How to Tickle Your Audience : The Power of a POV

The science and power of a great Point of View

What’s a Story? What’s a Point of View?

For thousands of years, we have been telling stories.   A structure and cadence have long been in place where the typical story has a protagonist, usually on a quest, on a journey to defeat evil or other forces aligned against him or her.   It was a hero solving a problem, and therefore someone / something we could relate to.

Neuroscience research reveals that listening to an engrossing story activates the same part of the brain as when one experiences pleasure.  Stories thus stimulate neurons that make dopamine.

It keeps us coming back for more, and storytelling became as much a part of us as language, or mathematics.

As new mediums emerged such as newspapers, radio, or TV, corporations started telling a new version of stories.   The message was around the company and its benefits to consumers.   “A commitment to excellence”, “focused on you”, or “we bring good things to life”.   The story was around the company and its values, its products, and why “we are better”.   

It has become such an ingrained part of our lives (6k to 10k brand messages per day), that we tune most of it out.  It’s for the large part very boring.  We have heard “better” over and over again and don’t really believe it.  It’s no longer as persuasive or credible.

Deep inside us however is that hard-wired need and desire for a great story.

That’s why taking a “different, not better” thinking to our communications uncovers the incredible power of a Point of View approach.

A Point of View (POV) is different from either the historical, or corporate, story model.  It is taking a view and new perspective on an issue or problem.   It starts with a problem and digs into it.  It grabs our attention because it’s a problem that affects us personally.  Perhaps it is problem we knew we had, or a problem we didn’t entirely realize existed.  It tells us about the problem and then how we can solve it.

It’s not “we’re better, better, better”…. it’s a different perspective that drives cut through and awareness amidst all the noise in our day-to-day environments.  

And now groundbreaking neuroscience research has cracked the code on why and how a great POV literally “tickles” a different part of our brain than the standard or corporate story approach.

The research (https://bit.ly/3TNHJ8Y) was driven around how and where our brains create categories: “How we put the world in order: Neuroscientists find sorting center in the brain” 

“The results of their study using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) show that there are indeed particular brain areas, which become active when a certain strategy of categorisation is applied.”

When we encounter a familiar message we compare it to particular examples of a known category and “there is an activation of the left hippocampus”.  This the “prototype strategy” and categorization process that helps us deal with the sensory and message overload that we face in our day to day lives.  

“Thinking in categories or pigeonholing helps our brain in bringing order into a constantly changing world and it reduces the information load.” 

However, when it is a different, or unfamiliar perspective, our brains use an “examplar strategy” and compare it to known prototypes, and then create a modified or new category.   This stimulates the left fusiform gyrus of our brain.  It literally tickles a different part of your audience’s brain!  

This means that if we encounter a differentiated POV around a problem relevant to us, we will create a new category, and likely associate you and your brand with this category.  It’s an opportunity to redefine the category in people’s brains.  

In an environment that is not getting any “quieter” and an urgent need to cut through to our audiences, are you ready to seize this powerful, proven approach?  

Are you ready to tickle your audience?!

Out-Position the competition with a compelling, differentiated Point of View!