Episode 1: Switchtracking

Feedback

Feedback is a crucial part of communication, yet it often faces resistance. Shankar Vedantam shares a study by Randy Garner that highlights the power of personalized notes in increasing response rates. Garner's experiment showed that attaching a handwritten Post-it note to a survey significantly boosted completion rates among faculty members 1. This simple act of personalization can make feedback more effective by creating a sense of reciprocity. Additionally, Shankar discusses the importance of evaluating feedback on its own merits rather than questioning the advisor's motives. He notes that people often react defensively to advice, especially when it challenges their expertise 2.

Be really careful about offering advice. If you're given advice, listen to the advice instead of questioning the motives of the person who's giving it to you.

--- Shankar Vedantam

By assuming positive intent, individuals can better navigate feedback and improve their communication skills.

   

Persuasion

Persuasion in communication can be enhanced through subtle techniques. Shankar Vedantam discusses research by Italian cognitive scientists Luca Tomasi and Danieli Marzoli, who found that whispering into the right ear can increase receptivity. This is due to the brain's contralateral organization, where the left hemisphere, responsible for verbal communication, controls the right side of the body 3. Another effective technique is self-flattery, which involves boosting a person's self-esteem before delivering potentially threatening information. Tracy Epton and her colleagues discovered that self-affirmation can make individuals more open to accepting challenging information 3.

If you can boost the person's self esteem before he or she is given threatening information that might make them more receptive to this kind of information.

--- Shankar Vedantam

These strategies highlight the importance of understanding psychological nuances in persuasive communication.