The myth of the myth
- Fri, December 02 2011
- Filed under: Marketing essentials
I’m not a big fan of outreach that states myths vs. realities. Why waste words repeating what isn’t true? It could reinforce the falsehood.
A couple of years back, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tried to combat myths about the flu vaccine by listing commonly held views and labeling them either “true” or “false.” Examples of myths were, “The side effects are worse than the flu” and “Only older people need flu vaccine.” University of Michigan social psychologist Norbert Schwarz found that after reading the flier, the target audience incorrectly recalled 28 percent of the false statements as true. And three days later, they remembered 40 percent of the myths as factual.
If you are trying to overcome a falsehood, you’re doing yourself no favors by repeating it—even if only to debunk it. Repeating myths perpetuates them.
Don’t convey information that’s not key to your single message - or a “myth”. Keep focused on the single right message and people will be more likely to catch it - and recall it.
Comments
Katya, you hit the nail on the head again!
I often yell at my radio or tv when pundits repeat myths and falsehoods because most folks don’t have their antenna up to discern the real message.
Katya, I remember ages ago when I taught college level math. One of the first things we learned was to never, ever write something that’s not correct on the board, even if it’s just to emphasize it and cross it out.
That incorrect statment or formula could be the only thing someone remembers from the class.
Katya - what an interesting message! Thank you for sharing this information.
I have to say, I follow your blog and it is consistently full of such helpful information. Thank you for what you do!
Hi Katya!! Your posted info is very useful. I’ll definitely follow the info you provide here and will be back again to gain more knowledge. Thanks
Thx for the information, sometimes it is not that easy to differentiate the truths from the myths due to the noises around us!