Talk Less
I don't draw enough. I know from abundant experience the limitation of relying on words and their inherent inexactitude. Language is slippery despite its promise of accuracy. However talented a speaker, I can still fail, and often do, to evoke the same image in my audience's mind that is in mine. Draw a picture, however crude—and sometimes the more basic the better—and ambiguity begins to evaporate. Having an image also provides a prototype that can be marked up, modified, and discussed in ways that words can't. Being able to communicate the new is as essential and envisioning it, if not more so. Struggling to convey an idea with a colleague earlier this week, creating a quick, and very basic sketch, opened up a world of clarity and helped me understand the concept I was considering better. Despite knowing this, drawing isn't my first impulse. When faced with a challenge, I revert to my strongest muscle, language, and then exercise it to exhaustion in an attempt to make it work. I realized this habit in an urban dance class once where, faced with a rhythmically physical challenge, I tried to "think" my way through the series of moves…to great comic, and very clumsy effect! I struggled to watch and feel and exercise a different kind of intelligence. I've mediated my share of internal conflicts rooted in fundamentally verbal misunderstandings. Innovation at whatever scale, requires proactive understanding to overcome perceived risks, and is often prematurely killed because of a lack of it.
