[Exploring Effective Presentations] Why do 'correct words' alone make the atmosphere stiff? | Inception-style presentation
In a meeting,
the moment someone says something correct,
for some reason,
the atmosphere can become stiff.
The content is,
extremely logical.
If anything,
I think,
'It's not wrong.'
But,
for some reason, just a little bit,
it feels suffocating.
Recently,
for internal use,
I was organizing how to proceed with design.
・It's well-organized, yet misaligned with user needs
・People's understanding of 'what to prioritize' doesn't match
・The conceptual direction doesn't fit the product
・The product's features are blurred
Wanting to reduce such things,
'What we want to aim for with this product'
is,
something to organize first.
That was the topic.
At first,
I wrote it quite logically.
💡Mission.
💡Conditions for success.
💡Priorities.
💡Non-negotiables.
As the person writing it,
I felt it was quite well-organized.
If anything,
'I've discovered something interesting'
is about what I was thinking.
But in the middle of the presentation,
just a little bit,
there was a strange sense of discomfort.
Somehow...
the atmosphere is heavy...
Beyond the content,
the other party,
feels a little bit guarded.
Of course,
it's not that anyone is angry.
It's not that they are opposing it either.
But,
somewhere in the atmosphere,
something like a 'feeling that freedom is decreasing'
is,
drifting a little.
At that moment,
I finally realized.
People,
do not react only after understanding the meaning of words.
Even before that,
the body is reacting.
For example,
the words 'mission',
'conditions for success',
'priorities'.
If it's just the meaning,
it's nothing special.
But,
in the past,
🙁evaluated.
☹️managed.
🙁pressured.
😣had the 'correct answer' forced upon me.
When connected to such an atmosphere,
before understanding the meaning,
just a little bit,
it becomes suffocating.
Somehow,
a feeling of not being able to escape.
Just a little bit,
it becomes harder to think freely.
The person themselves
does not clearly realize
that they
might be losing their freedom.
But,
only a sense of 'something feels uncomfortable'
remains.
Last time,
I wrote a little about how
'the stronger the words,
the more people put their guard up.'
But what I felt this time
was something even more fundamental.
People,
rather than reacting to the meaning,
'when they hear those words,
whether their body feels safe'
is what they are reacting to.
And what makes it tricky is that
the person saying it
has good intentions.
👆 I want to improve quality.
👆 I want to reduce misalignment.
👆 I want to make it easier to think.
That is
all.
But,
depending on the words,
as an 'atmosphere where freedom is taken away'
the body reacts
first.
That is why recently,
rather than 'what to say,'
I have started to pay a little more attention to
'what is generated within the other person
with those words.'
Rather than giving a correct explanation,
creating an atmosphere where they can think with peace of mind.
Words,
perhaps,
reach people as an atmosphere
before they reach them as meaning.