Framing Baby Killers

"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." - Anais Nin

The ability to frame a situation is considered 'spin' by politicians and media pundits. It's the ability to situate your view on an issue to your advantage.

There's the 'Nuclear Reduction Treaty' which on it's surface sounds like a pretty good idea. But in the world of 'spin' what something is called is not necessarily what's inside and in a very Orwellian twist, the actual substance of this treaty is to prolong the nuclear standoff between the U.S. and Russia and stockpile more weapons. Reduction?

The 'frame' around this treaty sounded pretty darn good though.

This name game happens all the time in politics. The greatest, most well known example is 'the Patriot Act'. It suggests freedom, liberty and the pursuit of justice. And yet, it's exactly the opposite of all of that, limiting freedoms, diminishing freedoms and wildly unpatriotic.

Another framing example is the abortion debate. On one side there are the 'pro-lifers'. Their frame is to show photographs of aborted babies, villainize the other side as 'baby killers'. On the other side are the 'pro-choice' advocates who say that a fetus starts out not as an 'unborn baby' but simply a cluster of cells that has the potential to grow into a fetus and then a baby. They frame the 'pro lifers' as 'anti choice' and point out the irony that while many 'pro lifers' tend to anti abortion, they are also pro death penalty.

In the area of framing, the anti-abortionists have framed the debate with more intensity showing graphic images to bring their point home.

In persuasion, framing is one of, if not the most important tool we have.

How can frames be used in our businesses? Say, for example, you had a difficult client or a very wealthy prospect who made you feel socially awkward and shy.

How about turning the situation into an opportunity to use your persuasion skills? Walk into the meeting or situation with the intention of it being a learning experience. Frame the interaction in terms of using your persuasion skills, not in terms of their wealth or difficulty.

Here's an example of the power of frames (quite literally). Recently my wife and I were looking at buying a painting by the artist Thomas Kincaid. He's called 'the painter of light' and his original painting go directly to museums and very wealthy collectors. But he makes lithographs available which are hard to distinguish from the actual paintings.

The woman who showed us the print first showed it without a frame, then she gave us two examples of the painting within frames. The first was simple and smaller. No big deal. The second frame was ornate and beautiful and it made a huge difference.

The insignificant frame, the much less expensive one, nearly ruined the beauty of the painting. It was meaningless. And it struck me right there, the importance of frames. I thought about what an intense experience it is for people to buy into our frames.

This week: think about the frames you've established for yourself and how they may be ready to be updated.