The last entry in this series of lessons I’ve learned from performing poetry was about emotionsmithing and ensuring that we think about what emotions we want to drive with our communications before getting very specific about word choices.  This week I want us to think about stepping into the shoes of another person and persona poems. 

Most of the time when I write poetry I write it from my perspective.  It could be about a wide range of topics, but it’s usually written from the perspective of how I view the world.  Every now and then, I’ll write something called a persona poem.  A persona poem is written from the point of view of another person or thing.  Sometimes these can be comical and light hearted.  I’ve heard poems written from the point of view of Simpson characters and even from Dracula telling Stephanie Meyer how much the Twilight books sucked.  Sometimes these can be heavy and emotional for a variety of reasons like these two poems “Her Name” a poem told from the point of view of someone with Alzheimer’s by Khary “6 is 9” Jackson or this one by Sierra DeMulder.  Fair warning, Sierra’s poem is like an episode of Criminal Minds.

In these situations poets go beyond just looking at the world in unique ways, and instead try to step into the shoes of another.  They think about what experiences that person is going through and how those experiences would impact them.  They step away from their own biases and try to see something new through fresh eyes.  They go beyond the surface and find true depth.  This is hard to do.

So you’re probably wondering what this has to do with anything.  I feel there are three connections. 

• The first connection is about us taking the time to understand each other as we form and build relationships with each other.  The older I get, the more I realize my sliver of the world is so very small, and that the people I walk by everyday see and experience things in ways that I could never dream of.  How often am I trying to see the world as they do?

• The second connection is our ability to take on the persona of the customers we serve.  I feel that we spend our days talking about customers, but how often do we really stop and try to step into their shoes?  How often do we shake off all of our bias and view the world from their eyes?  I know I don’t do it often enough. 

• The final connection revolves around communicating with each other regarding work stuff.  As we share information, how often do we stop and say, “I wonder how they are piecing this together in their worldview?”  My best communication stories come from when I’ve put in the time thinking through things from other people’s perspective.  It’s about taking the time to say, “If I was Bob, how would I view this information?  If I was Susie, what questions would I ask?”  Whenever I’ve taken the time to do that I’ve been exponentially more effective.

The challenge: Are you dropping your biases and viewing the world from other people’s eyes on a routine basis?

Bonus: “Haiku from an Aging Lighthouse”

My old light flickers.

My eye shuts for the last time.

Night falls and boats crash.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry