Human communication is a marvelous wonder. Our ability to transmit what’s in our hearts and minds to each other is quite remarkable. But, as you know, that sharing and transmitting does not always to according to plan. It seems that no season provides greater communication examples than an election season. And this year’s presidential election is proving no different, and perhaps, providing even more examples than usual. One, in particular, is standing out: Emotions!
Aristotle, in his infinite wisdom, was able to distill our ability to effectively persuade others into 3 categories, or what I like to refer to as the 3 pillars of exceptionally human communication; trust, emotions, and reason. To be persuasive, or to be an exceptionally human communicator, we need to establish trust with those we are communicating with, generate a desired emotional response in them, and come across as reasonable. If any of these 3 is absent, our persuasive abilities, our ability to communicate effectively, decreases dramatically. Not only that, but trust, emotions, and reason play off of each other, and that one or two can overshadow the third, under the right conditions.
A recent article published in the Huffington Post cited a soon-to-be released study of presidential communication indicating just how powerful trust, emotions, and reason can be. The study looks at the 2016 presidential candidates, and how their use of emotionally charged language impacts their perceived credibility. When a candidate uses emotionally charged language in relation to an issue voters deem of significant emotional importance, that candidate’s perceived credibility increases, regardless of their logic. If the candidate uses more emotionally constrained language on that same issue, their credibility decreases, again regardless of their logic. In other words, on any particular issue, the candidate whose language most mirrors the emotional state of the listener is deemed more trustworthy, even if their logic is flawed.
Regardless of your political affiliation, let this be a lesson on the power emotions have on how much or how little people will deem us as trustworthy or credible. Know your audience, and know what they are feeling. Remember, effective communication is as much if not more about how others view us, than it is about how effective we think we are being. Keep this in mind as you communicate with others, and see what happens as a result.
Oh, here is a link to the article: LINK