I was hoping to post a story this morning called: “What Selecting a Jury Teaches Us About Targeting the Ideal Audience.” But I decided to take Michael Jackson’s advice instead. The story has to wait. Here’s why.
The story I was racing to write was triggered by a chance discussion I had yesterday with a smart, young trial lawyer I know. This 30-something litigator told me how he goes about sizing up which jurors will have the maximum impact for his client.
If I could translate his insights on choosing a jury into choosing a target audience, I could help knock the wind out of the worshipers of the 18-49 audience demo. But Michael Jackson’s advice slowed me down.
I can’t remember what song Jackson was singing at the moment in the captivating new documentary “This is It” (somebody out there who has seen it please refresh my memory.)
But Michael Jackson, behind the scenes, in rehearsal for his final tour, as dazzling as ever, AT THE AGE OF 50, thought his pianist was rushing just a bit. Jackson softly gave this advice to the pianist: “Let it simmer.”
The musical moment wasn’t feeling rushed to me, or apparently to anyone in Jackson’s breathtaking musical entourage. But Jackson felt it. “Let it simmer.”
Michael Jackson’s final tour, as we see in the movie, was going to be a huge spectacle, to say the least. But that one piece of musical advice demonstrated this. For Jackson, the fireworks, the sets, the special effects – none of it interfered with the nuance of the music. Jackson felt the power of slowing down.
The Power of Slowing Down
