One of the absolute, most powerful concepts in persuasion is framing. Looking at the big picture, the broader view of any issue, we can see how everything we can think of is a frame (in one way or another). Sometimes I use political or religious concepts I(as well as an occasional controversial or taboo topic) to illustrate the ways in which framing works. I am not endorsing one side or another but just pointing out where blind spots may be.



Take pro life/pro choice. The other side, whichever side you're on, is wrong. No budging. Pro choice/anti life versus pro life/anti choice. There is no possible way to accept the other side's point of view because it is not an option. There are some that don't even believe it's a frame, it's just murder. There are others who believe it's not a frame, it's just an elimination of a woman's choice to have freedom over her body. There's no gray area for either camp.

I'm absolutely not interested in changing these deep held beliefs, but I want us all to look at how they are ultimately, frames.

The ability to reframe is to tell our truth, life the way we see it. It requires us to repeat things deeply carving neuro pathways that show us what to think in any given situation, with any given group or idea, in any setting.

Think of 'the' major coffee chain. Without naming names, you know the one I'm talking about. They're taking over the world. They're putting little independent mom and pop cafs out of business. They're overpriced. They're overrated. AND They're fair to workers even providing health care to part time employees. They support fair trade sustainable coffee growers in third world countries. They've got a delicious organic iced decaf mocha.

It's possible all of these statements are true at once. Maybe it doesn't matter a lick to you either way. But they are beliefs and as a result, they are frames.

Think of this in terms of 'health care providers'. Many people think they're miracle workers. They can be perceived of as caring and nurturing. They can be perceived of as overpaid shills for the pharmaceutical and insurance industries.

You may believe all of these or none of these. But surely you can see that each example is a frame. You have probably had good and bad experiences with doctors that color how you look at this profession. If you were very young and had an illness that required hospitalization and your first memories were of being stuck with needles by doctors, I'd say that's a pretty big imprint and you may have developed a very deep fear of hospitals. It may have saved your life, but you'd still have that frame of health care providers. And only through repetitious positive experience, would you have a change.

It is my hope that in repeating the importance of frames, some of you may begin to view the whole world as a series of frames.