Page 28 - 2016 December Voices
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WHO WINS?
Pondering Cognitive Ease
by Joe Anthony, ACG, ALB
Two presenters give a I latch onto flashy presentations while ignoring
competition speech. One substantial messages?
waxes poetically about personal values, discovery, If so, the competition judges seem to be in my
awareness, self-actualization, and the winding, camp. But what I’m theorizing today is that we’re
often dangerous path that brought them to this not just an audience of clapping seals, waiting to
very time and place—all things that should get our mental treat of intellectual anchovies.
interest us. The other speaker talks about their I suggest that cognitive ease may play a much
quirky family. Who wins? larger role in how receptive we are of another
During this fall competition speaker’s message.
cycle—Table Topics and First, however, let’s have
Humorous Speech—I attended Frequency, a quick look into the study of
over a dozen competitions at or familiarity, cognitive ease. In 1969 Nobel-
various levels. Midway through winner Daniel Kahneman began
my tour, I began noticing a breeds trust and taking out ads in the newspapers
trend. The 1st place Table of Michigan colleges. These ads
Topics speakers had, without positivity in our consisted of single, nonsense,
exception, used humor, simple
language, clear metaphor, and mind. This has made-up words, splashed across
great physical gestures. These become known the ad panels. Words like Kardirga,
Saricik, Biwonjni, Nansoma, and
are all characteristics we’ve Iktitaf.
come to expect from exceptional as the Some words would be given
Toastmasters.
Good presentation habits Exposure Effect. the star treatment at one college,
aside, I started noticing something showing up on dozens of pages,
else, too. Something perhaps while the same word might appear
more sinister. I noticed that when I tried to once or twice in a rival publication. After several
write down the message or moral the winning weeks of publishing this word salad, Kahneman
speaker was imparting on me, I couldn’t squeeze distributed a questionnaire asking the readers
more than a few words onto the page. From four to rate his made-up words. He wanted them to
different winning speakers, here are four separate rate which words felt most “positive” and which
messages I came away with; felt “negative.”
Family is important. Be kind to strangers. Can you guess which words had the most
Speak your message. Don’t procrastinate. positive ratings?
Nothing new here. I know these lessons If you guessed that the words most frequently
already. I mean, I really know them, down to printed were also the most positively rated, then
my toes. So why do I enjoy an anecdote about give yourself a cookie. Frequency, or familiarity,
a lovably dysfunctional family, more than a breeds trust and positivity in our mind. This has
speech from the fourth-place runner-up who become known as the Exposure Effect. Frequently
espoused living “in the moment?” Why, at another seen words feel good to us. Frequently heard
competition, did I vote for a simple yet humorous phrases, metaphors, and stories feel good to us.
message, while barely deigning to acknowledge This also applies to familiar shapes, songs, names,
a presentation about “owning one’s authentic and even faces.
personality?” Am I shallow? Simple-minded? Do When you see a co-worker at the grocery
28 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 6 DECEMBER, 2016
