For many communicators, the default way of communicating is to try and make people want what they have to offer. Thus, they work hard to shine the brightest light on their offer.
They praise all the benefits. They detail all the features. They explain why this was so hard to manufacture. And, most importantly, why we should care.
Only that we don’t. And so we tune out.
Almost certainly what we care about overlaps only partially with what our audiences care about. When communicators focus on the left circle and try to make us care for the things they care about, they speak so we get them. But in doing so they have a much harder communication problem to solve than those who start at the right side, at what we care about.
It’s super hard to change what someone cares about. It’s a lot easier to make them see a new/simpler/better way to get what they already care about.
Plus, this approach creates tension: “I hear that you desire this. You could get it much more easily than you thought. Because we built something that can get you there this quick. Wanna try it?”
Compare it to the default approach to communication: “We built this. Look at all these bells and whistles and stuff. So, you see it’s really great. Wanna try it?”
When we want others to choose us, we tend to speak a lot about ourselves. Yet, starting with empathy gets their attention much easier. When they feel that we get them and then, when they feel that our solution is just the right fit for them, we make it easy for them to choose us.
