Written by: Vickie Sullivan | February 16, 2021
What Reality TV and Thought Leaders Have in Common
Confession: When I’m exhausted and can’t handle complex story lines, I break down and watch reality TV. Often, I am surprised (and slightly disturbed) when I get hooked and can’t stop watching. Does this happen to you?
This dynamic also happens in the thought leadership space. Think about it: How often have you run across someone who has a huge following and thought to yourself, “This is nothing but platitudes! Why are they more successful than me?” Well, I think reality TV has some answers for us:
• We start to care. Something taps into an emotional need that gets our attention. This is why every character has a backstory. In our environment, the initial attraction to the thought leader is the familiar. Something about them or what they stand for resonates with us. And then we stay for the constant affirmation.
Listen: Two Big Reasons Why We Care
• We want to know what happens next. After we care, anticipation kicks in. We want to know what happens next. In thought leadership, this translates into, “I wonder what XXX thinks of this situation?” When people wait for our take on things, they will stick with us.
Reality TV is popular for a reason. The programs get us to care about the story, then they create cliffhangers that makes us want to know more. Folks with large followings do the same thing.
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