Verified by 
Key points
- Humans have devised certain means of reducing ambiguity in communication.
- The most impactful mechanism is "adaptive communication," adjusting our linguistic style to our interlocutor.
- Businesses can apply adaptive communication by adjusting to linguistic evolutions, especially online.
In America, it's called a “parking lot.” In the U.K., it’s a “car park.”
Americans go on “vacation,” but the Brits go on “holiday.”
In America, the street-level floor of a building is called the “first floor.” But in the U.K.? This is called the “ground floor,” and the next floor up is called the “first floor.”
Confused yet?
The linguistic differences are so numerous that it's a miracle Brits and Americans can communicate at all. As the playwright George Bernard Shaw once remarked, “Britain and America are two nations divided by a common language.”
Indeed, languages are complex. Even within the same regional dialect, speakers have different slang, pronunciation styles, and cultural references. This diversity of language makes life interesting. But it also presents key challenges to communication. The good news is, there’s a way to rise to this challenge.
The answer lies in the psychology of adaptive communication. Let's dive in.
The Psychology of Adaptive Communication
The first step is to recognize the fundamental building blocks of communication and the all-important concept of neural synchrony, which is that if we have an idea in our heads, it is our job, as the speaker, to inculcate that same pattern of neural activity into the brain of the listener. The better we can do that, the better we’ve communicated. This is great as an organizing framework, but how can it be improved in the face of immense linguistic diversity?
As social creatures, people have devised ways of communicating that naturally reduce ambiguity over time. When you speak to someone, you naturally, automatically, and unconsciously mirror the other person’s conversational features—and they do the same. Your speech styles become more similar because you adopt their language patterns and they adopt yours.
So, if you speak really fast, quickly communicating a wide array of words, while your conversational partner speaks slowly, deliberately selecting specific words—chances are you’ll converge onto a shared speaking speed within the first few minutes of conversation.
Studies pioneered at the University of Glasgow have found that when you lean back in your chair, the person you’re speaking to will often do the same. These researchers found the same to be true when it comes to a person’s tone, pitch, and even accent.
All of these subtle shifts allow you to converge on one shared medium of communication, which helps you to better understand others. Ultimately, it galvanizes the level of synchrony between speaker and listener.
Applying Interactive Alignment in Business
Adaptive communication isn't limited to everyday conversation. You can also apply this in the business world, whether it be a PR statement, social media content, or advertising copy.
As a business, you’ll need to recognize that language and communication are dynamic—especially in the digital world. Ten years ago, business communication with an emoji would have been almost unheard of. But now? Social media is full of official business accounts utilizing gifs, memes, and pop culture references galore. It’s anyone’s guess what the next five years—or even the next five months—will bring.
The key for businesses is to remove the guesswork, and instead, to have their fingers on the pulse of these shifts. Businesses can’t rest on their laurels; communication styles change and companies need to change along with them.
This will take research. Start following a dozen of your customers on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, and look at the captions they write and the comments they leave. You’ll be able to pick up their patterns and start creating a compatible communication style between you and them.
Next, you’ll need to actively adjust your business's communication style. Communication—and especially adaptive communication—isn’t a spectator sport.
Applying Adaptive Communication
The more a business can engage in adaptive communication with its target market—either on social media, in webinars, or elsewhere—the more opportunities it’ll have to cater its communication to its unique styles, allowing it to remain closely tethered to that target market as these linguistic tendencies naturally shift. Language is dynamic; it’s one element of human nature that is constantly evolving.
As much as possible, engage in two-way conversations to catalyze the natural process of interactive alignment. So, make a new habit and start responding to your audience’s psychology. The more you can actively engage, and adapt accordingly, the clearer and more impactful your message will be.
And over time, you may even be able to communicate effectively “across the pond.”
This article appeared first on the branding psychology blog Neuroscience Of.
