National Learning Institute

The value of headlines – What will your first 7 words be? By Andrew O'Keeffe

© Hardwired Humans

Headlines fit the instinctive way we process information. Humans are hardwired to make sense of information through a process of classification. We quickly classify ideas, people and situations into categories such as "good" versus "bad", "like" versus "dislike", "us" versus "them".

There are two key dimensions to the process of classifying. First, classifying usually takes no more than a few seconds. Second, our classification is based on the emotion we feel in that first instant.

 

So, newspaper headlines work for humans. There's an incredible amount of data in a regular newspaper. We easily process this data through the use of headlines, which gives us a quick classification of what is contained in each article. At a glance, with the use of usually no more than seven words, the editor provides us the point of the article so that we begin to read with the meaning already classified. Without headlines it would be chore, and one that would quickly frustrate and tire us.

 

Persuasion
One of the ways to use this knowledge of the instinct of classifying is to increase our powers of persuasion. When we interact with someone for the purpose of persuasion, we have about 2-3 seconds to succeed.

When we run leadership development programs, one of the learnings people most appreciate is a method we call "the first seven words". Seven words is about the number of words we can say in those critical first 2-3 seconds. By the time we have said our first seven words, the listener will have classified their meaning of what are saying.

If we don't use those precious seconds carefully then we leave to chance the classification our subject is given. Has the listener classified our subject as "interesting" on "uninteresting"? After seven words, it's mostly all over.

The main factor driving the classification is emotion, or how the listener feels in those first few seconds.

Because we believe it's a rational world, we generally start positioning our idea rationally. We overlook the primacy of emotions. The listener and speaker have not realised that interest or disinterest happened in the first few seconds, both unaware that it all happened based on gut feeling and the emotional processing in the mind of the listener right at the beginning.

And the speaker wonders why their ideas don't get traction.

A low stakes example
You arrive at the airport early. You are on an inflexible ticket and it looks like you'll have to wait two hours for your flight home...no big deal but it would be "nice" if you didn't have to wait around the airport. There is an earlier flight and your only chance of getting on it is to convince the airline employee at the counter to agree to change your flight. They have the discretion to do so but tend not to use that discretion.

You approach the airline counter. You know that you have 2-3 seconds only for the airline employee to decide if they will agree to your request. You know that they will instantly decide if they "like" or "don't like" you. What do you do or say to achieve your objective and get home early?

Last week a participant on one of our programs shared her successful instance of making a flight change. She was on an inflexible ticket. She described how she smiled as she approached the airline employee (body language is critical because we are mind readers).  Her opening words to the staff member were, "You probably get this all the time." She then politely requested the change and added that she understood if he was unable to make the change. His response was that he "would see what he could do". He obviously "liked" her. He made the change and she was on the earlier flight.

The "like" or "dislike" classification would have been made by the airline employee in the first few seconds based on how he felt (or more accurately, how she made him feel).

A high stakes example
On our programs we often use a Harvard case study involving a merger of the Utah Symphony Orchestra and Utah Opera. In the case we learn that the merger was initiated in 2002 because of the perilous financial situation of the Symphony post 9/11. The Opera was in a better financial position. The Symphony would most likely fold if the Opera did not agree to the merger. The merger involved around 20 Opera staff joining around 110 Symphony staff. The plan is that the combined organisation will be lead by the CEO of the Opera, Anne Ewers.

We have our program participants imagine that Anne has convened a gathering of the 130 staff for a first information meeting. What Anne first says is critical - and when we say "first" we mean her very first words. Imagine the mood in the room that confronts Anne. The Opera staff are wondering why their organisation needs to be burdened with the debt of the Symphony. The Symphony staff are anxious about what the future holds for them with this new CEO and many are angry that they have been forced into this situation.

What are Anne's first seven words? Her first words will generate a classification of the merger and of her leadership. The 130 people in the room will decide mostly in that instant whether they "support" the merger and in the case of the Symphony staff, whether they "like" her. Their classification will be based on their feelings triggered by Anne's first seven words.

If you were Anne, what would you say? (Below we have the words suggested by a participant recently, but you might like to contemplate what you would say before reading the idea below).

Guidance on the first seven words
The rules of thumb for choosing your first seven words are:

1. Plain English - so your point is processed easily by the listener(s)
2. Truthful - so that you are believable and avoid triggering a contrary position
3. A single concept - so you are specific and clear (and there is really no space for more than one point)
4. Emotional - so you trigger the appropriate feelings
5. No jargon - as you risk that the listener might not attach the same meaning as you do to any terminology.

What might Anne say
So, what should Anne Ewers say in the Utah merger? Anne stands up in front of the 130 staff. The staff are generally in an anxious mood. Most have not met her before. All are wondering what the merger means to them. Anne walks across the stage and takes the microphone, looks around the room and says...

In one of our recent programs the following excellent suggestion was offered by a participant. Anne says, "This merger is to ensure a vibrant arts community in Utah."

Those first few words would give Anne an excellent opportunity to generate a reaction from most people that feels "okay". She would have increased the likelihood of people listening to her and being prepared to go with her on the journey.

Using "the first seven words"
As you communicate through email, through conversations and as you seek to influence people, think about the emotion you want to trigger at the very beginning of your communication. Use your first seven words thoughtfully.

Seek to make the way the human brain processes information work for you, rather than leave classifying to chance. Give yourself the best chance of being understood.

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Andrew O'Keeffe
5 March 2009
Principal, Hardwired Humans.

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