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FEATURE ARTICLE
Operation Definition Example
Cancellation If several options have
an aspect in common,
this shared aspect is
eliminated.
On a given road, there is
a 1% risk of being injured
in an accident and a 10%
risk of being killed by a
shooter. Another road has
a 10% risk of being killed
by a shooter and a 20%
risk of being attacked
and robbed. The risk of
being killed by a shooter
will be ignored and the
decision will be based
on a consideration of the
other risks.
* Each option is evaluated separately (in isolation from the other options).
obliged to carry out rapid-fire editing operations
that lead to a result – which will be the basis of their
subsequent decisions – that does not truly reflect
the risks they will be exposed to.
What we need to understand, here, is that when
clients consciously analyze the options presented
to them, they do so with data that are different
from the data in front of them. Their brains have
already organized the information to make it easier
to evaluate and allow them to make a decision.
Every meeting with a client should be structured
so that the information is picked up in a logical
sequence, using communications tools that
facilitate understanding, such as diagrams, graphs
or data sheets that summarize important points.
Offering yet more options only increases the
client's need to simplify, so you should also avoid
inundating them with possibilities: just offer the
options that are the most attractive for their
situation.
The real challenge is finding the right balance
between the quantity of information we want to
pass along and the quantity the client is capable of
absorbing to make an informed choice! By gaining a
better understanding of how information is "edited"
– that is, absorbed and classified by our clients – we
can communicate with them more effectively. In
the next issue of La Cible, we will look at the value
given to each piece of information, once it is edited.
Despite its utility, this unconscious process can lead
to problems, such as deciding that an option with
a very low probability is actually impossible and
therefore eliminating it.
This mental task can be exhausting for someone
who is asked to absorb great quantities of
information in very little time. The result of the
triage will also differ from one person to the next,
because the way of presenting the data and the
characteristics of each individual influence the
coding, as well as the brain's capacity to carry out
some of the operations described above.
A huge onslaught of information increases the
need to manipulate the data in the editing phase.
This means it is better to avoid subjecting clients
to mental gymnastics sessions where they are
