Learn the art of communication from Indian leaders
Avideo grab of a person urinating on a hapless person sitting on a pavement shocked the whole nation. What was done in response? Several people voiced indignation over the incident. Law enforcers did what is expected of them.
The culprit was booked under the appropriate provisions of law. But then, there was a surprise move from the state’s chief minister, who invited the victim to his official residence. While the victim sat on a chair, the CM went on his knees and washed the victim’s feet, an act atonement from the state’s leader for the indignity inflicted upon him.
In the art of symbolism, symbols are used not for literal representations, but figurative or implied ones. Communication through graphic symbols is all around us. Whether it is a road sign or way-finding signage, stick figures can communicate a message to the audience.
There are ways to increase the emotional intensity of messages communicated through symbols to intensify their effectiveness. It was found that when signboards used photographs rather than stick figures, their communicativeness improved dramatically. This effectiveness was because these photographic images activated mirror neurons in the brains of viewers.
These neurons in the brain play a big role in activating appropriate emotions in humans. Successful brands have gone further with symbolism. They have shown that with the backing of strategic communication, a symbol of an apple fruit can stand for the coolest technology and one of a prancing horse can effectively represent a sports car.
Most brands use only visuals, which are just one mode of symbolism. But nation-states have gone a few steps ahead by using multimodal symbolism strategies to evoke strong loyalty to country brands. All use
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