Message
versus Reality
Did you fall for the Marlboro Man?
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The Marlboro
Man successfully linked his brand to our associations of cowboys
and the West with masculinity, independence, and the great outdoors.
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How could
this work? How could intelligent people be swayed to buy Marlboros
because they were presented to us as the favored smoke of cowboys?
The confirmation bias
Communications professionals think
they have the answer. They say that we have within us a “confirmation
bias” which makes us favor messages and arguments that confirm
beliefs and connections we already have.
We American males believe that being
outdoorsy, masculine, and independent is good. Therefore, acting
like a cowboy—i.e., smoking Marlboros—is also good!
Here’s another example, from
yet another form of entertainment—politics.
Bush hat okay, but Kerry...
George W. Bush wore a $3,000 cowboy
hat during his first campaign, and it was not a problem for most
of us, because it matched his image as a wealthy Texan.
But, John Kerry riding a $6,000
bicycle was a problem. It sent a message that contradicted his claim
that he represented the downtrodden.
Kerry didn’t lose the election
because of the bicycle, but the bicycle reinforced suspicions of
hypocrisy.
As Andrei Shleifer, the Harvard economist,
says, “Messages, not hard attributes, shape competition.”
Language or yellow
Another recent study provides an even
more telling example of the confirmation bias—how an opinion
once formed overwrites reality.
In this study, one group of volunteers
was shown a shade of yellow on a strip of white paper for a few
seconds. The group was then shown a strip with several shades of
yellow (including the first shade), and asked to identify the original
color. Of this group, 73% were able to identify the original color.
A second group, however, was shown
a shade of yellow, told to describe the color aloud, and
then were asked to identify the original shade of yellow from a
strip containing multiple shades. Only 33% of the “describers”
were able to accurately identify the original color!
This study shows how language can get
in the way of experience—distorting it, altering it, and overwriting
it.
Prescribing behaviors
To be accepted, new ideas must be presented
in ways that avoid contradicting existing beliefs.
The confirmation bias explains what
can happen when pharmaceutical companies attempt to introduce new
treatment paradigms to doctors. Often, their messages fall on deaf
ears because the new approaches contradict the doctor’s existing
beliefs.
Educating doctors—attempting
to add new information or correct previous perceptions—is
not the solution.
“Don’t tell people, ‘You
are stupid, and here is what to think,’” Shleifer said.
During presidential debates, he asserted,
voters tune out or forget things that are inconsistent with their
beliefs.
“Educational messages may be
doomed,” he added. “They do not resonate.”
Description vs. reality
What are the implications of the confirmation
bias to High-Stakes Presenters?
Clearly, you can’t force someone
to accept a message just because you think it’s true. History—even
current history—is full of examples when good intentions are
seen as naked aggression.
A better approach is needed. New messages
must be framed in ways that do not threaten existing beliefs. You
must know your audience as well as you know your message!
Knowing your audience
Start by being able to state their
argument in the strongest possible manner. Understand the story
they are telling themselves about you, your product, and your ideas.
Use this knowledge to reposition your
message in a way that avoids head-on confrontation with their beliefs.
Remember that, when making choices,
“People are not responding to the actual objects they are
choosing between,” says Eric Wanner of the Russell Sage Foundation.
“There is no direct relationship between stimulus and
response…the choice depends on how the decision-maker describes
the objects to himself.”
As we compete for market share, budget
allocations, and the trust and loyalty of those necessary to our
success, let us remember: messages, not reality, shape the outcomes
of High-Stakes Presentations.
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