The SCIENCE BENEATH the ART of PUBLIC RELATIONS ™
April 15, 2015
By Christopher Graves, Ogilvy Public Relations 

The Behavioral Communications research program is sponsored by ExxonMobil, Public Affairs Council, Mosaic and Gagen MacDonald.

 

This is the second blog in a three-part series that launches IPR's Behavioral Communications research program.


Changing someone's mind and persuading them to rethink their position can feel nearly impossible. While ubiquity of information should provide enough evidence to solve every argument, the human brain is wired to reject facts if they are contrary to our existing beliefs.

 

The metaphor it "hurts to be wrong" turns out to be literally true in the brain. Instead, communicators need to affirm the audience's core values and thereby disassociate their identity from their belief, and then argue the position from an emotional, narrative structure. Read more.

By Stacey Smith, Jackson Jackson & Wagner

 

Internal communication professionals must take responsibility for assisting all communication flow within the system. This means engaging in the management of bottom up and lateral communications as well. 

 

There are fewer structures in place to support lateral communication and even more barriers to overcome to deliver it. Practitioners must inject themselves in these systems for we are the only ones who have the capability to see the communication blockages. Read more.

By Dr. Emily Kinsky, Dr. Nicholas Gerlich, Dr. Meagan Brock Baskin & Dr. Kristina Drumheller, West Texas A&M University

A recent study found that communicating about a racially or politically charged issue is not recommended for Facebook.

Lowe's posted an apology on Facebook to only step further into a heated controversy about pulling their advertising from the TLC program All-American Muslim. It was clear from 28,000 comments posted to the Facebook apology that it is possible to engage an audience through organizational social media pages, but doing so warrants caution.

 

If it does not fit with the brand's typical use of social media, a company should consider using alternative channels of communication that are better suited for issues of this magnitude. Read more.