The Empathetic Storyteller, Part One
I just returned from an internet marketing conference in New York. Internet marketing doesn’t have the greatest reputation, especially within our highly-educated, mostly liberal, and sometimes anti-capitalist tribe of independent documentary film makers.
Consider this. “Documentary filmmaking” is equally distasteful to a large segment of the U.S. population. When they hear the words, what do they think? Ugh. Bleeding heart liberals. Michael Moore-like propaganda. Whiny. Negative. Self-indulgent.
The reason I went to an internet marketing conference was to learn how to develop better online seminars to help documentary filmmakers craft a compelling film. My biggest takeaway? “Focus on your customer, not the cash” was drummed into our heads hourly. Are you surprised?
And the reason you’re making your documentary, despite what some people might think, is probably to help a wide range of viewers (not just the “converted”) live more informed, socially-conscious and fulfilling lives, right?
The challenge that I’ve sometimes shared with my fellow documentary filmmakers is keeping my end-user in mind as I overzealously spreading the word. At times, frankly, I’ve turned off potential clients or customers with my enthusiasm for my seminar or book.
Do you know a filmmaker who suffers from a similar self-centric enthusiasm that blinds them to their audience? Are you possibly one of them? If so, take solace in one of my favorite phrases, “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough.” And then, learn from your mistakes!
How? By learning to exercise audience empathy.
Specifically, if you sense you might have lost sight of your viewer because you’re enamored with your message, try this exercise that I’ve adopted. Ask yourself every day, “How would my potential viewer (“customer”) react to this___________ (scene, line of narration, soundbite, etc.)?”
Audiences (and clients) can smell genuine empathy within seconds. I believe that if we who have something creative and visionary to give the world will work to deliver our gift, by putting ourselves continually in the shoes of our audience, we’ll be serving the world with our talents rather than our egos.
Stay tuned for part two of “The Empathetic Storyteller”, in which I reveal a powerful technique for reaching and engaging viewers who come to your film’s topic or point of view with deep skepticism.
I’ll end with a plug for my popular course, which I just taught a few weeks ago at the San Francisco Film Society. It’s now available online. To learn more about innovative documentary storytelling techniques that will attract large audiences, check out “Editing the Character Driven Documentary” at https://newdocediting.com/land/editingdocumentaryecourse/.