Integrity

A handshake communicates many things. Firmness suggests confidence. Eagerness to connect invites engagement. Lingering grasp hints of connectedness. Warmth means the person is alive and vital.

The opposite words provide a different view: limp handshake indicates a lack of commitment or self confidence; half-hearted approach signals withdrawal and unwillingness to engage; short, weak grasp is a signal of low interest and ‘get me outta here’ sentiment. Cool skin temperature indicates nervousness and lack of connectedness.

Body language accompanies the handshake. So do smiles, readiness to chat and maintenance of nearness, or close quarters.

Something clicks between two people when they are able to share body bumps, ready smiles, a chuckle and open friendliness. The click signals readiness to agree on ideas, tasks and forward motion together.

All the above are social indicators of relationships between individuals, of willingness to relate. It doesn’t have to be personal; but the more it is so projects a successful prospect to transact tasks well. Spread this behavior and ambience to a small group, and team attitudes develop. The larger the group the more important such attitudes become. And the more difficult to create and maintain.

Group dynamics are built on individual relationships. If two people are relating well together, that wellness is transmitted to others nearby. Buoyancy of attitudes among small groups is contagious and spreads to an entire room.

Motivational speakers know this. They know the words they utter will affect an individual listener if an emotional chord is struck. If the chord is positive, the speaker is apt to move others in the room toward uplifting thoughts. The momentum builds as the message soars and amasses more content. Moving the audience to commitment and action takes much more energy and effective messaging. It is personal in a crowd setting. It is possible to connect the members of an audience to one another in common feelings toward a topic. Once the connections are happening, the group emotion swells and leads to commitment and action.

The opposite is true as well. Negative messages of fear, hopelessness and threat of pain and dissolution, rapidly take an audience down a spiral of negative feelings. Connectedness of this audience generates moods supportive of commitment to act out such feelings.

A speaker may thus affect a positive or negative outcome. Talented speakers easily capture group dynamics to produce moods that support the message communicated. This is how motivational speakers work their magic. And propagandists too. The dynamics are quite similar. Motive and desired outcomes are the only difference.

An actor can replicate these dynamics. So can politicians.

The question is: does the audience know the difference? Do they know they are being used? Are they readily able to discern the truth of the messenger?

Is our national integrity at stake at such times?

It is time for us all to think hard on this matter. We have much to lose if we get it wrong.

December 11, 2018