EP#46: Emotion at the heart of it all - Discussing the scarf model

Nicole has had a passion for communications from a young age. At 13-years old, she developed a taste for the industry through a work experience placement at CLEO magazine.

Since then, she has completed an undergraduate and postgraduate qualification in the field, and worked in a variety of communication roles across government, the private sector and the not-for-profit space. Her previous workplaces have included the New South Wales Government, Soldier On Australia and Dimensional Fund Advisors.

Today, Nicole works as a professional speechwriter. And she is keenly interested in understanding human cognition, because she believes it’s key to writing speeches that can better influence and persuade.

Nicole also believes that in today’s world, with increasingly complex issues, we need some of the smartest people in the country working in communication… because good communication can help shape and change the world.

Discussed in this episode:

• JFK and using cognitive understanding to underpin his greatest speeches
• Emotional decision-making at the crux of human beings
• Placing audiences in a threat or reward state, using the the NeuroLeadership Institute’s SCARF Model®
• S: Status
• C: Certainty
• A: Autonomy
• R: Relatedness
• F: Fairness
• Finding the balance of art and science in communications
• The current opportunity for communicators to be creative