Framing may not be a term you are familiar with but it is crucial that you understand it, important that you use it, and helpful if you embrace the positive qualities of framing. By definition it is an inevitable process of selective influence over the individual's perception of the meaning attributed to words or phrases. A frame defines the package of an element of rhetoric in such a way as to encourage certain interpretations and to discourage others according to Wikipedia. An example might be in the question: "Are you willing to stop beating your wife"? Someone overhearing the question starts with a perception that the one being questioned has beaten his wife. Political campaigns must control the message to win. The "message" or rhetoric has been carefully crafted to make the largest percentage of the electorate perceive the positive aspects of the candidate and the positions of the candidate. As an example, is the picture above a door or a painting? Your perspective can be adjusted by a politician describing it as either one. This subject goes much deeper than politics, however. It is your communication plan.The rapid growth of digital media means future communication will involve far more video and far less written verbiage. In writing, the sentence including the words "she winked" have a different meaning than "she blinked". The framing in the written communication is either physical or social, while the same framing in video form can be easily manipulated to be either. Imagine a video of a person waiting to be interviewed in a theft investigation seated on a hard chair. The individual has their arms and legs crossed legs together, and squirms in the chair as a guilty person might. If the audience was aware that the temperature in the room was 58 degrees they might come to a different conclusion. The mass media of television and video blogging have no ethical constraints that prevent them from leaving out such crucial information so the resulting perceptions can be framed. As you can tell, you have to learn discernment to avoid the manipulation of your opinion. "Truth" as we know it can change. This blog site even has a link to www.snopes.com to help the reader determine the probability of truth. Visual images are powerful communicators.
Word selection has been a component of rhetoric since the beginning of time. Drilling for oil has a different connotation than exploring for energy. Tax relief and tax burden is used for the exact same legislation when communicated to different groups. Names also matter. Recent terms like Bailout and Economic Stimulus didn't actually accomplish either, but did get spending legislation passed in Congress. Social Security implies that our society can rely on it. "War on Terror" was used during the Bush administration for support of the overseas wars following 9-11-2001. Once a frame is established it is even harder to realign it's meaning but it can be done. I wrote last month about the change in actual meaning of liberalism. The addition of photos and videos augmenting the language has an enormous impact. Many historians blame the demise of the VietNam War on the television coverage showing the carnage at the dinner hour. Today we don't have a dinner hour but a 24 hour news cycle that repeats the same story over and over until the rhetoric seems normal. Who controls what you hear? Who controls what you say?
I stated earlier that it is important that you use framing. Social networking has connected millions of people. Recent events in Iran pointed out the power of connecting a world-wide populace and lumping them into two competing "camps" of political position. Videos showing mass demonstrations were spread quickly and due to government restrictions on media became the "factual" reports of events shown around the world. Cell phone video and picture capability along with text messaging linked through the internet will communicate something to dozens, hundreds, or even millions. Please decide in advance what you want that frame to be. Is a video of a child being spanked a message against child abuse or for assertive traditional parenting? Does your Twitter message say about you what you want to be known for? Framing isn't always intentional, so thinking through the ways that messages can be construed shows great wisdom. We all communicate something constantly.
In social science a frame is a collection of stereotypes that individuals rely on to understand and respond to events. In theology, a frame is which documents scholars use for the study of God and truth. The 66 books that make up the Bible come from translations of the chosen scrolls written in Hebrew, and Greek over thousands of years. The core message of the Bible has been proven over time throughout recorded history and today remains the book that has more copies in print than any other since the invention of the printing press. Deception in framing has been around since the Garden of Eden reported in Genesis 3:4-5 through the New Testament in 1st John 2:21-26. Matthew chapters 5,6 and 7 are full of Jesus realigning the framing of the Pharisees. He stated in John 14:6 unequivocal language "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but through me". Two thousand years later we find organized religions and societies in total denial of that truth.
Communication has always been a key to success in life, but is rapidly changing today, requiring us to change. Using the positive aspects of framing will prevent unintentional messages. Often we don't become aware of a frame we are already using until something forces us to replace one frame with another. Applying a frame takes thoughtful and purposeful focus. Otherwise we use the prisms we currently have to perceive the input provided. What is your life message for others? How can it best be communicated to others? You presently influence others, even if by accident. You already have a communication plan based on your relationships with those around you and your chosen lifestyle. The width and depth of the audience chosen can expand far more rapidly than at any time in history with the explosion of internet connectivity. Are you ready with your personal message to the world, framed in the positive direction you've chosen? The internet just brought you mine.
