Power of Communication Excerpted in FastCompany.com
FastCompany excerpted Chapter 9 of the book: Audiences: Attention, Retention, and How Hearts and Minds are Won:
Expert Perspective
Hijacking Emotion Is The Key To Engaging Your Audience
BY Helio Fred Garcia | 05-08-2012 | 9:45 AM
This article is written by a member of our expert contributor community.
The default to emotion is part of the human condition.
To better appreciate the role of emotion and what it allows an audience to do, we need to take a brief detour into evolutionary biology. The human brain can be understood as three separate brains working in tandem, if not completely integrated with each other.
To better appreciate the role of emotion and what it allows an audience to do, we need to take a brief detour into evolutionary biology. The human brain can be understood as three separate brains working in tandem, if not completely integrated with each other.
The primitive brain and the limbic brain collectively make up the limbic system, which governs emotion. Within the limbic system, there is a structure called the amygdala, which leaders need to understand.
When faced with a stimulus, the amygdala turns our emotions on. It does so instantaneously, without our having to think about it. We find ourselves responding to a threat even before we’re consciously aware of it. Think of jumping back when we see a sudden movement in front of us, or being startled by the sound of a loud bang. We also respond instantaneously to positive stimulus without thinking about it: Note how we tend to smile back when someone smiles at us; how we are immediately distracted when something we consider beautiful enters our line of sight.
The amygdala is the key to understanding an audience’s emotional response, and to connecting with an audience. It plays an important role in salience, what grabs and keeps our attention. In other words, attention is an emotion-driven phenomenon. If we want to get and hold an audience’s attention, we need to trigger the amygdala to our advantage. Only when we have an audience’s attention can we then move them to rational argument.
I have become somewhat notorious in the programs I teach at NYU for the way I start each class. I teach all-day sessions on Saturdays, and as the 9 a.m. start time approaches, most students are still milling about, getting settled, and chatting with each other. At precisely 9 a.m. I touch a button on my remote mouse and play a sudden blast of very loud music. Most of the time it’s the chorus of “Let’s Get It Started” by the Black Eyed Peas, but to keep the element of surprise I sometimes vary the selection. After a 10-second burst of very loud music, I have every student’s undivided attention. I then lock in the connection: I smile, welcome them, thank them for investing a full Saturday in developing their careers. Only then do I begin the class. I have hijacked their amygdalas. We need audiences to feel first, and then to think.
Five Strategies for Audience Engagement
When leaders are speaking to audiences that are under stress–even if the audience is merely tired or distracted–the leader can take the amygdala into account in determining how the content is structured and how the audience is engaged. Here are five ways to engage effectively:
- Establish connection before saying anything substantive. And remember that the connection is physical. Techniques to connect include asking for the audience’s attention, if only with a powerful and warm greeting, followed by silence and eye contact. The key is to make sure the audience isn’t doing something else so that they pay attention.
- Say the most important thing first once you have their attention. The most important thing should be a powerful framing statement that will control the meaning of all that follows. Remember that frames have to precede facts.
- Close with a recapitulation of the powerful framing statement that opened the presentation.
- Make it easy to remember. Keep in mind how hard it is for people to listen, hear, and remember. One way is to repeat key points. I often hear from clients, “But I’ve already said this. I don’t need to say it again.” Or, “I don’t want to say it again.” Or, “If I have to say this again, I’ll throw up. I’m tired of repeating myself.” But leaders need to constantly repeat the key themes, within any given presentation, and in general as a matter of organizational strategy. It doesn’t matter if they’re bored with saying it. The audience needs to hear it, again and again. And again. As a general principle, people need to hear things three times if they are to even pay attention to it. And because any given audience member at any time may be distracted or inattentive, he or she is unlikely to hear or attend to everything that is said. So leaders need to repeat key points far more than three times to be sure that everyone has heard it at least three times. One of the burdens of leadership is to have a very high tolerance for repetition.
- Follow the rule of threes. Have three main points. But no more than three main points; no more than three topics; no more than three examples per topic. Group thoughts in threes; words in threes; actions in threes. (See how I just used the Rule of Threes in that sentence?) Think of Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address: “We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.”
The default to emotion is part of the human condition. The amygdala governs the fight-or-flight impulse, the triggering of powerful emotions, and the release of chemicals that put humans in a heightened state of arousal. Humans are not thinking machines. We’re feeling machines who also think. We feel first, and then we think. As a result, leaders need to meet emotion with emotion before they can move audiences with reason.
The following is an adapted excerpt from The Power of Communication: Skills to Build Trust, Inspire Loyalty, and Lead Effectively by Helio Fred Garcia, printed with permission from FT Press, a publishing imprint of Pearson.
[Image: Flickr user Howie Le]
Winning Hearts and Minds at the National Level
Marrakech Mosque at Sunset
Over the past 8 months I have had the good fortune to spend time in Beijing, Paris, Zurich, and Marrakech, Morocco, speaking with leaders of governments, the military, religious institutions, humanitarian organizations, universities, and other social institutions.
And in my travels I detected something I hadn’t noticed before: a meaningful deterioration in the regard with which the United States is held. Not about particular events, but a general decline in respect and admiration. Not of Americans, but of the nation’s role in the world.
I’ll blog about this more later, but Sunday’s New York Times has a series of pieces that prompt me to revisit those observations and also to use them as a teachable moment to illustrate some key principles from my latest book.
Now Available: The Power of Communication: Skills to Build Trust, Inspire Loyalty, and Lead Effectively
Now in Circulation
Friends,
I am pleased to announce that The Power of Communication: Skills to Build Trust, Inspire Loyalty, and Lead Effectively is now in circulation!
Worth Reading, Apr 23, 2012
A few useful research reports have been published in the last two weeks, in addition to the usual interesting commentary that caught our eye.
- Pew Internet on “Digital Differences”: The Pew Research Center summarizes the findings by saying, “One-in-five [American] adults do not use the internet. The difference between that group and the majority of Americans who do go online remains strongly correlated with age, education, and household income, which are the strongest positive predictors of internet use.” The full report is here. This is helpful research to remember when thinking about communicating with audiences, and one question to ask in communication planning: who might your organization be missing and how can they be reached if not through online means?
- Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report: NTEN, Common Knowledge and Blackbaud released the “2012 Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report,” its 4th annual report on how nonprofits are using social networks. Additional analysis and data highlights in a guest post on Beth’s Blog.
- Pulitzers and Online Reporting: The Nieman Journalism Lab blog has a good analysis of the impact and effects of online journalism in this year’s winners.
- Why Is Trust in Media Falling?: Jay Rosen breaks down the question of why Americans have such low trust in media today, asking “What Explains Falling Confidence in the Press?“
- Local News: Despite lower trust in media overall, most Americans still turn to local news sources. Pew’s recently released study on local news found that “72% of Americans follow local news closely,” and the report details additional media consumption habits of this group.
- USC Annenberg Gap Study: USC Annenberg published its “Communication and Public Relations Generally Accepted Practices (GAP VII)” study, on the “current state of the PR industry.” A helpful breakdown of key findings and what they mean for corporate communicators and agencies is also on PR Squared.
- On Reputation: A thought-provoking article from the Economist on corporate reputation is worth reading, “What’s in a name? Why companies should worry less about their reputations.” Not surprisingly, many disagree, and Dr. Leslie Gaines-Ross has a thoughtful response on her blog.
- Corrections and Broadcast TV: David Carr of the New York Times commented on the curious disparity in how broadcast news handles corrections versus print news, in light of how NBC handled the correction to its use of an audio clip on the Today show that was “misleading, incendiary and dead-bang wrong.”
- The Navy and Twitter: The US Navy was a recent victim of self-inflicted harm, when someone mistakenly sent a personal tweet from the Navy’s official Twitter account. However, the damage was contained early and was minimal, and they shared some lessons learned from the incident.
Worth Reading: The Power of Communication: Skills to Build Trust, Inspire Loyalty, and Lead Effectively
Friends, I’m very pleased to announce the pending publication of my new book, The Power of Communication: Skills to Build Trust, Inspire Loyalty, and Lead Effectively. It is being published by FT Press/Pearson.
The formal publication date is May 6, but pre-orders are available now for both print and e-books, individual or bulk orders. E-book versions will be available April 26 directly from FT Press. Amazon says that pre-ordered books should be received by customers in New York by May 9. Bulk orders at a discount can be made at CEO Read.
Worth Reading, Apr 9, 2012
- Women and Leadership: Since 2007, McKinsey has produced an annual report on the state of women and leadership, and the latest report came out last week. This year’s “Women Matter” found, “Today, women remain underrepresented on corporate boards and executive committees.” The report details the business case for gender diversity in senior executive positions, how top companies are achieving greater gender diversity, and how others can implement programs to continue to advance the role of women in senior management.
- Viral Videos: Interesting research on what makes “ads go viral” and more likely for people to watch, from Harvard Business Review. (Full article via registration or subscription, but the embedded video in the article is equally worth watching.)
- Invisible Children/Kony 2012 Sequel: Speaking of viral, Invisible Children last week released a follow-up video to the original Kony 2012 video, which since its release became the most viral video to date. The sequel addresses many of the criticisms leveled at the organization and the campaign.
- Remembering Mike Wallace: Many reflections about legendary reporter Mike Wallace, who died this weekend at the age of 93, including from CBS News & Morley Safer, and the New York Times.
- Facebook: When we last left off, there was significant discussion of employers asking for access to employees’ Facebook pages. The House rejected proposed legislation there that would have taken up the matter, but other measures are still underway.
- McDonald’s and Social Media: The director of social media at McDonald’s, Rick Wion, did an interview recently and talked about how they’ve responded to critics hijacking their hashtags on Twitter, and their broader strategy for various kinds of engagement on the network.
Worth Reading, Mar 26, 2012
- Employers, Facebook and Privacy: There’s been a swirl of activity after an AP article last week discussed the growing trend of employers asking potential employees for their Facebook passwords or to log in during job interviews. An individual quoted in the article, who discontinued a job application process with one firm after being asked for his password, said, “I think asking for account login credentials is regressive,” he said. “If you need to put food on the table for your three kids, you can’t afford to stand up for your belief.” Other entities with clout agree. Facebook came out with a statement at the end of last week siding with job applicants and warning employers that they are in violation of Facebook’s Statement on Rights and Responsibilities (and potentially open themselves up to “unanticipated legal liability”) if asking applicants for this private information. “As a user, you shouldn’t be forced to share your private information and communications just to get a job,” Erin Egan, Chief Privacy Officer, Policy at Facebook said in the statement. Over the weekend, two U.S. senators asked Attorney General Eric Holder to look into the matter as well. On his blog, Jeremiah Owyang offers an alternate solution for companies: educate and train employees on social media use and issues instead.
- Altimeter Digital Influence Report: The Altimeter Group published its latest research report last week, this one on “The Rise of Digital Influence: A ‘how-to’ guide for businesses to spark desirable effects and outcomes through social media influence,” by lead author Brian Solis. An interesting report on defining, measuring and applying influence in social media.
- Twitter, Hashtags and Elections: Speaking of influence, a piece on Talking Points Memo discusses why hashtags on Twitter are a poor predictor of election results. As the Nieman Journalism Lab put it in republishing the piece, “prominence on Twitter doesn’t necessarily turn into prominence at the ballot box.”
- Red Cross Social Media Center for Disaster Response: This news is now a couple weeks old, but the American Red Cross opened a “digital operations center and digital volunteer program” earlier in March, with help and support from Dell. The program aims to “to coordinate response efforts during disasters.” It’s an evolving approach to using technology and volunteers together to improve disaster response capabilities.
Worth Reading, Mar 19, 2012
- Pew State of the News Media: The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism released the newest, 9th edition of its “State of the News Media” yearly report. Beyond the overview, Key Findings and Trends, there’s lots more detailed information in breakdown reports by platform/venue.
- Dharun Ravi Trial: The former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi was convicted of 15 charges related to the webcam spying of his roommate Tyler Clementi, who committed suicide in 2010. danah boyd has a thoughtful piece, “Reflecting on Dharun Ravi’s conviction,” looking at some of the implications of social media, privacy and bullying the case presented.
- Mike Daisey and This American Life: We mentioned in an earlier blog post a recommendation to listen to Mike Daisey’s show excerpt about Apple’s manufacturing that aired earlier this year on This American Life. This weekend, This American Life retracted the show after discovering the show contained “numerous fabrications” and aired an hour-long piece about the retraction. On his blog, Mike Daisey said in a statement that he stands behind his work, and “What I do is not journalism.”
- CEOs and Social Media: This survey from BRANDfog looked at the use of social media by CEOs and the impact that use had on trust and reputation: “2012 CEO, Social Media and Leadership Survey.” The results: “The survey results demonstrate that executive engagement in social media raises the brand profile and instills confidence in a company’s leadership team. It builds greater trust, brand loyalty and purchase intent. Respondents overwhelmingly confirmed their belief that C-Suite executives who engage in social media are better equipped to lead a company, communicate values and shape a company’s reputation in today’s changing world. “
- Twitter and Credibility: Academic research from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon in the report “Tweeting is Believing? Understanding Microblog Credibility Perceptions” looked at credibility factors on Twitter. In short, good grammar matters. (But other factors do too, such as the image you use, your following/follower ratio and more.)
Worth Reading, Mar 12, 2012
- Kony 2012: The release of a new film and campaign from a nonprofit called Invisible Children to “Stop Joseph Kony in 2012″ generated widespread interaction and discussion online this past week. While there were significant levels of engagement around the campaign, there were also many pointed critiques of the organization and its methods. Good critical analysis from Michael Wilkerson at Foreign Policy and Ethan Zuckerman on his blog, a Storify summary of a range of responses last week, as well as official responses from Invisible Children here and here (video).
- On Story: We talk often with clients about storytelling in various settings, so this new TED talk on storytelling from the writer/filmmaker behind Toy Story and WALL-E caught our eye. (And as in some great storytelling traditions, some of the language in the video may not be safe for work.)
- SXSW Interactive: Thousands of people are currently in Austin, TX for one of the biggest tech and social media conferences of the year – SXSW Interactive. While the conference is still ongoing and next week’s review here should include some of the inevitable reviews/summaries/critiques of this year’s event, one controversial story to come out so far is the use of the homeless as mobile hotspots.
- Employees and Social Media: Shel Holtz uses a persuasive recent example to illustrate the power of internal employee social media engagement in his post, “Training employees on social media improves engagement, boosts company reputation.”
Worth Reading, Mar 5, 2012
- View from the 23rd Floor by Laurel Hart
At least so far, March is acting more lamb than lion here in New York City, but we’ll see what the rest of the month brings.
- WikiLeaks: The first of a new set of emails obtained by WikiLeaks was released last week, with additional analysis from news organizations expected in the coming weeks.
- Boycotts, Reputation and Bottom Line: With boycotts a recurring topic, this research from last fall caught our eye this past week: professor Brayden King at the Kellogg School at Northwestern University showed that “the stock price of a targeted company dropped nearly 1 percent for each day of national print media coverage.” In addition, he found that “even if consumer behavior was unchanged by a boycott, a company’s stock price and reputation were not.” In addition, “25 percent [of boycotts generated] a concession from the target company.”
- Limbaugh and Apology: There were ample examples of apologies and corporate statements surrounding the Limbaugh controversy this past week, including from Limbaugh himself, and former advertisers Carbonite, ProFlowers, Citrix, and others.
- Facebook Assessment Tool: We’re fans of the US Air Force Web Posting Response Assessment, a helpful tool in evaluating online content, and were pleased to see this new Facebook assessment worksheet and checklist from the US Navy on evaluating strategy, administration, content, measurement and more, on David Rosen’s blog.
- Newspapers and New Business Models: Newly released research from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism found “for every $1 gained in digital, $7 are lost in print revenue,” highlighting the challenges many newspapers face in implementing new business models today.