Meet the Superhumans...

With the start of the Paralympics imminent I've been hugely impressed by the Channel 4 build up. The short video 'Meet the Superhumans' is such a wonderful piece of positioning from both a marketing and social perspective.

I've got to be honest and say that I have never really watched the Paralympics in the past but this time it has captured my imagination and I put a lot of that down to the way Channel 4 has went about their coverage.

If you think about, what they've done is simple but immensely clever...They've done a belief change...

They've taken what is a commonly held belief about the Paralympics and completely reversed it so it actually means the opposite...

Think about it...Most people (if they were being honest with themselves) would admit that, while the Paralympics is a hugely worthwhile event, it is seen as the 'lesser Olympics'...Because after all the competitors are not as 'able bodied' as those in the Olympics...In other words 'because Paralymipians are not as physically capable as Olympians they don't hold as much value' and hence they are not as important to watch...

It perhaps sounds a little blunt and there is certainly a lot more to it but the massive difference in viewing figures tells a story...

The wonderful thing that Channel 4 has done, though, is to not just attempt to disprove this but to completely flip it round so it actually means the opposite. 

Meet the Superhumans...What a wonderful Title....Being 'dis-abled' now doesn't mean you are less of a human it actually means your are more of a human...In fact, you're a 'Super' Human...

A beautiful piece of persuasion that touches the heart as much as it compels me to tune in and watch.

From an NLP perspective it also highlights and interesting concept that has an enormous influence on what we think, feel and believe we can do. The concept of 'Framing'. 

The frame we buy into has such an impact on how we live our lives. The mental frame we choose to believe decides the range of options we have available to us at any given point in time...

I mean would you rather be considered 'dis abled' or a 'Superhuman'?

Which one has more options, more potential for pleasure, happiness and success...hmm let me think...

So have a think about the frames you buy into or the frames that are forced upon you by others. Some you'll want to...some you may want to expand and refine...and some you most definitely want to reject...

And just remember...Your mental frames pretty much determine what you can and can't do, What you think, feel and belief so choose wisely...:-)

Steve
NLP Training Scotland
The Scottish Centre of NLP