Reality Over Perception

It is an age-old rivalry: reality versus perception. Which one is better? Which one do people prefer? Which one do people believe? Conventional wisdom today suggests the contest between these old foes and thus the answer to those questions is not even close. Perception wins. Nowhere is this driven home on a more regular basis then in the currently maddening and disheartening world of politics. Take former governor and Republican candidate for president Mitt Romney. In her recent column in Newsweek, columnist Robin Givhan noted how in his current campaign Romney rarely is seen wearing a tie, thus giving him the appearance of being a man of the people. Apparently, one "mistake" he made when he was a candidate in 2008 is that he did wear a tie and, thus, reinforced the notion that he was just the opposite of what he appears to be now.

I think one reason for much of the negative feelings toward President Obama these days is that the reality of him is not corresponding with how he was perceived when he was candidate Obama back in 2008. Consequently, people are feeling disillusioned, betrayed, and rudderless. My sense is many of his supporters are thinking if he's not "the one" who is going to be fighting for us "little people" against the corporate fat cats as we thought he was several years ago, then who is? My point here is not to dissect the Obama presidency or even Romney's decision to forgo ties, but instead use these as lessons as to why none of us should be so quick to embrace perception no matter how appealing it might seem.

Of the two, reality is the least attractive. It represents in a raw and unapologetic way how people and/or things really are. Perception, on the other hand, represents how we'd like them to be. We embrace perception and then, some point later, see it turn into reality with little warning or heads-up. That is very sobering. Communicators, particularly those who come up with clever campaigns to sell various products, including candidates, know this. This is why they focus on perception much more than reality. Their goal is to get us to buy their product or vote for their candidate. What happens after that is not their concern. Communicators who focus on selling or marketing perception are very creative and talented. Perhaps their skills would be better served if they were directed more toward promoting reality. Their publics certainly would be.