Verbal Inflation = Argument Culture
During my vacation with my folks last week, my dad was reading a book by Deborah Tannen with a publish date of 1998 that actually seems VERY timely. I recommend that anyone even vaguely interested in politics and foreign policy check out The Argument Culture: Moving From Debate to Dialogue (Ballantine Books/Random House) from their local library.
In the same way Hillary Johnson discussed the end of “war” and the beginning of “household” as the metaphor for business management today (in a recent INC article), Tannen long ago pointed out how Western culture seems to have a tendency to approach anything we need to accomplish as if it were a fight or debate. As Tannen writes, “our spirits are corroded by living in an atmosphere of unrelenting contention – an argument culture.”
What happens when we take the “battle” for market share and the competition with other brands out of the equation in our efforts to reach consumers? There begins to be more of a give and take, or an understanding of all the gray areas that come into play around any individual’s buying decision. Less battle and more teamwork may result in a more difficult to “manage” relationship with customers, but the efforts will be a lot more fruitful, I’d think.
It is never “us” against “them” – as marketers to customers, as US citizens to Iraq citizens, or as Joe Q. Public to our elected officials. Right?
And, from Tannen’s perspective as a linguist – the actual words do matter. Think about how we all tend to speak of our customers as our “target” market. I believe it is true, as Tannen writes, that: “Military metaphors train us to think about – and see – everything in terms of fighting, conflict, and war. This perspective then limits our imaginations when we consider what we can do about situations we would like to understand or change.”
Consider that when you read the latest coverage of the presidential campaign or the war in Iraq tomorrow morning.
Now, I have just started to read this book, so I’m sure it’ll continue to be on my mind. Don’t be surprised if I bring it up again. In the meantime, I’m adding both this book and Tannen’s classic, You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation to my background reading list.
