I was reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell as I was putting it into my Book Test Buddy, and I came across a piece about Asian culture and the social causes of plane crashes.
Apparently in some Asian cultures the responsibility of understanding what someone says is on the listener whereas here in the west, we are typically quick to criticize the speaker as a bad communicator.
While this may be bad for piloting planes, it's great for artists, particularly magicians.
Magic is appreciated on a different level in Asia, with more patience, respect and attention given to a magician's performance. Asian culture seems to have more appreciation for demonstrations of highly trained skills, but also in the interpretation of a performance.
Look at the magicians who have found more success in Asia than in the US. Franz Harary, for example has had dozens of television specials all over Asia. Jeff McBride, Max Maven, Cyril, and many more have repeatedly found demand there.
I'm not criticizing our culture, only raising awareness.
In the west:
- We need to be more clear in our communication if we want our audiences to "get it".
- We need to be more engaging if we want our audiences to pay attention.
Do you need me to draw you a picture?
