what they fixed their minds into believing, and my job in this process is to find the underlying facts so I can facilitate the creative space they need. So to hear what they might actually object to, or what they truly are seeking, is a matter of being able to truly listen. It’s fascinating and so fulfilling to see the progress in the workshops, to see people create even more fascinating projects, and get greater emotional impact from the stories and characters. And what I wish is that I can become an even better listener when I am not working, because there is pure magic in being heard, listened to and deeply understood.

Johanna.

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