Filtering the Unwarranted Decibel: A Perception Strategy Analysis

Let me start this with a small story. A man was riding his bike in the night and he was in the midst of a dim lit road. All of a sudden his wife who was in the pillion started yelling. The reason was because she had spotted a snake on the road which was actually few metres away. Now the panic stricken wife’s reaction completely shook the husband’s driving focus which eventually lead to an accident. Luckily the fall was minor and the hissing snake disappeared into the dark.

The second COVID wave has gripped all of us in a similar fashion. There was some complacency and lackadaisical attitude amongst public towards taking precautionary steps which eventually lead to an aggravated surge in COVID cases. This mushroomed into the greatest war against humanity and devastated India with its alarming rise of mortality rates and positivity rates.

Frightening news about death tolls, lack of oxygen cylinders, unavailability of COVID beds etc. made us even more psychologically quarantined with panic and uncertainty.

During the first wave, these continuous barrage of depressing news led to a shocking incident in Germany. Germany’s financial mess resulted in the shocking suicide of the German Finance minister. A negative news and repeated display of negative information can result in severe psychological repercussions which in some extreme cases can lead to large scale devastation.

Our perceptions are coloured by all that noise which impacts us. Even senior epidemiologists are in sixes and sevens on how to tackle these double and triple mutant variants of the virus.

Crisis strategy is always used as a strong strategic tool with expertise and a proactive experimental attempt in dousing the fire by people in leadership roles. Seasoned leaders constantly connect with their people and establish an effective sense of coordination to mitigate aspects which may even sometimes further complicate a crisis situation.

Corporate leaders and HR heads have started connecting with their employees with motivational sessions by encouraging and giving them hope, that we are all together as one in this greatest fight against humanity. With strict work from home, vaccination drives for employees, helping employees with all support during these hard times etc., the employees feel the sense of belongingness as a part of a family.

Even in the Bible, when Moses sends 12 people to spy on the promised land, majority of them perceive it as a land which is cursed or troubled. But the perception of only 2 people changes the entire perspective about the promised land.

There are now 2 types of fear. People now fear for both the COVID infection on one side and the probable and uncertain side effects of the vaccine on the other side.

Health and wellness being the topmost priority for any country in the world currently with regards to the pandemic, has factors like fear for vaccine, fear of death, business loss and probable impact on other long term plans.

Emotions and words have a strong connect. Brand perception and popular belief stems from various elements like the current reality, mood and aspirations of the people and how people feel on decision-making strategies as well as it’s impact on their lives.

Pandemic of such gargantuan proportions can definitely result in proactive citizenry, rise in humanitarian efforts, surge in community service, preventive strategies to reduce business loss, government policies, decisions and finances for emergency relief measures etc.

The way we handle effective communication and our choice of projecting the right words at the right time coupled with requisite efforts to solve and effectively handle a situation, emboldens the views and perceptions of our people.

The brand, reputation, growth and emotion connected with leaders and their ability to influence people’s perception plays a crucial role on how the messaging impacts its target audience.

People are seekers of a leader’s communication and that eventually can impact their choices to choose leaders in a nation. COVID has also strongly influenced elections in the nation.

Stability and confidence coupled with displaying a strong bond with people’s emotions and thoughts is crucial along with winning their hearts by being perceived as a reliable hero. This is a crucial requisite for a leader during such moments of unimaginable crisis.

Perception also very importantly is shaped by only the relevant information and all the other gimmicks or half-truths or unwarranted decibels eventually are either filtered or ignored.

Every noise, every act, every information and every sign can impact perception. But above all these aspects, we must remember that only effective messaging and the impactful word from a reliable source will or can definitely turn things around.

Cut the cacophony out to really understand what exactly matters.

An elephant shut in a small cage for considerably a very long time may not appreciate a large spaced compartment or area since its perceptions have been boxed to make it roam only in a small space. You may call it as a mental block. But that how it is in reality.