Lulu Cheng Meservey
Framing Changes Everything
Inspired by Lulu Cheng Meservey episode
Lulu Cheng Meservey on framing: how you say something is as important as what you say. Try: "Time to go" vs "We have to leave NOW."
Framing changes how people receive information. It's the same facts, just presented differently.
Parents default to the worst possible framing every time. "Stop playing, we have to go." But you could try positive framing instead: "It's time for the next fun thing!"
Same message. Forward-looking frame. It works more than the negative frame, which is to say it works maybe 30% of the time instead of 10%, but you take what you can get.
The thing is, you're always delivering bad news to someone who didn't ask for any news at all. They were perfectly happy. Your entire parenting strategy is just trying to find the least terrible way to say "Your preferences don't matter right now."
You're basically a crisis communications consultant for a dictatorship, except the dictator is you, the crisis is bedtime, and your approval rating is in the toilet.
