The Value of Fresh Eyes
By Jeff Whitaker
Have you ever looked at an object for a long time and fail to see the obvious? Your friends taunt and tease you. “You can’t see that? What’s wrong with you? How do you not see that?” Then you look away for a bit and re-approach the situation with ‘fresh eyes’, and magically what wasn’t seen before pops out at you now. Or maybe you’re out of ideas and you ask someone else for their perspective or advice. They might not know as much about the situation as you do, but they offer a ‘fresh perspective’, and suddenly you gain new insight and understanding.
I was recently on a call with a client. I work with this person in the area of presentation and public speaking. We were going over a very technical talk he has to give in an area of expertise in which I have absolutely no knowledge. My first thought as we began to go over his presentation was whether or not I would be able to adequately help him. Some of what he was presenting was frankly stuff I don’t understand. But as we went along, it was amazing how much I did to help him. The reason? Fresh eyes. A new perspective. I was able to raise questions about his presentation that he hadn’t thought of. By us going back and forth, me asking questions he hadn’t thought of, what was once a very technical talk took on new life. From content to flow, I brought thoughts to the table that he hadn’t yet considered.
I don’t say this to brag about what I did. I bring it up as an encouragement to you. When someone asks for your opinion on a matter or input on a situation they may be going through, don’t shy away from helping if what they are asking isn’t quite in your wheelhouse. Think about a ‘fresh perspective’ you might bring to the table. Don’t automatically dismiss your ability to positively influence or add value to someone else. You may provide that something extra that makes all the difference in someone else’s life. Who or what can you add ‘fresh eyes’ to today?
