The fragility of memory – and the power of confidence, detail and emotion
If, like me, you woke up one day and discovered you liked peas, you should take 17 minutes out of your busy schedule, get comfortable and listen to Elizabeth Loftus.
And even if you didn’t, you still should.
Loftus is a psychologist who studies memory. Or more precisely, false memories. The sort of memories that we’re absolutely, definitely convinced are real. The sort of memories that get somebody picked out of a police line-up and put in jail for a crime they didn’t commit. Not because the witness lied, but because they thought they were telling the truth.
Except they weren’t.
Loftus’s TED talk, The Fiction of Memory, also raises considerations about the power of language. And they’re ones you should always bear in mind when you’re telling your story and connecting with people. What you say matters. But how you say it matters more.
The more confidence, detail and emotion you put into your writing, the more convincing it is. Now I’m not suggesting you brainwash your audience, or that you say something that’s patently not true (watch the video to find out more).
What I am suggesting is that you should dig deep and try to create an experience that engages people and makes them visualise what it’ll be like to work with you and buy from you, to trust you and recommend you.
Or, put another way, how will they pick you out of a marketing line-up? How can you convince them that you’re the one?
Or convince them that they like (or don’t like) peas?
The pea story, by the way, is an enlightening one. For years, I thought I hated peas. I think I must have left them on my plate once when I was a kid. Convinced that I didn’t like them, my parents didn’t insist (I liked almost every other type of vegetable) and the pea-aversion story gained traction and credibility. To the point where I never touched them.
Until I did, years later. And when I did, I discovered they were really rather tasty. Years of false memory and the power of language (“You don’t like peas, Kevin”) had convinced me that they were the vegetable equivalent of Marmite.
Which really is untouchable (and that’s definitely not a false memory).
Enjoy the talk.
[If you’re reading in an email, click here to see the video on the TED website.]