The Power of Specificity

I saw this interview clip with Phil Rosenthal (creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) and had to share it.

Phil briefly touches on a brilliant idea:

✨ The more specific something is, the more relatable it becomes.

He’s referring to how his sitcom leaned heavily on the exact details of Ray Romano’s real life while capturing the feeling of having a “crazy family.” That emotional truth is what gave it such broad appeal.

It’s a perfect explanation of a term we hear constantly on social media: relatability.

I used to think “relatable” meant something everyone does. But as Phil points out, it’s really about something everyone feels.

The interviewer, Simon Sinek, remarks that the specificity is the Trojan Horse to deliver the relatable feeling.

Let Them In

I’ve previously written about letting your audience into your niche, but this gave me sharper language for why that works. Something very specific you do can become far more engaging when layered with a universal emotion.

Take me, for example: I often use tweezers or the tip of a razor blade to microscopically move objects in stop-motion animation.

That’s a cool detail, but not inherently relatable.

Now, if I show the frustration of nudging the object too far and having to reset for the tenth time? That becomes a story of intense perfectionism and the frustration of hand-made art.

It’s still specific to me, but now it feels like something you might understand too.