At the start of his interview, Brandon Stanton asks a very simple yet powerful question. “…Are you truly listening to the person in front of you or are you trying to fit them in to some view of the world or some sort of message you’re trying to preach?” It is not rare in this day and age to find a person or community’s story twisted to fit a political agenda. Stanton discussed how the essence of Human of New York is to take the story for its face value without the political twists, to the point where if he feels someone is purposely trying to change their story, he will call them out on it. The Harvard Political Review video pinpointed what HONY is about and what Stanton’s vision for it is. There is a lot of truth and good in wanting to get the story for what it is and not the bells and whistles that are supposed to come along with it. I think that is extremely valuable considering the society that we live in, a society where the basic story is often lost.
ITT Institute of Design defined the term ethnography as seeing the world through the eyes of different people. On a deeper level, it is trying to understand who people are and why they do what they do. They described the correct and incorrect ways to interview a subject to extract the best information possible. As simple as it sounds, it is important to remember that all verbal and non-verbal communication can have a huge impact on the flow of the conversation. I appreciated the way that the ITT Institute of Design broke down the process to digestible pieces. One thing they stated that stood out to me was the difference between being a fly on the wall versus a participant observer. The ide of the fly on the wall is false because in reality we act differently when people are watching. The term participant observer is acknowledging that being there has an impact on the actions of the subject. This is something that I will take with me as I interview people, as the tone and mood are the difference between a good and bad interview.
Both videos delved into the importance of focusing on the subject for who they are and what their story is. Keeping the focus on the story that is presented and not necessarily the bigger political issue is vital to truly capture what each person has to offer. Before I walk into an interview, I am going to keep Stanton’s question in the back of my mind.
It can be very hard to simply listen. Difficult but powerful.