I've got two tasty words for you tonight, folks: sizzle reel. I once sat in a sales meeting where the rep kept using the words "sizzle reel"over and over again. She was ranting and raving about this up-and-coming technology, and how we were going to be the pioneers. Yes, indeed! We were going to capture our audiences with our big "sizzle reel," and sell, sell, sell. Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...sell, sell, sell!!! I know all about this being in the advertising industry, wherein all that sizzles is gold.
Tonight, I had a long talk with a dear friend, and we were reflecting on our perceptions of people. He made a point to say that often times in our dealings with others, we only see the sizzle reel of a person --- the highlights, the selling points, the parts we just want to eat up. It's easy to buy into. It's what's immediate and in your face. It's a damn sizzle reel!
If we're spiteful and perhaps even obsessively don't like a certain someone, the sizzle reel might look a little more like that certain someone crackling in hell fire. For the record, the latter is not really my sizzle-steez, and frankly, it borders on darker "burn" or "roast" territories that don't do a whole lot for me.
The point either way is that it's a reel: a collection of choice moments and specific snapshots stitched together to form a mere impression of somebody else. We don't know what other people are going through at any given time. And only when we take the time to look past the sizzle reel, and delve into what is truly real do we begin to see the whole picture of a person. Taking the time is worth it --- trust me.
What I uncover beyond the sizzle reel is sometimes surprising, as in "I really had no idea this person was experiencing this." Sometimes it feels like a major breakthrough, as in "It all makes perfect sense to me now, and I'm glad you allowed me to gain a better understanding of you." Other times, the experience is a bonding one, as in "We have something in common, and this brings us closer."
The human experience, done well, connects us to others in deep and meaningful ways. We must actively seek these connections, and nurture them. And in the cases where all we see is a sizzle reel, we must trust that there is a story there --- a rich one for us to discover if we choose to invest, and one that we must respect even if we choose not to for whatever reason. The temptation to judge someone based on their sizzle reel is great. These days, I am actively trying to do that less.
An incoming UC Irvine student that I met while volunteering recently reminded me of a diversity workshop I used to lead called "Walk the Line." To summarize the activity, a series of prompts are read in a safe space, and you step forward or "walk the line" when a particular experience has affected your life. This student said something to the effect of, "I like that activity because you're almost never alone. There's always someone with you that's going through or has gone through the same thing." And she's right.
*I missed writing, so for the time being, the Passion Pig blog lives on. This post was brought to you by Bacon.*
