Further Adventures in Framing
Kenrick Cleveland
One of the absolute, most powerful concepts in persuasion is framing. Looking at the big picture, the broader view of any issue, we can see how everything we can think of is a frame (in one way or another). Sometimes I use political or religious concepts I(as well as an occasional controversial or taboo topic) to illustrate the ways in which framing works. I am not endorsing one side or another but just pointing out where blind spots may be.
If you take, as an example, the pro-life/pro-choice debate you'll see that no matter which side you are on, the other side is 100%, unequivocally, undeniably WRONG. The other side of the fence is not ever going to accept and understand your point of view. It's a highly emotional topic. There are some people who are so certain that this is not a matter of 'choice' but go so far as to call it 'murder'. Others believe this isn't at all about killing a human, but an attempt to eliminate a woman's choice to have freedom over her body. There's no gray area.
My interest in pointing this out is not to change anyone's deeply held, sacred beliefs. My goal is to point out that all of these beliefs, big and small, are ultimately just different frames with which we are viewing the world.
The ability to reframe is to tell our truth, life the way we see it. It requires us to repeat things deeply carving neuro pathways that show us what to think in any given situation, with any given group or idea, in any setting.
Now, I'm not going to name names here. .. you can figure out who I'm writing about. . . think of THE major coffee chain in the country. You know the one. They seemingly are taking over the world. They have consistently put little mom and pop coffee shops out of business. They charge too much. They're overrated. AND they are fair to their workers by providing part time employees with health insurance. They purchase their coffee from sustainable growers in 'third world' countries. They also have a tasty organic iced decaf mocha.
None of this may matter to you in the slightest. But just as an example. . . these are all frames.
How about a group of people? Let's use the example of health care providers. They're miracle workers. They're caring and nurturing. They're overpaid. They're shills for the insurance and pharmaceutical companies.
It's possible your beliefs about health care include none of these descriptions. You can at the very least, see that each of these statements is a frame. Depending on whether the good experiences outweigh the bad, our perception and our frames will be dictated. If, as a child, you were hospitalized or your first memories were of pain at the hands of a doctor or nurse, these are difficult to overcome and will color the way you feel toward health care.
It is my hope that in repeating the importance of frames, some of you may begin to view the whole world as a series of frames.
Kenrick Cleveland teaches strategies to earn the business of affluent prospects using http://www.maxpersuasion.com/ persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in http://www.maxpersuasion.com/ persuasion strategies. Click here to get your own http://www.uberarticles.com/home.php?id=36267&b=79 unique version of this article.
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