Own your frame
We are passionate about the art and science of message framing.
Positive, persistent frames that engage compassionate values can provide a pathway out of entrenched issues.
Deliberate message framing can activate change and create a fairer society and a more sustainable world.
​
WHAT ARE FRAMES?
Frames act as the filters through which we accept, reject or otherwise perceive and process information presented to us. Frames build up over time based on our experience, values and beliefs. They are embodied, visceral, tied to emotion and very durable.
Frames shape—quite literally—our perception of ‘common sense’ and framing concepts explain why two people can have completely different interpretations of the same input of information.
Facts bounce off frames
Facts alone, no matter how compelling, will never win the day because people are not rational decision-makers. Instead, people make decisions, reason, vote, act, buy, believe, respond and behave in accordance with their own values disposition, the values engaged or primed through language, the degree of resonance with long-established personally held frames, and the way information is framed by a third party.
It's all about values
Values are our guiding principles; linked to emotion, grounded in experience, shaped by our perceptions of the values held by others and by our institutions, that work away largely subconsciously to guide our attitudes, behaviours and actions.
Breaking news: HUMANITY RATES Benevolence highest of all values!
Research conducted across 68 countries has identified 58 values common to all humanity yet prioritised differently in the individual according to their values disposition.
Benevolence (a disposition to do good; kindness to those around you) is rated as the value of highest importance to people across countries and cultures. People consistently rate compassionate values as being of greater personal importance than more selfishly orientated values yet believe the opposite to be true in other people.
This ‘perception gap’ offers great potential for communicators who feel they have hit a brick wall: people do care—know it and believe it.
People care
People do care, do want a fair and sustainable world and will act towards these outcomes with the right messaging and values priming.
Compassionate values underpin a fairer society
Compassionate values characteristic of benevolence, universalism and self direction are linked to a greater sense of social, community and environmental connection and sense of stewardship. These values typify a nurturant society, where people and communities value, respect and care for each other and their environment.
Take heart. Change is possible!
Change
the conversation
Reframing or creating new frames allows us to present information in a way that awakens, engages and inspires people’s inherent compassionate values—the values that promote benevolent attitudes and a fairer society.
Reframing is about telling the truth directly, articulately and with moral conviction in a way that speaks to people’s compassionate values. It is about clear messages that say what you do want, rather than what you don’t want.
Deliberate, positive frames can change conversations across social justice, education, health and our environment.
How can we help you?
change your frame
engage values
activate change
We can help you understand the critical role of framing and values priming in effective messaging.
We can assess your communications to ensure your audience is really getting the message you intended.
We can guide you through designing and framing your communications to ensure your message engages your audience and has maximum impact.