Intriguing dream last night...
I had an intriguing dream last night. The same idea repeated itself a number of times throughout the wee hours of the night in different contexts. I'd wake up, fall back asleep and slip into the same theme.
It had to do with our work, so I thought I'd like to share it with you. I was teaching a course on moderating skills one moment and then on psychotherapy skills in the next.
It was one of those sequences that would be impossible in real life but somehow makes such sense in the dream.
In the moderating class, we were talking about testing concepts and ads. I was pointing out the error of asking "dislikes" and instead redirecting class members to ask about possible improvements.
The scene switched to a class of psychotherapists. I again noted the importance of inviting clients to think of how they might like to improve rather dipping into the quagmire and drowning in what was "wrong."
The same sequencing repeated, repeated, repeated. I kept hearing myself say, "Ask them what they want to IMPROVE about [product, ad,] rather than what they don't like."
And in the psychology class, "Ask what they want to improve, NOT what's the problem."
In a therapeutic environment, asking about the problem can result in self effacing experiencing that spirals down into depression.
Asking the converse, "What would you like to improve?" has a much different effect. It's liberating. Instead of embarrassing or humiliating the client, [s]he can be inspired. The same information is being requested but from a positive perspective.
Asking what can be improved suggests that there is something which could be better. That's true of all of us no matter how well our lives are going. More importantly, because it's true for everyone, people are more comfortable thinking about positive changes. You actually elicit more information.
It's much more motivating to chart progress on a positive scale, even if you're starting low than it is to position yourself on your personal "disgusting" meter. People who come into therapy trashing themselves have a hard and long road to self worth.
It takes caring compassionate support to get them onto the road of inspiration.
The same is true of optimizing a concept, product or ad. We need feedback to grow the opportunity from whatever starting point on the possible improvement scale. We want to avoid crib deaths for baby ideas, as well the angry gang effect in a hostile environment.
Sounds simple, right?
Yet, how often do we ask dislikes in a study? Have you noticed how reluctant people are to say what's wrong? Unless there's a gross disparity between consumer needs and the offering, most ideas are returned with far more Green marks [likes] than Red marks [dislikes].
And, you may also notice that the lion's share of Red marks come from the designated nay-sayers in the group. [Generally, the Grumpy's, Sneezy's and Doc's in the group (Snow White Test Personality Types)]
Doesn't it make sense that people in a focus group situation would tend to be polite. Unless they have a major ax to grind, they are likely to try to spare us of their concerns ["not really that big a deal."]
But if you invite participants to make it better and give them a little time and the opportunity to think about it as a positive benefit for them, you give the idea room to grow.
So, forgive me if I'm preaching to the choir. The dream re-focussed me on goals instead of looking for the problem.
I started my morning making a list of all the things I wanted to improve for myself
- drink more water
- eat more vegetables
- try the Pilates machine I got for Christmas
- etc. etc.
That felt so much more inspiring and energizing than giving myself grief.
So, what improvements would you like to make?