Understanding political propaganda and how some get influenced by it

(extracts from the book 'Decoding Communication' by N. Chandramouli)

Nature of Propaganda

Propaganda can be defined as 'a debased system of persuasion which boasts neither impartiality nor accuracy, substitutes emotional catch-phrases for reasons, puts results before principles, and success before truth'. Since the political rhetoric in India is rife with blatant use of negative propaganda, it will be relevant to understand these techniques to protect oneself from becoming a victim. 

The use of propaganda in conflict and war has always been prominent, when outcomes could mean a significant gain or loss of power, status, wealth and life. Many nations, cultures and political parties have used propaganda to exercise a intense measure of influence over people. This blog becomes more relevant because of the government's reaction to the current Punjab farmer protests, and earlier CAA-NRC, and there has been an unprecedented use of propaganda in both cases to exercise a similar dominance public opinion. 

Propaganda achieves its result by altering the message content, context and association. Though it is not intrinsically wrong or right, if it is used with wrong intent, it can cause enormous harm. Knowing how to decipher propaganda is crucial to our understanding of the political bombast being used today, as it makes its way into the mainstream. 

Propaganda techniques used in politics

Name Calling

Name Calling is more than just a form of expressing anger or dissent and is way of creating cognitive bias within a social environment. When derisive labels are used by political groups, it may be overtly stated as being done to preserve the ‘values’ or 'culture' of society, by expecting to ostracize the non-conformists. 

Name Calling, however, is a two-edged sword in politics since society treats the use of derogatory language for any adversary with disdain. It may stain the object of Name Calling, but the subject also gets a highly negative shade. If a large number of the polity opposes the Name Calling , the negative colour of the those using this technique gets exposed and fully visible. 

Pinpointing the Enemy

The foremost of learned behaviors is one which relates to enemies is that of community preservation - action against a 'common' enemy placed as the common responsibility of all the individuals in the community. Political propaganda users divide the sides into an enemy-friend situation and usually an 'invisible' enemy is presented. 

Pinpointing the Enemy in politics can be seen when action is taken against a supposedly 'hostile' nation making citizens believe it is justified to vote to secure common interests like protecting one's country. 

Assertion

Assertion is a simple propaganda technique when an enthusiastic or energetic statement is presented as a fact, though it may not necessarily be true. It almost implies that the statement requires no support and should be accepted without question. When it comes from authorities of power or stature, it gets believed and accepted by more readily. It goes with the assumption that if someone in power says something, then it should be believed.

In politics, though Assertion works to its end in some cases, it also leaves the source more vulnerable, leaving them open to stringent scrutiny. The politician can often be a victim of his own Assertion as can be seen in the current election situation, when many a political personality who were accustomed to using Assertion with impunity, are now getting subject to inspection, checks and scrutiny. 

Bandwagon

Humans tend to conform to the normative group behavior. In Propaganda, this is used in a technique called Bandwagon, and subtly appeals to the herd-survival instinct using the ‘or you’ll be left out’ argument. The closer the social group is to the person’s externally expressed views, the more effect the Bandwagon technique has.

Sometimes, selective deterrents are used for non-conformist behavior to further strengthen the Bandwagon effect. When politicians ask citizens are asked to give up individual rights or benefits by showing a larger, social betterment, Bandwagon effect can be seen in action. Even socially and morally unjust laws and statutes try to sell this idea for greater consensus using this argument. 

Cardstacking

Cardstacking, or selective omission, involves presenting information that is positive to an idea and omitting information contrary, but critical to it. This technique is used in all forms of political communication and when presented by a highly placed source, seems more believable.

The most effective of political outcomes of Cardstacking are when a part of the information presented is completely true and of unquestionable veracity. In such cases using political Cardstacking omits just a little something pertinent, the disclosing of which may change the interpretation of the ‘facts’ presented. The partial truths regularly seen in election rhetoric, is an attempt at this omission by choice, which can make a voter take a wrong decision due to partial 'facts' absorbed. 

Glittering Generalities

In politics, Glittering Generalities technique uses words that appeal to highly valued social concepts like security, collective pride, country, freedom, honor, glory, among others. Such words demand the citizen's approval without thinking, simply because a meaningful and unquestionable social concept is involved. 

Glittering Generalities tries to build on concepts of self-sacrifice, loyalty, resolute faith to show allegiance to the 'larger good' and are therefore get considered worthy by unsuspecting voters. When some political parties of the day use nationalistic issues like 'saving the country from division' are attempting this propaganda technique on voters. 

Lesser of Two Evils

Research on human choices shows that a smaller consideration set allows easier understanding and simpler processing. The "lesser of the two evils" technique uses ease of comparison as its base, and tries to convince the voters of an idea by presenting it as the least offensive option. Also called false-dilemma, this method presents only two either-or options, when in truth there are several other options available.

When some political parties try to project the message 'What is the alternative choice?', they are subtly using this propaganda technique to negate the existence of any opposition. 

   

Plain Folks

The Plain Folks technique is an attempt by the political propagandist to convince the public that their life is similar to that of the common people and thus attempts to seeks their empathy. This sense of 'common man' approach of the politician is often used to hoodwink voters to seek their support. 

Simplification

This technique is one of stereotyping of a culture, gender, race, country, religious group, among others. The propaganda technique of Simplification reduces a situation to a choice on the basis of stereotypes. If you were asked to fill-in-the-blanks, you can see how stereotypes work and perhaps see what the debased persuasion technique of Simplification is capable of. Russians are___________, Indians are___________, Jews are ___________, Hindus are ________, Muslims are __________. 

Used most often in current political circles, this propaganda technique is also among the most dangerous and divisive. 

Testimonials

We always look to learn from those who inspire us. Society leaders, achievers, actors; all those who inspire us, we also seek to endorse. 

In politics, Testimonials are endorsements which attempt to connect a 'inspiring' person with a political ideology, person or party. It is a process that leverages endorsers using their credibility to persuade voters towards a particular point-of-view. Considering the endorsers inspirational in one area of work, voters could sway towards their political alignment as well. 

Transfer

Transfer is the technique of being seen in the the appropriate context, to give positive or negative attributes to the subject. A political personality using the technique of Transfer to project himself as technologically savvy may often be seen in the presence of scientists, or to transfer a negative connotation to the opposition may show morphed pictures of political opponents to spread falsehood and hate in an attempt to create doubt in the voter's mind. 

This is not the first time, nor the last that propaganda will be used by the politician. More than ever, it is up to the citizen to not get swayed by their propaganda machinations, but instead to rely on their own true understanding of situations by delving deeper and knowing more rather than reacting first. 

Can there be a model for building attractiveness?

The answer is - 'Definitely'. Attraction is more scientific than most would have you believe. 

Every time a Brand has a human interface, it arouses deep-rooted physical, psychological, sociological and cultural reactions in the person, exerted as a ‘force of attraction’ by the Brand. This intrinsic capacity of a Brand to arouse the audiences’ interest and create a magnetic pull towards itself is Brand Attractiveness, also called Brand Appeal. Appeal (appropriately derived from the French word adpellere, meaning ‘to drive’) may be described as the inherent force of attractiveness of the Brand that interests, pleases or stimulates, and it is this force that makes a Brand desirable (or not).

Brand Attractiveness is a powerful, intangible force, which goes much beyond its physical appeal. It is an invisible, overwhelming pull, which subliminally, but irresistibly draws audiences towards itself.

Communication plays a dual role in building Brand Attractiveness. First, it embellishes the inherent force of attraction of the Brand, and secondly, it helps transport this inherent appeal to audiences who have never directly experienced the Brand. Good communication is the telescope which brings Brands up-close and personal, enhancing attributes to make them more noticeable. It is also the microscope that helps bring out the internal intricacies that may need deep delving to be experienced. Nevertheless, for this appeal to work, the force of attraction has to be natural and intrinsic to the Brand.

The Brand Attractiveness Model has four pillars on which it is founded, namely Rational Appeal, Emotional Appeal, Communication Appeal and Aspirational Appeal. 

(Adapted from the book 'Decoding Communication')

God’s trick

Communication must have a profound impact on survival for it to be as abundant as sight in humans and animals. It is an innate function present at birth and many of the neonatal responses that are hardwired into the brain manifest as instinct. Humans, animals and even some plant species communicate with each other. 

The most basic communication in all animals remains instinctual and reactive, i.e. in response to food, danger and sexual stimuli. The more evolved the communication used, the more efficiently information gets transmitted, resulting in a better outcome. For example, in the case of food, evolved communication can give an idea of the direction, taste and source; when representing danger, a sophisticated language can indicate the degree, type of danger, or methods to overcome it.  And when it comes to symbolizing sexual stimuli - well, let me just leave that part to your imagination.

Human communication is unique; it is not just biologically inherited but is also learnt. Other animal species communicate mainly through behavior, ritualized calls and gestures, whereas humans possess highly evolved linguistic systems that can express an infinite variety of diverse thoughts and intricate ideas. The human language system, with advanced semantics and syntax, has the ability to communicate myriad concepts with precise detail. Little wonder that this evolutionary leap distinguishes us from every other organism on earth.

The four-sided argument about the development of language in humans remains indeterminate. It may have developed as a normal byproduct of a well developed brain (called Spandrel), or on account of natural genetic selection (as an Adaptation), or because of the idea information system pressures (known as Memes), or due to the neurons in humans that facilitates imitation (Mirror Neurons).  A few other interesting ideas also give stimulus to new theories; like a suggestion that language developed as a 'social technology' to eliminate visual idea-theft.

Whichever way the above arguments go, the fact that language developed due to a blend or a combination of several factors including those stated above, cannot be argued. It advanced as different species realized that production of sound was useful and gave them a distinct competitive advantage, leading to the development of sophisticated variations of sound to communicate better. Language is only an exaggerated variation of natural communication capacities.

At the same time, language, the basis of communication, is also at the center of conflict and confusion by mere virtue of multiplicity. The 7000 or more human languages seem to have their origin in God’s ploy against humanity. The Book of Genesis speaks of how God tricks a united, single-language human race (who had resolved to build the heaven-touching ‘Tower of Babel’), by confounding them with the ‘confusion of the tongues’ - languages.

(extract from the author's recent book, Decoding Communication)

The more we have, the less we are able to absorb'

Author and consultant, N Chandramouli, gives an insight on how proper communication is essential for a business to thrive.
(extract of a Q&A in DNA)

N Chandramouli

A chemical engineer turned com-municator, N Chandramouli's business experience began with chemicals and then he jumped on to stock-broking, banking and exports. His engagement with communication since the last 15 years has obsessively con­sumed him since then. With his unique combination of engineering back­ground, communication business expe­rience and his other entrepreneurial exposures, Chandramouli conducts lectures in several communication col­leges and is also the author of recently published book 'Decoding Communica­tion '. He talks to Rajesh Rao on how he has brought an inimitable perspective to communication.

How can communication help one to make the best use of opportunities?

The world's commerce and mankind's development is crucially dependent on communication; the type of com­munication that helps promote ideas. Though the potential of these trillion dollar ideas to grow and build the fu­ture is high, their ability to contami­nate and destroy opportunities is equally quite astonishing.

Innovative and useful products fail, organisations are unable to align vi­sion, investors are quickly disheart­ened and seek exit - and all this and more is not because of what organisa­tions did was wrong. Most of the times, it is because organisations could not effectively communicate correctly their service, vision and product ben­efits, or because they totally misunder­stood their audiences.Doing these very same things cor­rectly will utilise the true potential of every opportunity.

How can one use words, images and ideas to impact thoughts and action in a better way?

When we look around us, we see a progressive atrophy that inflicts most brands, forcing them to seek expensive artificial means of sustenance that un­fortunately provide only cosmetic benefits. If brands are to flourish and strengthen, they need to build inner strength. Existence of brand levity, this natural strength that works against degeneration is a true sign of great brands. Brand levity has four aspects which give a brand the ability to op­pose gravitation forces that pull it down. These are memetic integrity, purpose, involvement sphere and ownership.

Do students today understand the subject of communication in its entirety and how can it make a difference to their lives as well as work?

Quite early, I recognised the impor­tance of theory - a process intended to set a firm grounding for a systematic approach to any subject. Its deficiency in communication causes a significant transactional gap between teaching and doing, leading to a massive waste of communication effort and business opportunities. Decoding Communica­tion is the cumulative result of my various research endeavours to under­stand and bridge this gap.

What are the various factors that make communication work?

Let me describe communication that works as one that is able to create an inherent magnetic pull in its audience. This pull called 'brand appeal' can be classified into four categories to make them easy to analyse. Two of them, rational and emotional appeal, exten­sions of Aristotle's Logos and Pathos, are usually a part of many contempo­rary communication exercises. In here, we look at them with a fresh perspec­tive. The other two aspirational and communication appeal are new intro­ductions, derived over several years of research, observation, discussion and empirical applications.

Why is communication a less understood process?

The life of a modern business is not easy as each of its actions carries the potential to propel or impede an or­ganisation substantially. The sheer complexity of businesses, information overload, unlimited potential and pos­sibilities of overnight business obso­lescence add to the every day risks of the business. The more we have, the less we are able to absorb and now we only absorb from the surface, on the surface. Communication, however, is only understood when it is a deeper process.

Beware of the E, F and G of Advertising

Beware of the E, F and G of advertising

(this article by the author was also recently published in Asian Age, Ad+ section)

Emotions are loudspeakers of experiences, thoughts, culture, perceptions, environment and disposition and they work to amplify all these through a ‘remembered’ association. Emotions are important because they generate feelings - deep-rooted physiological and psychological sensations that help relate, adapt or cope with any situation. They may be conscious or sub-conscious, and emotions are essential in managing our personal outlook, inducing social behaviour. Emotions are important in unequivocally classifying action and are important accompaniments to it. They are also important in creating memory since and act as triggers for connected thoughts.

The use of emotion in communication is not new. Aristotle the Greek philosopher articulated it in his book 'Rhetoric' as pathos, which when used in conjunction with logos (logic) and ethos (ethics) could make a persuasive argument. Emotional responses result from deep 'internal' forces and have strong subliminal influence on audiences. Pathos is related to sympathy and empathy, and the use of emotions helps make audiences more receptive to the communication. The response to primary emotions, (and their derivatives) like love, joy, surprise, anger, sadness and fear, is often seen as beyond-our-control.  It implies that our reaction to them is involuntary, subliminal and therefore, uncontrollable. It is this reaction that the communicator seeks in evoking emotions.

Advertising also uses emotion to create a stronger associative memory of the brand - you are more likely to remember something that made you smile, laugh or cry. Telecom companies have mastered the use of making emotional connections. Small features are advertised using real emotions and Vodafone made its 'Chota credit' big through exam-ink sharing advertisements. Airtel did the same with the small boy who complains to his father using a toy phone. Use of emotions in story-telling also makes it interesting, real and relatable - and without it, the story would be bland and may not have action or memory triggers.

However, since any feeling generated due to emotions impacts us deeply, it is important to be aware (and beware) when we are subjected to advertising that generates negative emotions of envy, fear and greed in us. Unlike positive emotions like joy, positivity or hope, which get enhanced by sharing, the E, F and G of negative emotions are almost always intensely private, almost secretive. Rarely does anyone share these emotions openly. These usually get formed due to the complex social and personal exchanges in the formative years of one's life, these take a shape in competitive and combative situations. Resultantly they almost always giving rise to a feeling of anxiety and need for immediate remedial action. In communication, use of envy directly impinges on the social worth of the individual, fear brings an irrational urgency to the situation, and through greed, the self-esteem is under assault.

Unfortunately, due to their inherent anxious nature the use of these three emotions in advertising does yield swift results, even if just as ephemeral. Caution is necessary in the use of such emotions due to the deep residual impact they can have. For example, if fear were used as a primary emotion to generate audience responses, the response will generate the after-effects of fear and this could give rise to acute reactions like stress, aggression, anger, and defence as a natural mechanism. These negative reactions could set off undesirable and unmanageable responses in the audience.

Though several advertisers feel justified in using these emotions, it must be kept in mind that in the wake of such communication consumers are left more mistrusting and nervy, attempting to satiate their desires by stuffing up more and more. Everyone is sure to remember examples of their own, but Onida was among the earlier user of envy with a direct statement in its by-line. In more recent times, envy has been used very successfully showing sexual attraction (or lack of it) to sell deos and even undergarments. Envy in advertising, doesn't spare anyone, not even kids. Fast food chains or cars, envy has been abused blatantly and abundantly.

Now to fear. Advertising Cooking oil showing want you to protect the heart of your loved ones by using the 'right' oil - it has PUFA it claims. Disinfectant soaps that want to protect your child's health show ickky germs on the child's hands or diaper advertisements that show you rashes in your baby's bum if you do not use a particular brand of 'absorbent' diapers. These advertisements attempt to make fear work for the brand, but subtly also make the wife, mother or husband more anxious - elbowing, forcing and egging them with their communication.

Greed, the G of the triad is a modern day malady. It is an underlying phenomena that goads economics, companies and individuals alike. We all want more. So, ads pander to this innate need by goading us to get something bigger, more luxurious and more abundant. After all, who doesn't want a house that has a Jacuzzi, swimming pool and a personal lift that opens into your living room? This is advertising of excess - making the false claim that more is best for you.

If it works, why not use it? Faster the results, the better it is, right? Well, no actually. When E, F and G are used in communication, they invariably leave the customer in a state of high-anxiety, fulfilling a purchase in the hope that the anxiety triggered will be sated. Unfortunately the anxiety never gets fulfilled, building further unease and discomfort in the numbed consumer. This in turn makes the advertiser's job increasingly more difficult.

And, that's reason enough to not use the EFGs in advertising at all - since the job of advertising is not just to sell, but to sell justly, wisely and well. 

How to listen

To understand your audience better, one must follow the first step of communication - observation, or the art of ‘intricate listening’.

We all intuitively know how important listening is to communication, but how many of us know how to listen.  Listening, is naturally not limited to the auditory function and comprises of combined 'listening' of all senses put together, including cognitive and the extra-sensory. When all this is fused, one becomes far more aware of the communication environment, giving rise to a highly ‘intuitive’ awareness. 

With koan-like wisdom, the Chinese symbol ‘to listen’ is a self-explanatory amalgamation of five sub-parts which include symbols for ‘ear’, ‘you’, ‘eyes’, ‘undivided attention’ and ‘heart’, shown here.

Lets look at the four stages of listening. First and foremost, listen with your eyes - what do you see. Trust your eyes before your ears. Secondly, give the communicator your undivided attention without any visible distractions or mind distractions. This will help you absorb without any dilution. Thirdly, listen with your heart - implying that you must empathize and 'feel' for what is being communicated. This will help you interpret underlying messages. And last of all, listen with your ear - into what is being said. 

If you combine these four forces into listening, you will have an enriching experience with the world. 

(some parts of this blog piece have been extracted from the author's recent book, Decoding Communication)

Action - the first fundamental

(Inspired by the recent swift shift in economic policy action by the Indian government with inputs from the chapter on Brand Appeal from my book Decoding Communication)  

Keep pushing

Action is life. Action is doing something with a commitment to achieving an objective. It, unsurprisingly, is also the first fundamental of communication. This implies that every other aspect of communication, like transmission, interpretation and response, are founded on action. This draws from the timeless concept of causality - cause and effect, connecting the now to the future through Action.

And, for action to have a positive impact, not just any action is enough - it has to be the right action. Right action is itself quite ambiguous, and has been central to philosophical, scientific, sociological and religious debates without bias. In a broad sense, right action could be interpreted as that which is done at the right place, at the right time, by the right persons and with the right intent. While the place, time and people are the locators of right action, the correctness of intent is measured by collective values in a given cultural context.

Action is often seen as different from communication, though in fact, they are the same. Every action is communication and every communication, action manifest. Action is also the basis of Goal Achievement, one of the four drivers of human behavior. It displays a direct commitment to achieving goals, something that benefits society as a whole.

Action is imperative in building Brand Appeal, the positive attraction that many brands display. Its importance is evident because it features in all the four quadrants of Brand Appeal -  Rational, Emotional, Communication and Aspirational. Action is the seed of Rational Appeal, the appeal of logic, by displaying Conscious Effort and Utility bettering the ability to achieve a desired goal. It is also at the core of Emotional Appeal by adding Positivity and Hope to any situation. Positive Action is as essential in building Trust, the most important aspect of Communication Appeal. And, Action is also core to Aspirational Appeal by giving Winner's Attributes to the doer, often seen in sportspersons who train for years just to compete in an event, the outcome of which is completely indeterminate.

Action is life and if the etymology of the word 'inanimate' is any indication, it shows how connected life and action are. The word inanimate means 'without life' and is built from the words that mean without action.  At every level we perhaps instinctively understand that only by the use of correct action does our future comes more in our control, something that man has always wanted. Though we may often miss the obvious concatenation that sews thoughts and words to our future through the forces of positive action.

Background score of communication

(extract from the forthcoming book Decoding Communication)

No background music

If the force of attraction of a brand is a natural phenomena, why does it need to be embellished? Why can’t its natural attractiveness get results?

To answer that, I must share an anecdote about a friend from the world of movie-making who showed me the deep-rooted relevance of communications.

An animated raconteur (he was often invited to give story presentations to producers), he not only was involved with the film industry for a living but he also seemed to watch movies for sustenance - seeing two or even three a day. His personal life had been tragic – a victim of a broken family, drug-addiction and a difficult recovery, and failed attempts to prop the family business of renting movie equipment. His cousins were prominent actors in the fan-crazy Hindi film industry, which did not make his life any easier. Now a volunteer-speaker at Narcotics Anonymous, he devoted all his non-movie time in convincing addicts why they should quit, using his life as an example. He is funny, selfless, and a complete stoic.

One evening he invited a few friends to watch a movie - a regular family-drama, on the larger-than-life screen in his house. The movie was an over-the-top Bollywood masala  and we watched the movie like friends do - opining on every aspect of the movie using our half-baked knowledge of the movie-world, taking jabs at the director, actors and everyone else. Throughout the movie, my friend stayed glued to the screen, never even once partaking in our digressions. And, he was crying unabashedly. Copious tears flowed even at the smallest emotional scene. We joked about it among ourselves, but he almost did not seem to notice us. The movie over, he washed his face, and was transformed back to the friend we knew, back to his former self - funny, and yet without much sign of emotion.

Much later, his father, who he loved dearly, passed away. My friend did not show any pain or emotion, though everyone knew how much he felt the loss. When I met him a few weeks later over coffee and compared the two situations, the movie and his father’s demise, and asked him why he did not cry or express any emotion in the latter, while the movie had made him cry uncontrollably. He answered spontaneously, “It is because life does not have background music.” He also admitted that he was himself only when he watched movies - it transported him but also allowed him to be himself.

I thought much about what my friend had said, and realized one thing. The embellishments of communications are necessary to transport the audience to an experience of the Brand. Our relationships with different people and things force us to behave in different ways, so much so that we often mask our real selves. And it takes the background score of communication to make us 'see' our true selves better. Good communication from any source actually helps one communicate with oneself better and is like communion with oneself. 

6 ways to create path-breaking and sustainable communications

(this article was also published in www.mxmindia.com)

Everyone loves to win, though only a few have what it takes to prepare for the win. Sustainable Communication is that organizational winning strategy.

1. Future relevant communication

In my several thousand interactions with CEOs and top management, one significant conclusion with regard to communication has dawned – successful organizations always have top-driven communication.

Though everyone understands the importance of communication, most top management are unwilling to get involved enough to deep-impact it. Most only want to see results without wanting to participate in its creation.

Communication is treated as an essential, but ‘extraneous’ service to the organization. Therefore, while the result is important, how it is achieved, is not. The communication function most often reports into marketing, and due to this, the entire organization’s communication remains partial to marketing communication.

Sustainable Communication is that which impacts the future of the organization, and without the direct involvement and guidance of the top management, the organization’s future cannot be impacted. Organizations where the top management does not give communication the maximum attention remain myopic without much control over their own destiny. It also silently encourages the ‘dynamite fishermen’ to play havoc, severely damaging the communication environment of the organization.

For an organization that wants to remain relevant in the future, the person piloting it has to be fully committed to Sustainable Communication giving it requisite time, energy and direction.

2. Communication Philosophy

All systems run on some principle and only when articulated explicitly do they become ‘believable’- a prerequisite for adherence. Its expression is the first step for Sustainable Communication to take root, and this creates adherence at the deepest level in the organization.

The Communication Philosophy of an organization is an analysis of the organization’s reason for existence, its values, nature and its reality. It asks three fundamental questions, the answers to which define a Brand’s topography for Sustainable Communication.

Q. Why do we communicate?

Neophytes usually get drawn to answering this in terms of the business goals of the company, but this question must not be taken too literally. It is necessary for the answers to be unshackled from the business goals, and therein lies its difficulty. The Communication Philosophy seeks out the intrinsic nature of the organization’s communication, and this answer helps understand the organization’s true objectives in relation to its ecosystem.

Q. How will we communicate?

The answer to this question gives guidelines for communication to the organization. It also elaborates the tone and tenor of communication, and most importantly, the Brand’s not-to-do list.  This usually sets the foundation for all to adhere to.

Q. What do we want to communicate about us?

The answer to this reveals the ideally desired perception. Since the seed of communication lies in its action, it is necessary that this ideal seeps into every action the organization takes. While articulating its response, one must consider the different states of the entity; current, future and the approach to overcome this aspirational gap. The danger with ideal perceptions is that they tend to fly, and therefore, its articulation should be grounded in reality.

3. Discovering Communication pathways

Every organization has natural communication trails within them. They use these pathways predisposed to communication because of interdependencies within the sub-group. Use of these interdependencies provides natural energies for supporting the Sustainable Communication structure. Often hidden beneath the surface, unexposed to the organization, these trails need to be discovered with focus. Once found and worked on (no different from real pathways), these pathways will automatically draw more communication traffic through them.

To discover these trails, a deeper understanding of each sub-group’s aspirations, interests, preferences and culture is necessary. These communication trails are also useful in two-way communication and have the scope to become robust feedback systems.

4. Integrated approach

An integrated approach looks at the organization’s communication philosophy from various dimensions. Some are listed below, but this is a dynamic list and must be added to by the communicator – the more that get included in this list, the more sustainable an organization’s communication will be. The communication should be integrated from the dimensions of:

1. Culture – The organization’s communication must be integrated with the culture of its people and of the society that it exists in.

2. Vision – All communication of the organization must emanate from a common, expressed vision.

3. Time – The organization’s communication must be relevant to the past and the future of the entity while remaining aligned to its present.

4. Environment – The communication must be in harmony with the environment the brand engages with, eliminating any damage to it.

5. Audiences – It must be integrated with the needs of all the primary audiences of the organization; clients, employees, shareholders among others.

6. Audience Degrees – It must be integrated with the primary, secondary and tertiary audiences and must be relevant to all three.

7. Knowledge – Sustainable Communication must have an integrated approach to creation, storing and dissemination of knowledge.

8. Lifecycle – It must have a regenerative approach such that the birth to demise message lifecycle is considered.

9. Function Collective – Each function of a business must reinforce the collective, and the collective must reinforce each function’s communication.

5. Multi-polarity

Multi-polarity tends to maximize communication efficiencies and as it looks at several polarities achieved through each message. For an organization to have Sustainable Communication, while the main focus could be one or a few, the multi-polarity maximizes value by deriving more from the same message. The more polarities that get included in the message, the more sustainable it is. These polarities are:

1. Multi objective - Each communication must impact multiple objectives in positive ways.

2. Multi sensory - Such that it integrates experiences of as many senses as possible – cognitive, tactile, auditory, visual.

3. Multi-audience - The same communication should reach several audiences.

4. Multi noded - There must be several crossover nodes of several communication pathways to facilitate interaction at the nodes.

5. Multi functional - It should take into consideration the needs of all the functions (like finance, human resources, marketing and others) around the communication.

6. Issue Chain

An Issue Chain is the identification of the natural issues of any system that gives it the propensity to communicate. These depend on its contributors – sector, audiences, technology and others that are issues that drive communication energy. To better this Sustainable Communication method, it is necessary to identify the various issues in the sub-systems and then build communications around these. Such communication sustains itself through the energy that others put into it as it is of their interest.

The Holy Trinity of Persuasion

Laying down the principles of persuasion, Aristotle writes in Rhetoric, "Persuasion is achieved by the speaker's personal character when the speech is so spoken as to make us think him credible. Secondly, persuasion may come through the hearers, when the speech stirs their emotions. Thirdly, persuasion is effected through the speech itself when we have proved a truth or an apparent truth by means of the persuasive arguments."

Understanding, knowing and practicing these three principles, namely Ethos, Pathos and Logos, helps to lay the foundation in the study of positive persuasion.

Ethos

Ethos, related to the English word ethics, relates to the moral stance and personal character of the messenger. When communicating, the spokesperson’s ethical stance is the first aspect that gets transmitted to the audience. The perceived moral stance of the messenger is the vital test that allows a message to be accepted (or not) by the audience.

The intrinsic ‘believability’ of the messenger leads to the conviction that which is said, 'is true, and will be done'. Spokesperson ethics are valuable inputs in decisions taken by audiences and transgressions are taken very seriously. In Communication, the spokesperson’s character must be prominent to all strategies of persuasion.

Ethics and Communication are inseparably intertwined. Professions that have power over masses have the ability to sway and control the perceptions of millions by directly engaging with just a few. Communication plays the role of a guide for leaders, preparing organizations and communicators for public scrutiny as an 'ethical trigger' for self-governance.  This duty of self-monitoring becomes even more prominent since outcomes get radically influenced depending on the ethical stand taken.

Pathos

The appeal of pathos, or emotions, is sequentially next when persuading audiences. Emotional responses result from deep 'internal' forces and have strong subliminal influence on audiences. Pathos is related to sympathy and empathy, and the use of emotions helps make audiences more receptive to the communication because the use of emotion is unquestionably persuasive.

The response to primary emotions, (and their derivatives) like love, joy, surprise, anger, sadness and fear, is often seen as beyond-our-control.  It implies that our reaction to them is involuntary, subliminal and therefore, uncontrollable. It is this reaction that the communicator seeks in evoking Pathos.

Caution is necessary in the use of emotions due to the deep residual impact it can have. For example, if fear were used as a primary emotion to generate audience responses, the response will generate the after-effects of fear and this could give rise to acute reactions like stress, aggression, anger, and defense as a natural mechanism. These negative reactions could set off undesirable and unmanageable responses in the audience.

Logos

Logos - the appeal of the intellect - generally means logical or academic argument. This third pillar of persuasion is proof, or apparent proof, provided by persuasive arguments and always gives direct and clear answers. This is the rational side of convincing – one that appeals to audiences on the basis of their sense of reality. Logic depends on reasoning which itself rests on truth and perception of truth.

Often the line between fantasy and what is real gets blurred in communication, and what sounds right often becomes more important than what is right. It is, therefore, the communicator’s role to test and retest every message, and each one ought to be corroborated based on facts before presenting to the audience.

          Using logic alone can be harsh and even unjust at times. While they may be able to convey the 
         content, facts frequently do not convey the spirit of the discussion. Cold logic needs to be mixed 

         with the warmth of emotions and the balance of ethics to  suit human relations.

Every persuasive communication rests on the delicate equilibrium of the three pillars of Ethics, Emotion and Rational. When and how to use each of these comes with knowledge about these three principles and a sensitive consciousness of the audience. 

(extracts from the forthcoming book 'Decoding Communication')

What role does 'HOPE' play in communication?

Emotional maturity can be defined as the response of a Brand when faced with tough decisions that help it remain emotionally poised and balanced, acting with self-faith, and appreciative of the other’s point of view.  

Hope is an energy filled emotion that works when the chips are completely down – the more despondent the state, the more necessary Hope becomes. Generated through self-led positivity, Hope is optimism without disguise – that allows a Brand to collect itself and have a goal, even when everything seems to be lost. Hope also keeps focus on the future and takes attention away from problems. 

It is a healing emotion that spreads fast socially and creates a sense of positivity in everyone it touches. Hope, in one sense, is one of the most vital, self-triggered emotions that everyone silently desires. When communication feeds Hope, it makes the audience believe, even though the circumstances may seem impossible.

When communication messages carry 'Hope' in them, they turn audiences into anticipated positivity. If a Brand wants to generate emotional appeal, its communication must transfer hope to its audiences. 

(extract from forthcoming book 'Decoding Communication')