WEBVTT - Second Cup: Use the headline test

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to use the headline test. When you are

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>but there is also something to be said for considering

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<v Speaker 1>how other people will be likely to understand your decision

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<v Speaker 1>at first glance. You want to make sure it won't

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>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. To think about how you

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<v Speaker 1>will narrate that decision in a way that doesn't undercut

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<v Speaker 1>your support for your town's public schools. And there are

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<v Speaker 1>various reasons that this might be the case. Maybe your

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<v Speaker 1>child has a special need that a local private school

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<v Speaker 1>specializes in. You can talk about the decision that way

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

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<v Speaker 1>schools special education offerings, but in the meantime, you are

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>healthcare benefits, And if that is what you are 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 HSA car that would cover most of

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

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

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>change to try to shape the headline that people would see.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes the headline test will prompt you to think carefully

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<v Speaker 1>about how to communicate your decision, and other times the

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>organizations so your donations make a bigger difference. Your kid's

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

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>thriving at the school stops giving to the school because

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>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 vandercam 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 him. 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 pod. You can

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

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<v Speaker 1>iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with

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<v Speaker 1>all the letters. Thanks so much. Should I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.

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