Thomas Clifford /// Humanizing Business Communications

For some reason, we’re born to think that whatever we learn first about something continues to stay true.

“According to the first law of knowledge, people continue to believe whatever they learned first, regardless of later evidence against it.” (Tom Snyder/Kevin Kearns: “Escaping the Price-Driven Sale”)

Here’s a perfect example.

Someone says to you, “Want to watch a corporate video?”

C’mon. Admit it.

You’re rolling your eyes and thinking: “Are you kidding? They’re boring!”

That’s the law of first knowledge in action.

Your first response to seeing a corporate video was probably something like this: “They must all be boring.”

Remember, the law of first knowledge says: “All of us have a tendency to see only the things that confirm what we already believe.” (Tom Snyder/Kevin Kearns)

Now along comes Honda.

What do they do?

They produce a dramatic, engaging new documentary series called “Dream the Impossible.”

So here’s the question:

What would you believe about corporate videos if Honda’s “Dream the Impossible” was the first video you saw? Would your "first knowledge" change your perceptions and future expectations of videos from organizations? What about those new to corporate videos seeing this series for the first time?

What do you think? Drop me a note.

---Tom

Smashing the Law of First Knowledge