How (and Why) to Ask "Craft Questions"
TAoN No. 149: A prompt from author — and now podcaster — Dan Heath. Plus a new Icebreaker, and more
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Recently I was intrigued to learn that author/speaker Dan Heath had launched a podcast with an interesting and distinctly curiosity-driven theme. In What It’s Like To Be…, Heath interviews people about their work: a criminal defense attorney, a forensic accountant, a TV meteorologist, etc. But he has a particular angle: Often, even when we know what people do for a living, we don’t know how they actually go about doing it. And those details are what made him curious.
Heath has described the project as an exercise in “slow curiosity” — interviews about the specific nuts and bolts of a range of jobs, without chasing some specific payoff. “Curiosity can be a means to an end,” he wrote. “But couldn’t it also be … the end? A reward in itself?”
Of course my answer would be: Yes! And to me what Heath is up to here is committing an “act of curiosity:” Having noticed something that made him wonder, he set out to actively satisfy that wonder. The resulting podcast is sort of like a Song Exploder for work, deconstructing one profession at a time.
In the spirit of active curiosity, I asked Heath if he could share a prompt or challenge to TAoN readers inspired by the podcast, and what he’s learned so far. He graciously offered the excellent idea below, suggesting what he called “craft questions.” Here’s Heath:
In the show, I really enjoy asking questions about methods and tools and approaches. I asked a stadium beer vendor about his favorite tools, and he waxed nostalgic about a can opener he used in the old days that let him pour beer quickly and without foam. A hair stylist told me about his $1000 scissors from Japan and the way they balance perfectly in his hands. It's fun to understand the craft involved in people's jobs.
So my challenge would be: Ask someone a craft question. Show interest in the way they do their work. Not "How's your job going?" or "What's going on at work?" More like: (barista) "How do you get those cool swirly hearts on the latte foam?" or (nurse) "When you can tell someone's afraid to have their blood drawn, what do you do?" I think you'll be surprised by how much those craft questions can energize your conversation.
This is terrific, on two levels. Not only are “craft questions” a great way to learn surprising details, but (as Heath suggests) they reflect actual engagement that the person you’re asking will appreciate.
Ask a craft question — listen to the answer, and ask more.
My sincere thanks to Dan Heath! Check out What It’s Like To Be … here or (as they say) wherever you find your podcasts. And check out Dan’s books here.
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Noticing is about other people, too. The Icebreaker series aims to help with that. There’s a central collection spot for all the icebreakers to date, here.
Today’s icebreaker comes from reader Andrea Trancoso:
When have you felt touched by something larger than yourself?
An interesting question, because I think we all want to feel like we’re part of something larger. My thanks to Andrea! She’s on Instagram here.
Please send your favorite icebreaker (whether you made it up or found it elsewhere) to consumed@robwalker.net
IN OTHER NEWS
“In SEEING DIFFERENTLY: Miami Color Theory, graphic designer, photographer, and artist Laura Paresky Gould depicts the vibrant beauty of Miami while teaching engaging lessons about seeing and art. Photography can be meditation with your eyes open.” More on the book here. Check out the related, beautiful IG account here. Good stuff!
Excellent New York Review essay on Ed Ruscha: “the interest in the overlooked; the taste for marrying grandeur to understatement; the sneaky profundity; the complete absence of snark.” Really wish I could see the MoMA show :(
Some highlights from a famous typewriter collection.
Steve Heller on the amazing series of salons that Paola Antonelli has been running at MoMA. Watch them here.
A bonkers R.E.M. concert with 16-song encore set, from 1985.
OKAY THAT’S IT!
As always, I value your feedback (suggestions, critiques, positive reinforcement, constructive insults directed at me, not at anyone else, etc.), as well as your tips or stories or personal noticing rituals, things we need a word for, and of course your icebreakers: consumed@robwalker.net. Or use the comments.
—> Or just click the heart symbol. That always makes my day.
And thanks for reading …
rw
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All this by Rob Walker PO Box 171, 748 Mehle St., Arabi LA 70032. Send me mail!
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Reminds me of a story a friend told me. She was an award winning hair stylist. She told me of a fellow student who took an hour to cut hair while others were able to do the job in ten minutes. They wondered how he would make a living raking so long. Fast forward to his career—he owned his own salon and charged big bucks and women eagerly paid because that hour was as luxurious to them as an hour long massage might be to the rest of us humans. Sometimes what seems like a handicap can actually be your hallmark that makes you rich.
Curiosity may be the most powerful characteristic of lifelong learners...it is also a necessary part of meaningful interpersonal connections.