[Namsan Ddalggakbari] Why Does My Heart Move to Their Words?

The quality, impact, and influence of a message depend on which messenger delivers it
Whether to listen is determined by eight traits including status, competence, charm, credibility, and charisma
Leaders with likability and rapport have greater influence
The future of a country could be decided by a famous but incompetent messenger

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] "Don't shoot the messenger."

This phrase is an English idiom meaning "Don't take out your anger on the wrong person." How do you react when you hear a certain message?

A 'messenger' is an intermediary who delivers information. The 'information' here can be simple data like today's weather announced by a meteorologist, or it can be something that reveals a certain perspective, like a journalist's or blogger's column. It could be a Twitter or Facebook post claiming a particular news story is fake, or a marketing campaign that pays so-called 'influencers' to promote products. It might also be a policy idea, vision, or worldview aimed at attracting public attention and influencing people's thoughts, beliefs, and even their existence.

What is the price of taking out your anger on the wrong person?

No matter where it originates, once a message is delivered, an interesting phenomenon occurs. In the mind of the recipient, the messenger becomes associated with the message itself?even though the messenger is not the original creator of the message. This association greatly influences how both the messenger and the message are evaluated thereafter.

In the past, royal proclamators who acted as spokespeople for the British king had to be prepared to be seriously harmed by angry crowds reacting to the kingdom's news. Physical violence against them was so widespread that laws were enacted specifically to protect them. Harming a proclamator was considered an act of treason equivalent to harming the monarch. And the price of such treason?taking out anger on the wrong person?was death.

The author emphasizes, "It is important to understand that the impact and shock are not due to the content of the message itself," and that "the results should be seen as arising from the characteristics attributed to the messenger delivering the message." The goodness or badness, influence, and shock of a message can vary depending on who the messenger is.

Actors, consultants, lawyers, and friends are all messengers

Nowadays, large corporations hire actors to promote their products. Managers hire consultants to deliver difficult announcements to employees or to advocate new operational policies. Rival parties communicate messages through mediators, and divorced couples exchange messages via lawyers. When students like someone, they often send a friend first to gauge feelings.

Here, actors, consultants, mediators, lawyers, and friends are all messengers. There are eight key characteristics that significantly influence whom we choose to listen to as messengers. Four of these are 'status-centered' hard effects, and the other four are 'bond-centered' soft effects. The hard effects include socioeconomic status, competence, dominance, and attractiveness, while the soft effects include warmth, vulnerability, trustworthiness, and charisma.

The author stresses, "Messengers who possess two or more of these subtle, hard-to-detect, and easily overlooked characteristics are likely to have a stronger influence on the public." The eight messenger effects proposed by the author also affect how people receive messages differently. Which messenger will you be? There are three types: 'Whose words will you listen to?', 'Whom will you trust?', and 'What kind of person will you become?'

An incompetent but famous messenger decides the country's future

You decide 'Whose words will you listen to?'. Attractive individuals quickly and easily gain attention thanks to the evolutionary and social value of this messenger trait. Of course, gaining attention does not guarantee that their thoughts, opinions, or requests will be accepted or embraced. However, it is certain that they will not be ignored.

'Whom will you trust?'. Advice that can save lives sounds more convincing when delivered by someone who looks like an expert. Instructions given during fire drills are more trusted when issued by a person with a dominant voice. Words of encouragement and empathy appear more genuine when delivered by a messenger perceived as warm.

You decide 'What kind of person will you become?'. A timid teenager might be encouraged by an aggressive and dominant friend to use drugs or join a violent gang. A parent's decision on whether to vaccinate their child can affect not only the child's health but also the health of many others around them. Even politically indifferent people can become passionate voters influenced by celebrities.

Who is the messenger that can make people listen to you, believe you, and make your words come true? The author says, "If necessary, sometimes hard but mostly a leader with likability and bonds." These days, the author's claim that "a country's future may be decided not by a competent messenger but simply by a famous and dominant messenger" feels very real.

Messenger, by Steve Martin & Joseph Marks, translated by Kim Yoon-jae, 21st Century Books, 22,000 KRW