The key to communication is empathy. I have a graduate education in communication, but I had to learn this on my own, they never bothered going over it in class. People, especially in these distracted times, stop listening if they feel they aren't on the same page. People will only listen to opposing viewpoints if their are spoken like the doubting voices in their heads.
You can say some really horrible things and get away with it as long as you phrase it and delivery it in an empathetic way. Whereas a seemingly benign comment, if said in an antagonistic way. Let's take the example of that Greek triple jumper. She got barred from competing in the olympics for tweeting "With so many Africans in Greece, at least the West Nile mosquitos will eat home made food." To me this is not racist, it's a bad sort of Yakov Smirinoff-ish joke. It's certainly no reason to ban someone from jumping into a pit of sand in a stadium in a country that used to trade Africans like sacks of spices. It's a sign of idiotic political correctness.
She could have made this joke, and not gotten in trouble though. All she would have had to do is add a little empathy and voila. You just start the joke the opposite way: "With the West Nile virus now in Greece, all the African's here will feel at home." Is this funnier? No, but she can make her same stupid demurely racist point, but when you empathize with the African's rather than the Mosquitos, and somehow seems less mean spirited.
Audiences/Readers are like dogs, if you talk to them in a friendly voice with affirmations rather than negativity they will respond better. It's always better to put yourself down, rather than others, especially people who are viewed as underdogs, such as immigrants. There is always a positive way to make fun of something. Sarcasm works wonders. Take that same tweet and make use of affirmative phrasing, sarcasm and subtlety. "Greece has always drawn Africans, even the West Nile mosquitos." It makes the same point and joke, but it doesn't sound quite so sinister. At least, it doesn't call African's mosquito food.
Politicians have always been masters at this sort of twisted insult rhetoric. Learning the difference in how to make a controversial joke with empathy and without is what separates good speakers/writers from great ones. I have started adding this technique to editing my comedy writing. I will sometimes go back over something and it seems sort of mean-spirited, so I think about it empathetically. If I was an oppressed African immigrant in Europe, would I find this offensive? Then I think of a way to make my rants, less offensive, without betraying my message.
With empathy, you can keep the audience, on your side, which is important seeing as how it's hard enough to write something interesting in the first place. Turning people against you with negativity and antipathy, makes it impossible.
You can say some really horrible things and get away with it as long as you phrase it and delivery it in an empathetic way. Whereas a seemingly benign comment, if said in an antagonistic way. Let's take the example of that Greek triple jumper. She got barred from competing in the olympics for tweeting "With so many Africans in Greece, at least the West Nile mosquitos will eat home made food." To me this is not racist, it's a bad sort of Yakov Smirinoff-ish joke. It's certainly no reason to ban someone from jumping into a pit of sand in a stadium in a country that used to trade Africans like sacks of spices. It's a sign of idiotic political correctness.
She could have made this joke, and not gotten in trouble though. All she would have had to do is add a little empathy and voila. You just start the joke the opposite way: "With the West Nile virus now in Greece, all the African's here will feel at home." Is this funnier? No, but she can make her same stupid demurely racist point, but when you empathize with the African's rather than the Mosquitos, and somehow seems less mean spirited.
Audiences/Readers are like dogs, if you talk to them in a friendly voice with affirmations rather than negativity they will respond better. It's always better to put yourself down, rather than others, especially people who are viewed as underdogs, such as immigrants. There is always a positive way to make fun of something. Sarcasm works wonders. Take that same tweet and make use of affirmative phrasing, sarcasm and subtlety. "Greece has always drawn Africans, even the West Nile mosquitos." It makes the same point and joke, but it doesn't sound quite so sinister. At least, it doesn't call African's mosquito food.
Politicians have always been masters at this sort of twisted insult rhetoric. Learning the difference in how to make a controversial joke with empathy and without is what separates good speakers/writers from great ones. I have started adding this technique to editing my comedy writing. I will sometimes go back over something and it seems sort of mean-spirited, so I think about it empathetically. If I was an oppressed African immigrant in Europe, would I find this offensive? Then I think of a way to make my rants, less offensive, without betraying my message.
With empathy, you can keep the audience, on your side, which is important seeing as how it's hard enough to write something interesting in the first place. Turning people against you with negativity and antipathy, makes it impossible.
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