Chapter 1

THE REALITY OF
FRAMING

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Framing Surrounds Us

There are these two young fish swimming along, and

they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other
way, who nods at them and says, Morning, boys, hows
the water? And the two young fish swim on for a bit,
and then eventually one of them looks over at the other
and goes, What the hell is water?
-From David Foster Wallaces 2005 Commencement Address at Kenyon College

Do you know what the water is?

How does this relate to communication?
How does it relate to leadership?

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Framing and Reality

Reality is subjective
The old fish vs. the young fish
This topic is interesting vs. boring

Framing builds reality for others

How do you frame getting a bad grade to friends?
How do you frame a really difficult task to your team?

Do you couch the delivery of bad news in a certain way?

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Six Reality Construction Rules

FOR EVERYONE, BUT ESPECIALLY LEADERS

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Reality Construction Rule #1

Leaders often cannot control events, but they can

control the context under which events are seen if
they recognize a framing opportunity. (p. 2)

It involves answering the question, What

do the events at hand mean?
Consider Robert Murray. Did he
recognize a framing opportunity
when Crandall Canyon mine
collapsed? (click the picture)

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Reality Construction Rule #2

At its most basic level, framing reality means

defining the situation here and now in ways
that connect with others. (p. 3)
Why is it so important to frame in ways
that connect with others?
Did Robert Murray connect or not
with his audience? (click the picture)

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Reality Construction Rule #3

Reality is often contested. Framing a subject is

an act of persuasion by leaders, one imbued with
ethical choices. (p. 5)
Can you give a leadership example of a contested
reality? (Hint: Hes the leader were looking for. No,
hes not. She is!)
How are ethical choices embedded in persuasion?

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Reality Construction Rule #4

It is the uncertainty, confusion, and undecidability

of the situation here and now that opens it up for
interpretation and provides an opportunity for the
more verbally skilled among us to emerge as
leaders. (p. 7)
Can you give an example of emergent
leadership based on a persons
verbal skills? (Hint: Barack Obama
at the 2004 Democratic National
Convention click the picture)

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Reality Construction Rule #5

Ultimately, leadership is a design problem.

Leaders must figure out what leadership is in the
context of what they do and, through their
framing and actions, persuade themselves and
other people that they are doing it. (p. 8)
So leadership is also about self-persuasion? Explain.
Ultimately, was Robert Murray believable as a leader?

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Reality Construction Rule #6

Effective framing requires that leaders be able to

control their own spontaneous communications.
(p. 12)

Do you think it is really possible to control spontaneous

communication?
Why or why not?

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Message Design Logics

WHAT FRAMING STYLE DO YOU USE?

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 What is your sensitivity to framing? (p. 15)

From Barbara J. OKeefes research on Message

Design Logics
When communicating, people use one of three
design logics to form their messages and interpret
those from others:
Expressive
Conventional
Strategic
These design logics can gauge your sensitivity to the
framing concept.

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Expressive (p. 17)

Least sensitive to the framing concept.

Primary communication goal is to express yourself.
Friends may remark that you lack an
edit function; you tend to be blunt
and very literal.
On the positive side, others may find
you trustworthy because you dont
play games.
Coach Bobby Knight

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Conventional (p. 18)

Some sensitivity to the framing concept.

Communication is viewed as a cooperative
venture in which others needs are also recognized.
Your focus is on what is appropriate given the
context.
However, you tend to see the context as fixed.

President George H. W. Bush

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Strategic (p. 19)

Great sensitivity to the framing concept.

Heightened sensitivity to language.
People and situations are mutable (not fixed); they
are created and negotiated through language.
However, you may be perceived as manipulative
when self-interests dominate.

President Bill Clinton

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 Conflict (p. 21)

For people whose styles are the same (e.g., Expressive

to Expressive, Conventional to Conventional, Strategic
to Strategic), conflict is only over the issues.
For people whose styles differ, conflict will occur over
the issues and the other persons style. For example:
Strategics and Conventionals may find Expressives to be rude.
Expressives and Conventionals may find Strategics to be
manipulative.
Strategics and Expressives may find Conventionals to be overly
rules-oriented.

From The Power of Framing by Gail T. Fairhurst. Copyright 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.