Have you ever read any of Dale Carnegie’s books on communication skills, public speaking, marketing, self-improvement, and or corporate training?
He was an expert in what he taught and shared. And he once shared a powerful communication “secret”:
When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.” ― Dale Carnegie
This is a HUGE mistake countless managers in life sciences, and people in general, make:
❌ They’re too logical.
When trying to convince colleagues or managers of a good idea.
When trying to present or sell an idea or proposal to their audience.
When trying to persuade an interviewer or collaborator to pick them.
They’re too logical, but not emotional enough.
We humans like to believe we’re 100% logical, but the reality is that more often than we wish to believe, we are not logical.
We’re extremely emotional, irrational creatures, constantly driven by primal “feelings”, instinctual drives, and chemical reactions within our bodies.
(If you’ve ever had a “gut feeling” about something, that’s sometimes your instincts kicking in, not logic)
Just like every single other creature in nature.
Making emotional, irrational, “fight or flight” style decisions is within our DNA.
It’s part of what helped life on Earth and our ancestors to survive and get to this point.
It’s part of who we are.
We want to feel “safe”.
We want to feel listened to.
We want to feel understood.
We want to have “space” to decide.
We want to feel like we’re “in control”.
We want to be clear about the question, “what’s in it for me?”
Many managers whom I talk with struggle to express their ideas clearly to their audiences at work.
Not because they don’t speak good enough English or don’t have good, logical plans, but because they don’t account for the emotional needs of their audiences.
So when you share data, figures, charts, tables, or other forms of information, never get so caught up in all the logic that you forget to ensure what you’re sharing is actually important to your audience.
Ask yourself:
“Is what I’m sharing relevant to my audience?”
“Why should my audience care about what I’m sharing?”
“What’s in it for THEM?”
“What are my specific objectives and outcomes from my presentation or meeting that I’m leading?”
“How does all of this data and information relate to THEM, not me?”
The more clearly you can answer these questions, the more effectively this means you are able to address your audience’s needs.
If you can better account for these basic, primal, biological human needs, you’re going to get better, more successful, and more productive results from your communications, meetings, presentations, and negotiations at work.
So this week, focus not only only the logical aspect of your communication, but also on the emotional, biological, and primal aspects of your communication.
I know you can do it!
Carlos
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