Neuroscience for organisational communication
It’s long been known that the use of emotion in communication is a very powerful device. It’s not always been used to the best ends and we have a history of people who have used emotion to manipulate people. But actually what we need to recognise is that emotion in communications is a really powerful way of getting our messages across and used appropriately can be highly effective. Now, what’s happening when people are using emotion is that we’re using something called neuroscience.
I’m sure you’ve probably heard of neuroscience. It’s the science of the brain and the activity within the brain. But how can internal communicators use neuroscience principles to make their communications more effective, get through to more of their audience and also, most importantly, for those messages to actually make a meaningful impact on people’s behaviour? So I wanted to explore this and I found today’s guests through a shared contact in Southeast Asia. What we’re going to be looking at in today’s interview is this whole principle of organisational use of neuroscience and how we can use it, but also how we need to be mindful of it in the communications that we are putting out.
We sometimes inadvertently give messages which create damage to people through the communications that we send out. We can also sometimes alienate people by using language or channels that aren’t always the most appropriate for the communications that we are using and that we are deploying. There’s also a really interesting little conversation that we had at the end of the interview, which I think you’ll also be interested in, and it is linked to the overall topic of neuroscience in communication, which is the fact that should we, as internal communicators, be worried about artificial intelligence and whether that can replace us? We may never have even thought that that would be a possibility.
Yes, artificial intelligence can replace more menial, more routine tasks, but could artificial intelligence replace the work that we do as internal communicators? So I think you’ll find that quite an interesting conversation that we have, and it does link to the topic of neuroscience as well. So I hope you enjoy the interview in today’s episode.
Guest profile
Dr. Laura McHale is a leadership psychologist and executive coach, specialising in the application of neuroscience to communication. Laura is a university lecturer, expert facilitator, and speaker. Through her firm, Conduit Consultants, Laura specialises in helping individuals and organisations increase performance, reduce stress, boost engagement, and help make work a more meaningful and fulfilling experience. Laura has just had her book “Neuroscience for Organizational Communication: A Guide for Communicators and Leaders” published.
Laura is a 15-year veteran of the financial services industry at organisations like Deutsche Bank and UBS, where she specialised in executive speechwriting, strategic corporate communications, and change management. In 2015, PRWeek recognised Laura as one of the top communications practitioners in Asia.
Useful links
Linked to relevant episode: https://thebigpicturepeople.co.uk/blog/podcast/the-iconist-the-art-and-science-of-standing-out/
Laura’s Programme: https://www.conduitconsultants.com/neuro-for-comms
Laura’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-laura-mchale-cpsychol-213a53/
Laura’s Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neuroscience-Organizational-Communication-Communicators-Leaders/dp/9811670366
Luara’s Website: www.conduitconsultants.com