Testing, Testing, 1-2-3

I heard this conversation the other day while standing in line at the bank. It was very interesting, and eye opening to a degree.

Man: Do you like asparagus ice cream?

Lady: I don't know. I've never had it. What does it taste like?

Man: Well, it's kind of hard to describe. It really doesn't taste like anything else.

Lady: Could I try it?

Man: Well, I have two spoons. You could have a little bite of mine. (I guess they knew each other?)

Lady: Ok, I'm game. (She tastes the small spoonful of asparagus ice cream, and a funny look comes over her face.)

Man: So, what do you think?

Lady: I'm not sure. I've never tasted anything quite like that before. I don't hate it. I don't love it. I'm not sure what I think.

Man: So you're saying the jury's still out on asparagus ice cream?

Lady: Yeah, I'd have to have more of a taste before I could really tell you how I feel about it.

Man: Fair enough. Let's go get you a bowl.

Lady: OK! (She smiles, and they walked out, apparently headed to get a bowl of asparagus ice cream.)

Now, my first thought was, "Who in the world would eat asparagus ice cream?" Once I got past that tasteless idea, I began to think how their conversation applies to me.

Testing, in general. Song testing, in particular. Pre-testing, to be exact.

I've often wondered if we give folks enough of a "taste" in pre-testing to allow them to determine whether they like a song or not. And the jury's still out on that for me. I'm still not sure what I believe at this point.

But I have determined one thing. I'm going to try to offer a bigger bowl in the future, as I strive to be a better tastemaker.