WEBVTT - Use the headline test

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to use the headline test. When you

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<v Speaker 1>are making a decision, consider how your decision would sound

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<v Speaker 1>as the headline of a newspaper article. You want to

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<v Speaker 1>make the best decision, not just the most popular or

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<v Speaker 1>easiest one, but there is also something to be said

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<v Speaker 1>for considering how other people will be likely to understand

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<v Speaker 1>your decision at first glance. You want to make sure

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<v Speaker 1>it won't come off in a way that you don't intend.

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<v Speaker 1>Many business leaders learn the advice that you shouldn't do

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<v Speaker 1>anything you wouldn't want written about on the front page

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<v Speaker 1>of the Wall Street Journal. If you would be embarrassed

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<v Speaker 1>by that prominent telling of what you are about to do,

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<v Speaker 1>you should really think about whether you should do it,

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<v Speaker 1>And that is good advice. But even if you are

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<v Speaker 1>doing something reasonable, headlines often tell the most controversial or

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<v Speaker 1>grabby aspect of a story. If people are likely to

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<v Speaker 1>talk about what you are doing, you want to think

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<v Speaker 1>about the potential headlines so you can be intentional about

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<v Speaker 1>how you explain the decision and your reasoning. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>if you are on the school board for your town

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<v Speaker 1>and decide to move your own child to an independent school.

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<v Speaker 1>You will realize that this probably does not pass the

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<v Speaker 1>headline test on its face. School board member abandoning public schools, right,

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<v Speaker 1>that's what people will think. So you need to think

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<v Speaker 1>about how you will narrate that decision in a way

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<v Speaker 1>that doesn't undercut your support for your town's public schools.

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<v Speaker 1>And there are various reasons that this might be the case.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe your child has a special need that a local

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<v Speaker 1>private school specializes in. You can talk about the decision

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<v Speaker 1>that way and emphasize that you are working on expanding

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<v Speaker 1>your public schools special education offerings, but in the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>you are making this decision for your child. As another example,

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<v Speaker 1>suppose your organization goes to a high deductible health insurance

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<v Speaker 1>plan from a more traditional health insurance plan. The obvious

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<v Speaker 1>way employees might write this headline is that cheap boss

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<v Speaker 1>slashes healthcare benefits. And if that is what you're doing,

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<v Speaker 1>that is one thing. But maybe you have plans to

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<v Speaker 1>give employees an hs A card that would cover most

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<v Speaker 1>of the deductible change, and it turns out that your

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<v Speaker 1>organization will still save enough that everyone can get a

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<v Speaker 1>cost of living salary increase. If that is the case,

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<v Speaker 1>you need to make sure that you are talking about

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<v Speaker 1>those things every single time you talk about the health

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<v Speaker 1>insurance change to try to shape the headline that people

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<v Speaker 1>would see. Sometimes the headline test will prompt you to

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<v Speaker 1>think carefully about how to communicate your decision, and other

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<v Speaker 1>times the headline test may lead you to do something differently.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe ideally you would rather concentrate your charitable giving on

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<v Speaker 1>fewer organizations so your donations make a bigger difference. Your

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<v Speaker 1>kids school seems pretty well funded, so it isn't one

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<v Speaker 1>of your top giving priorities. But if you see that

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<v Speaker 1>the principle would perceive this headline as parent of current

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<v Speaker 1>students thriving at the school stops give in to the

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<v Speaker 1>school because of other priorities, you might not like that headline,

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<v Speaker 1>so you could potentially give a small amount even if

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<v Speaker 1>you don't give a lot. When you use the headline test,

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<v Speaker 1>you can make sure that your thoughtful decisions seem thoughtful

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<v Speaker 1>to someone without all the details. That way, you'll know

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<v Speaker 1>when you may need to be especially intentional about your

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<v Speaker 1>explanations or even perhaps change what you do if you

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<v Speaker 1>try using the headline test, I'd love to hear about it.

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<v Speaker 1>You can reach me at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from it. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, questions, or anything else. Just connect with me

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<v Speaker 1>on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's

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<v Speaker 1>b E the number four, then breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at iHeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, should

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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