1.0Sightline Institutehttps://www.sightline.orgAnna Faheyhttps://www.sightline.org/profile/anna-fahey/The Economy: Operating Instructions for Communicators - Sightline Instituterich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="k0Ks9AyjGP"><a href="https://www.sightline.org/2011/09/28/the-economy-operating-instructions-for-communicators/">The Economy: Operating Instructions for Communicators</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.sightline.org/2011/09/28/the-economy-operating-instructions-for-communicators/embed/#?secret=k0Ks9AyjGP" width="600" height="338" title="“The Economy: Operating Instructions for Communicators” — Sightline Institute" data-secret="k0Ks9AyjGP" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">
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https://www.sightline.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/train-track-keyseeker-morguefile-com-343x550.jpg343550To understand any big, messy concept, the human brain turns unconsciously to mental shortcuts---what communications experts call conceptual metaphors or frames. Take common ways to talk about the economy: We say it's accelerating or stalled; on track, going into the ditch, or crashing, like the whole thing is some kind of object in motion. Or we hear it's thriving, flat on its back, needing resuscitation---as if the economy were a living body. Sometimes, the dollar “falls” and unemployment “rises”---like magic, all on their own! As messaging expert and cognitive linguistics researcher Anat Shenker-Osorio reminds us, these familiar expressions aren't merely flowery language. Our words actually shape what people think the economy is, how it should work, and what economic policies seem logical or right.