Spell it Out: The Power of Clarity

'Scripts' are how our social brains understand the world - so if you want someone to change their behaviour, you have to give them a new script

Arguably the most fundamental function of the human brain is to predict the future. By that I mean we’ve prospered as a species because we’re able to learn complex patterns of cause and effect, predict likely probabilities, and, essentially, have a pretty good idea of what’s coming next. We form mental models - or scripts - of how the world works and, when at all possible, follow them automatically without applying too much thought (freeing up valuable thinking time for other concerns).

Scripts are essentially behavioural routines that we’ve learned as ‘actors’ in our social worlds. There’s a script for our all our everyday activities: Driving, going to the supermarket, cooking a meal from a well-memorised recipe. Next time you see traffic part like waves to let an ambulance through, think about what is happening – everyone in every car knows precisely what they need to do in that situation. It is a socially shared script that’s triggered in response to a specific environmental cue (the ambulance siren).

We rely on scripts all the time - they help us cope with uncertainty and provide a readily accessible guide to how we should behave. Uncertainty inhibits action, so giving people new behavioural scripts - clear, memorable steps to go through, makes it more likely they will perform the intended behaviour even when they are faced with competing demands on their time (e.g., when busy, hungry, tired, stressed…).

Both internal and external comms benefit greatly from providing a clear behavioural script we want the reader to follow. This is especially the case when the comms in question are trying to encourage people to change their behaviour. In such cases, by definition, the behaviour we are encouraging people to adopt is one that is unfamiliar to the recipient of the message (i.e., they do not have an existing script for it). Providing that script - as long as the message is compelling enough - gives a clear set of steps to follow to achieve the behaviour change. In other words, the motivation might be there (e.g., wanting to get fit) but the message recipient might just not be able to get started. Spelling out the steps means they can just do it without having to give it much thought (e.g., go to the gym … on Tuesday … at 3pm … here is the address … you can get this bus …). Breaking up the script in to small steps that are easier to visualise, remember and achieve is an advantage as is using concrete language and visuals. One of the best implementations of this I’ve seen is an NHS Blood and Transplant flier that literally broke down the steps, with drawings, of what happens when you go along to give blood. Pre-stamped coffee reward cards and pre-filled application forms are other good examples.

A great deal of research shows that we are more likely to enact behaviours in line with our goals when we make these accessible, and easy step-by-step plans to achieve them. Making sure that any message intended to simulate or change behaviour includes clear scripting should therefore make it far more likely to achieve its goals.