The Languages of Influence

Understanding other peoples' languages will give us an enormous advantage, as it will help us to know what language to use, and how they feel, and what they need most. It will help us to empathize with them. It will help us to speak to them and understand their replies. We all speak, according to William Isaacs, an MIT researcher and author, a combination of three different languages: the language of "feeling," "meaning" and "action" (or "power"). It is a triad with all three present, but with one, or a particular mixture, dominating. For practical purposes we have identified three language functions (as opposed to styles): persuading, negotiating and, finally, action. Can we be very good at using all three language functions equally? Probably not in equal proportions, but we can certainly use all three effectively even if we feel happier in using one language or a combination of languages. We have chosen four well-known international political figures, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher to study. From these profiles we can learn to identify eachothers' dominant language and how people use language to influence their audiences.