As a sixth grader at PS 279 in Brooklyn, I was selected to represent the “pro” side in a debate about nuclear power. I copied some nifty facts from my family’s new copy of the World Book Encyclopedia: “A golf ball-sized piece of uranium can produce the same amount of electricity as one thousand tons of coal!” I sat down after making my opening statement, confident that I had impressed my fellow sixth graders.
My opponent took a different approach: “Which is worse: a little more pollution or a nuclear explosion?” He was loud and emphatic, waving his arms and tossing out references to Hiroshima, meltdowns, evacuations and birth defects. (He went on to become a lawyer – true story.)
While we had no audience meter, I sensed that the no-nukes team carried the day. But I got to carry away an important lesson: it takes a combination of reason and emotion to move people. If I don’t connect on an emotional level with my audience, I may impress them, but I’m not likely to persuade them.
Do your communications have the right balance of mind and heart?
