using alter-egos to deliver feedback (to start)
Sometimes an alter-ego can help you convey a difficult message. The message may be difficult for you; it might be difficult for the recipient. In both cases, the alter-ego sorta dislocates the feedback from you. It can allow you and the recipient to look at the feedback as a distinct, third thing that isn’t telling a story about either of you or your feelings. The alter ego lets the feedback be a thing that can improve the work and doesn’t assign it other responsibilities it can’t carry so well.
A couple of examples:
“Dumb, cheerful guy/gal/person”: Ben will often look at a problem that seems thorny and layered to the leader responsible for solving it. With the benefit of some distance and a lot of pattern-matching experience, Ben can see a relatively simple solution, one that might deliberately hold aside some of the brambly context. Hearing this kind of solution can be hard for the leader enmeshed in that context. So Ben proposes the solution in character, as “dumb, cheerful guy.”
“Savage cuts guy/gal/person”: When I’m editing scripts for Posters, I have a harder time than our lead writer and host does with cutting out material. I fall in love with the research he’s done and the jokes he’s written; I experience some stark loss aversion. But James needs me to hold a high bar for episode quality and duration. Without significant cuts to early drafts, we’d have super-long unfocused episodes that aren’t good. So I become “Savage Cuts Guy” and in the comments on the google doc, propose more dramatic changes than regular Eric ever would.
A better pattern to reach for is one where these personas aren’t necessary, where they take unnecessary time or words, and you can just say the thing directly, unadorned, as yourself. For some amount of time, the alter egos can prove out the safety and utility of the feedback to both of you. Ideally, you get enough reps with this kind of feedback that the alter ego can melt away. You, as yourself, offer the direct, simple solution. You slash the script to its valuable essence.
-ben and eric
