I recently finished reading a book, 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-help That Actually Works : A True Story, written by television news anchor Dan Harris. It’s the tale of Harris’ spiritual journey, from a boy whose parents told him in one breath that Santa Claus and God did not exist to covering the religion beat for ABC News to the Buddhist, meditation devotee he is now. It’s informative and entertaining, and compelling because it’s coming from someone you would never expect to embrace self-help or spirituality, no less write a book about those things.
Enough with the synopsis and endorsement. I came across this paragraph which has very little to do with his journey. Let me set it up. Harris is repeatedly asked by skeptical friends, colleagues, and family what meditation does for him. He can’t seem to find the right words until one day he blurts out, “It makes me 10% happier.”
My new slogan also jibed nicely with a major behind-the-scenes ethos in TV news: reporters, it was believed, should try never to oversell their stories. You don’t want to go around telling the people who run the various shows that you’ve got the most amazing material in the world, and then leave them underwhelmed. They’ll never put you on the air again. Always best to provide room for upside surprise. (Of course, you’d never know this by watching our product. On the air, we believe in the opposite of underselling; we slap “exclusive” labels on everything.”)
I’ve experienced this first hand when I’ve tried to “sell” A Life’s Work to producer- and money-types vs. a non-industry person. So, here’s my question: Why is this so? Why must an audience be oversold a story and the insiders undersold the same story? With all of this information constantly streaming our way, aren’t we all jaded insiders now?
Thoughts?