Influence: The Baader-Meinhof Reframe

I have a couple remaining influence posts to get to…

During last month’s “Influence Month,” I received an email from Michael Murray who has looked at the influence premise a lot in his work. He wrote:

I stumbled upon this train of thought that I really think you will love….

Note: I don’t have anything fleshed out but do believe this premise is right up your street.

There is a concept in psychology called the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, also known as the frequency illusion, where once you purchase a new car you start seeing it everywhere. The idea is that there is an attentional 'awakening' to the object that now holds value to you.  So, imagine that now that the participant is thinking of their favorite movie and actor/actress they will literally start to see the name everywhere!!!!

I think you can guess the direction this is going in ;)

Anyway, a huge thanks once again for kick starting my thinking, I am hugely enjoying yours as always.

I think this is an excellent idea.

It’s sort of a “gentler” version of the Simulation Reframe I described last month. That concept was that every choice you make gets reflected in the world around you via the simulation “creating” the universe in response to your decisions.

If that’s a bit too “out there” for you (or for the person you’re performing for) then the Baader-Meinhof reframe might be a good alternative.

The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, as Michael described it, is when you buy a new car, or learn a new word, or familiarize yourself with an actor you didn’t know before and subsequently you start seeing that car everywhere, reading that word everywhere, or spotting that actor in a bunch of different stuff.

The reason being, of course, that you just weren’t focused on those things before and now you’re noticing them when, in the past, they just faded into the background.

Using Baader-Meinhof as an influence reframe, you can suggest that any choice we make is subject to this phenomenon.

Then you demonstrate it by having them choose a card, or movie, or location, or whatever your trick is.

And now, instead of saying, “And here are eight ways in which you were influenced to choose __________,” you will instead get to join your spectator in looking for the echoes of their choice in the world around you. And this is something that can go on all night.

Say, for example, I’m using Michael’s Show Reel trick. My friend chooses Tom Hanks. We look around and see the name Tom Hanks appears on the page itself in a couple of locations. Then we see a Tom Hanks movie is the only one slightly jutting out of my DVD collection. Later that evening, flipping around on the TV, we come across Castaway playing. Then I spot a note I was writing to my mom asking if she could sew up my torn handkerchiefs. “Look where I asked her to fix my torn hanks.”

(Is that a stretch? Sure. But you can choose to make the reveals as ludicrous or serious as you like.)

Then we get in my car and the radio starts blasting Chet Hanks’ (Tom’s son) hit, White Boy Summer. “Actually, that’s no coincidence,” I say. “I got this banger on repeat all day and all night.”

The fun thing about this reframe is that the trick wouldn’t end there. Going forward, my friend would be paying extra attention to when Tom Hanks pops up, and I’m sure it would end up feeling like it was happening more often than it was previously. Here the actual Baader-Meinhof effect kicks in and continues the experience for weeks, months, or years to come.

Thanks to Michael Murray for suggesting the idea. I think it’s a great influence reframe.