In the deepest recess of the executive mind is the natural instinct from which evolving man derives that from which he survives the primal brain; the misunderstood but completely overwhelming part of the subconscious that dictates natural motivation of man. I've read documents from the masters of this concept of mind triggers, post hypnotic cues and digging deep into the fertile landscape of the natural reactionary brain.
I'm not a professional writer though I am a clinical psychologist now with a PhD though my initial career started in the US Military PSYOPS program. I've been investigating the use of advanced PSYOPS methods in the private sector and while most propaganda techniques used in the mainstream are little more than bloated PR with an attempt at sadistic implementation for experimental purposes using general statistical and sociological concepts with minimal predictability in overall outcome.
Throughout my research I kept seeing and hearing hints of concepts that are purely PSYOPS related in the execution of specifically European and North American media including newspapers, journals, 24 hour news and satellite radio. I could never focus on one medium long enough because just as I would become consciously aware of the method being used for content distribution the program or segment was over and that is exactly how this type of propaganda psychology functions. A message needs to be spun by an invisible spider while the mind is at rest with positive associations and like-minded content to lower the guard and inject the message into the involuntary recipient.
After about a year I decided that I would take some time off and start to write on propaganda techniques used in the civilian sector on behalf of America's super corporations with a global scope. During my research I was privileged to meet some of the most brilliant minds in modern day PSYOPS study on the bleeding edge where conspiracy and reality merge and the truth is heard only in a dwindling whisper. I was able to travel to London to interview an American crisis management consultant.
The introduction came from a friend who studied at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland who met this gentleman and had a fling of sorts some years back. "Do you want to meet the master web weaver?" she said, "I'll introduce you to the man who spins webs in the minds of millions while they sleep. He can take a region that is about to implode and in a short time completely reverse the situation. It's rather remarkable what he's done." I eagerly kept in touch with her as she tried to find him; apparently people like this are in such demand that they fall off the map when they need downtime then surface when they are ready for the next project.
One day I got the call that this person was in London for a few days on some government contract in the UK and was going to be heading to Korea for World Bank and IMF talks to close up the collateral damage to the economy during the 1998-99 IMF South Korea financial crises. Yes, this was the guy I needed to meet. I was scheduled to meet him at 2pm in the Famous 3 Kings (F3K) bar on N. End Road. I sat there waiting and waiting and just as I was about to give up I hear, "Ah, yes, the lonely American" from behind me. I turned and there he was. I was expecting an older, Sigmund Freud looking scientist type and this man before me was nothing of the sort. He reached his hand out, "James Scott pleased to meet you", I stood up and was taken by how dashing this 'young' gentleman was which was not at all what I had expected but I became more and more intrigued with each second we stood there. We grabbed a booth in the corner and as I pulled out my recorder he placed his hand lightly on mine and said, "let's not" with a slight grin "something tells me that you'll remember exactly what you need and you'll forget the fluff."
"What do I call you? James? Mr. Scott? James Scott?" I said. He laughed, "James is fine, you're really quite stiff. How about some English food?" My response gave me away as I was unfamiliar with English cuisine. He pulled out a menu, "How about some pea soup, jellied eels and warm beer?" we both laughed and from there we got started.
By this time I knew that his specialty was crisis management which is a process of countering negative content in the public domain with multiple tactics that range from disinformation to propaganda using traditional means. "When you accept a project, how do you start? In general, where do you start?" He put his ice water down, "When I drink anything with ice in this country I feel like I'm breaking the law. Damn I miss the States." Continuing, "Well, the starting point is different depending on the issue, the geography, the implementation request by the client and so on. Of course this process sounds so technical and secretive but in reality it's just a form of public relations but in a larger scale in one that molds the message to mesh with the society in which the message is being delivered." He went on, "One must meet the public at the level in which they are at. There can be no preconceived notions that a culture is more progressive or less refined. To deliver an idea to youth for example, the message needs to bombard them in all their safe zones such as their favorite websites, radio, boy band etc. The message must be candy coded with redundant familiar associations and cannot be artificially implemented in the guise of an advertisement of any kind."
I asked him to walk me through the general perimeters of an extremely basic campaign from the perspective of psychological elements, triggers and basic process. "Hmm, let me think on that, I've never verbalized this before, it's always just in my head. I should really start to write this stuff down. So by process I'm assuming you mean steps. First you have to research the target population to find the commonalities between all extremes of personalities, ethnicities etc. and from those similarities you'll initiate building blocks like a staircase into the mind. The conscious mind is not what I mean, rather the primal brain, the root from which man has evolved from caves and trees to modern and evolved." He continued, "You have to focus on the portion of the brain that requires the necessities not the intellectual, not even the factual. We are focusing on the part of the brain that decides whether or not you like a person, you're hungry, you trust someone, your sexual desire is aroused etc. this is the automatic response portion of the brain without the critical faculty passing judgment with a bias that is leveraging information taught by a university profession or that you read in a book. Get to know this part of the brain and the most active parts of this aspect of the mind within the culture of the country you are working in."
"Ok, so I've focused on the primal brain, I know what makes them happy, I know what makes them tick" I said, "now what". He continued, "Now you find the injection methods that are most mainstream, easily assessable to you and constantly within reach the local population. Radio is a good one for eastern block countries and developing nations or conservatives in the US" he grinned, "then it's just a matter of content delivery to the most popular programs in the region which allow you to speak to everyone in one ongoing reverberating voice."
"How do you get content out there?" I asked. "It's actually not that difficult, many times it's just a matter of identifying someone in management that is lacking in certain areas where they need emotional fulfillment. Maybe they were passed over for a promotion, maybe they are the center of harsh gossip, whatever, you give them an out by giving them 'insider information' that nobody else has, allowing them to step in and save the day and look like a god. I'll get them access to a band that won't take their calls or a US or French or other Western senior official that catapults them to the forefront of their local industry. Obviously whomever we give them access to will also be given information in a way that is conducive to optimal message delivery in the most natural manner".
I asked James how long it takes to counter a basic crisis with this type of response mechanism, "Oh, radio offers a quick in and out" he said, "most people that listen to the radio are glued to the radio during the entire work day. You can engage, reengage and then engage some more, it's perfect. Given enough time you could convince the listener that the sky is made of pudding and the ocean isn't blue but pink. All that matters is: how many times per day they are hearing, for how many days, do they have an auditory rapport with the voice used to deliver (in most cases they do because it's a talk show host they listen to religiously) and are all the senses engaged during each period of fractional implementation." Waving for the check, "lastly, make sure you target the message for the basic elements such as the child/mother association anchor, financial association, child/family nurture triggers and other basic clich primal brain catering concepts." Grabbing the check from the waiter, "Do I leave a tip? Wait; in Paris you don't leave a tip." Signing the credit card receipt he went on, "Remember, with this you only get one shot and you will never get a second chance on a population if you blow it. Again, what we went over today is so basic I wouldn't even use it, heck you may not even want to write about it but whatever, I have to go."
I walked him out and after saying goodbye I took a moment to reflect. He just rattled off a strategy that corporations would do anything to possess and then tells me that it's too basic to use. So I wonder what concepts he uses in real life crisis management. He was a true gentleman and I took a lot from this brief meeting. The process of information delivery is not really a science or psychology rather a strange alchemy combined with hypnosis and body language translation. Understanding these concepts is one thing, being so fluent that you can devise large scale campaigns with such a results driven demand would be way too stressful for most people but to the few that can grasp these hidden arts the magic wand of influence is at your disposal.
I'm not a professional writer though I am a clinical psychologist now with a PhD though my initial career started in the US Military PSYOPS program. I've been investigating the use of advanced PSYOPS methods in the private sector and while most propaganda techniques used in the mainstream are little more than bloated PR with an attempt at sadistic implementation for experimental purposes using general statistical and sociological concepts with minimal predictability in overall outcome.
Throughout my research I kept seeing and hearing hints of concepts that are purely PSYOPS related in the execution of specifically European and North American media including newspapers, journals, 24 hour news and satellite radio. I could never focus on one medium long enough because just as I would become consciously aware of the method being used for content distribution the program or segment was over and that is exactly how this type of propaganda psychology functions. A message needs to be spun by an invisible spider while the mind is at rest with positive associations and like-minded content to lower the guard and inject the message into the involuntary recipient.
After about a year I decided that I would take some time off and start to write on propaganda techniques used in the civilian sector on behalf of America's super corporations with a global scope. During my research I was privileged to meet some of the most brilliant minds in modern day PSYOPS study on the bleeding edge where conspiracy and reality merge and the truth is heard only in a dwindling whisper. I was able to travel to London to interview an American crisis management consultant.
The introduction came from a friend who studied at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland who met this gentleman and had a fling of sorts some years back. "Do you want to meet the master web weaver?" she said, "I'll introduce you to the man who spins webs in the minds of millions while they sleep. He can take a region that is about to implode and in a short time completely reverse the situation. It's rather remarkable what he's done." I eagerly kept in touch with her as she tried to find him; apparently people like this are in such demand that they fall off the map when they need downtime then surface when they are ready for the next project.
One day I got the call that this person was in London for a few days on some government contract in the UK and was going to be heading to Korea for World Bank and IMF talks to close up the collateral damage to the economy during the 1998-99 IMF South Korea financial crises. Yes, this was the guy I needed to meet. I was scheduled to meet him at 2pm in the Famous 3 Kings (F3K) bar on N. End Road. I sat there waiting and waiting and just as I was about to give up I hear, "Ah, yes, the lonely American" from behind me. I turned and there he was. I was expecting an older, Sigmund Freud looking scientist type and this man before me was nothing of the sort. He reached his hand out, "James Scott pleased to meet you", I stood up and was taken by how dashing this 'young' gentleman was which was not at all what I had expected but I became more and more intrigued with each second we stood there. We grabbed a booth in the corner and as I pulled out my recorder he placed his hand lightly on mine and said, "let's not" with a slight grin "something tells me that you'll remember exactly what you need and you'll forget the fluff."
"What do I call you? James? Mr. Scott? James Scott?" I said. He laughed, "James is fine, you're really quite stiff. How about some English food?" My response gave me away as I was unfamiliar with English cuisine. He pulled out a menu, "How about some pea soup, jellied eels and warm beer?" we both laughed and from there we got started.
By this time I knew that his specialty was crisis management which is a process of countering negative content in the public domain with multiple tactics that range from disinformation to propaganda using traditional means. "When you accept a project, how do you start? In general, where do you start?" He put his ice water down, "When I drink anything with ice in this country I feel like I'm breaking the law. Damn I miss the States." Continuing, "Well, the starting point is different depending on the issue, the geography, the implementation request by the client and so on. Of course this process sounds so technical and secretive but in reality it's just a form of public relations but in a larger scale in one that molds the message to mesh with the society in which the message is being delivered." He went on, "One must meet the public at the level in which they are at. There can be no preconceived notions that a culture is more progressive or less refined. To deliver an idea to youth for example, the message needs to bombard them in all their safe zones such as their favorite websites, radio, boy band etc. The message must be candy coded with redundant familiar associations and cannot be artificially implemented in the guise of an advertisement of any kind."
I asked him to walk me through the general perimeters of an extremely basic campaign from the perspective of psychological elements, triggers and basic process. "Hmm, let me think on that, I've never verbalized this before, it's always just in my head. I should really start to write this stuff down. So by process I'm assuming you mean steps. First you have to research the target population to find the commonalities between all extremes of personalities, ethnicities etc. and from those similarities you'll initiate building blocks like a staircase into the mind. The conscious mind is not what I mean, rather the primal brain, the root from which man has evolved from caves and trees to modern and evolved." He continued, "You have to focus on the portion of the brain that requires the necessities not the intellectual, not even the factual. We are focusing on the part of the brain that decides whether or not you like a person, you're hungry, you trust someone, your sexual desire is aroused etc. this is the automatic response portion of the brain without the critical faculty passing judgment with a bias that is leveraging information taught by a university profession or that you read in a book. Get to know this part of the brain and the most active parts of this aspect of the mind within the culture of the country you are working in."
"Ok, so I've focused on the primal brain, I know what makes them happy, I know what makes them tick" I said, "now what". He continued, "Now you find the injection methods that are most mainstream, easily assessable to you and constantly within reach the local population. Radio is a good one for eastern block countries and developing nations or conservatives in the US" he grinned, "then it's just a matter of content delivery to the most popular programs in the region which allow you to speak to everyone in one ongoing reverberating voice."
"How do you get content out there?" I asked. "It's actually not that difficult, many times it's just a matter of identifying someone in management that is lacking in certain areas where they need emotional fulfillment. Maybe they were passed over for a promotion, maybe they are the center of harsh gossip, whatever, you give them an out by giving them 'insider information' that nobody else has, allowing them to step in and save the day and look like a god. I'll get them access to a band that won't take their calls or a US or French or other Western senior official that catapults them to the forefront of their local industry. Obviously whomever we give them access to will also be given information in a way that is conducive to optimal message delivery in the most natural manner".
I asked James how long it takes to counter a basic crisis with this type of response mechanism, "Oh, radio offers a quick in and out" he said, "most people that listen to the radio are glued to the radio during the entire work day. You can engage, reengage and then engage some more, it's perfect. Given enough time you could convince the listener that the sky is made of pudding and the ocean isn't blue but pink. All that matters is: how many times per day they are hearing, for how many days, do they have an auditory rapport with the voice used to deliver (in most cases they do because it's a talk show host they listen to religiously) and are all the senses engaged during each period of fractional implementation." Waving for the check, "lastly, make sure you target the message for the basic elements such as the child/mother association anchor, financial association, child/family nurture triggers and other basic clich primal brain catering concepts." Grabbing the check from the waiter, "Do I leave a tip? Wait; in Paris you don't leave a tip." Signing the credit card receipt he went on, "Remember, with this you only get one shot and you will never get a second chance on a population if you blow it. Again, what we went over today is so basic I wouldn't even use it, heck you may not even want to write about it but whatever, I have to go."
I walked him out and after saying goodbye I took a moment to reflect. He just rattled off a strategy that corporations would do anything to possess and then tells me that it's too basic to use. So I wonder what concepts he uses in real life crisis management. He was a true gentleman and I took a lot from this brief meeting. The process of information delivery is not really a science or psychology rather a strange alchemy combined with hypnosis and body language translation. Understanding these concepts is one thing, being so fluent that you can devise large scale campaigns with such a results driven demand would be way too stressful for most people but to the few that can grasp these hidden arts the magic wand of influence is at your disposal.
About the Author:
Rolling Stones Reports on political PSYOPS, and some interesting information on the Primal Brain in an interview with James Scott.
The Communication Blog
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