Seat at the Table

Robert Kuhn of Business Week takes a communcations view of why political talks between China and the US are so difficult.  Kuhn points out that most American politicians have a legal background while Chinese political leaders have an engineering background and starts wondering if “perhaps the difficulties between China and the US lie less with dissimilar languages, cultures and histories, and more with the divergent ways of thinking between lawyers and engineers.”  

Engineers, Kuhn points out, strive for better, while lawyers prepare for the worst.  In other words, it’s a communications problem.   This piece makes a particularly important point for PR professionals by essentially implying that it’s not simply a matter of having different mindsets, but it’s a matter of knowing how to communicate with the other parties mindset.   Kuhn isn’t saying it’s hopeless but rather that US politicians needs to focus on and communicate around the best scenarios while their Chinese need to keep in mind that US politicians always have plans for the worst case scenarios sitting on top of their desks (it doesn’t mean they’ll act on them).

There’s an important takeaway for public relations professionals in that it’s not simply about having a message for your audience.  The most effective communications are about understanding how your audience thinks, targeting your message and then feeding them the message in a manner that best fits their mindset.   Think of each audience as having a mental filter.

For example, if you are a lawyer speaking to an audience of Chinese engineers about patent law, focus on how it benefits them am owners and business people.  Begin by discussing the most promising benefits of patents, mention the need to gaurd against the downside of the patent process, but then end with the promising benefits once again.  The audience of engineers will then remember that you focused on the best outcome, not the worst.  Then go to your audience of lawyers and talk all you want about how patents are designed to protect from theft.

In the end, your audience will you their own mental filter for your message.  Know the filter, and your message will get through far more effectively.