The most watched broadcast on TV is the Superbowl. Do you know what is the second most watched show?
Millions of people who ordinarily don’t even care about football watch the Superbowl. Apparently, the most effective way to get Americans to pay attention to you is if their friends are already paying attention. That’s the orange “Relationships” principle in my SpeechDeck public speaking system. I’ve covered that plenty in my political posts of late. Let’s go somewhere new.
The Most Popular Shows Ever
So what’s the second most watched TV show?
Here’s the next most popular broadcasts from Wikipedia:
- Superbowl
- M*A*S*H
- Cheers
- Seinfeld
- Friends
- Magnum, P.I.
- Tonight Show (Johnny Carson)
- The Cosby Show
- All in the Family
- Family Ties
If you were an adult in the 1990s you are familiar with the running joke that Seinfeld was a TV show about nothing. I beg to disagree. There is definitely something.
In fact, there is one clear characteristic that ALL of these top TV shows have in common. Pretty much none of the popularity of these shows has much to do with plot.
Sure, you probably remember one of two basic plots from your favorite episodes, but pretty much these shows all follow the same formula:
M*A*S*H – People standing around in a tent talking.
Cheers – People sitting in a bar talking.
Seinfeld – People sitting in a coffee shop talking.
Friends – People sitting on a couch talking.
Tonight Show – Literally people sitting on a set talking.
Cosby Show – People coming in and out of a living room talking.
All in the Family – People coming in and out of a living room talking.
Family Ties – People coming in and out of a living room talking.Nothing really happens in any of these shows. It’s just people sitting around talking about what happens – they rarely show what actually happens.
In fact, the episodes when they leave the living room / couch / bar / apartment / kitchen are always strangely awkward (e.g. Seinfeld finale).
They were not popular because of riveting plots.
The Sitcom Secret
All the most popular TV shows have one characteristic in common: strong character development.
In fact the character development is so strong, I bet you know who I’m referring to even if I don’t name names: The ex-jock, the comedian, the bar maid, the Republican, the hippie, the dad, the blond, the postman, etc.
These TV sitcoms are definitely about something–they are not about plots, they are about characters–or perhaps more accurately, caricatures.
The character traits of the main players are emphasized so that we feel like we know them in real life, even though they are complete fiction.
Have you ever seen a bad TV show? I know, dumb question. This is the time of year when all the TV networks are advertising their great new upcoming sitcoms for the fall.
I remember one year tuning into one of those highly promoted premieres. Half way through the first episode I turned the TV off and said “that show’s never going to make it.”
I was right. How did I know? Because the script was one contrived “laugh line” after another but without any relatable “character” underneath.
Humor is not enough. Plot is not enough. Celebrity is not enough. Deep down inside, on a subconscious level, we don’t relate to the world through just reason, or logic, or even dialog.
Human beings are not like cows who are happy to stand in the wind and eat all day. People are not like gophers who dig their own private tunnels and live alone in the dark of night.
I’m assuming you are human, and humans relate to the world through other people. People need people.
What does this have to do with communication?
Most speakers make the mistake of talking about a product, or talking about a company, or talking about an idea.
You don’t remember those speakers just like you don’t remember all those second tier sitcoms.
If your communication is about something and not about someone, then nobody will go out of their way to listen.
Don’t just tell me about your product or company. Introduce me to the inventor or crucial employee. Tell me all about one of the customer’s values and dreams and personality. Don’t just show my WHAT the product is, show me WHO cares.
Don’t just try to persuade me to your idea. Reveal WHY you care personally. Don’t show me why the idea works, show me how the idea affects real PEOPLE.
You can be that person, some third party can be that person, or the listener can be that person.
Do these three things:
1. Characterize individuals
When I say PEOPLE, I don’t actually mean PEOPLE. I mean PERSON. Relate your message to an individual PERSON.
Show me how George or Pierce or Sam or Archie or Alex or Clair or Phoebe reacts. Relate your message to an individual PERSON.
2. Caricaturize individuals
Paint that individual as an easily identifiable stereotype. Real people are too complex. Caricatures exaggerate one point of emphasis.
In real life there is no Alex P. Keaton. He is a stereotype of an ambitious “young Republican.” Real life doctors are deeper than Hawkeye Pierce. He is a stereotype of an “insubordinate doctor.” Reality has no Cosmo Kramer, he’s just a stereotype of the goofy zero-inhibition neighbor or crazy uncle.
3. Relate
Stereotypes can work both ways. They are good in the sense that caricaturizing a single member of a group helps anyone in that group relate. Stereotypes are bad if they are taken to an extreme that excludes your target audience.
Double check your characterizations to make sure the your audience can actually relate to your character, otherwise the whole process backfires.
In Conclusion
Don’t reinvent the wheel. Do what works. Learn from the TV sitcoms that successfully attracted millions and millions of your fellow Americans’ eyeballs.
You are a TV channel. Don’t put on the kind of show that makes me want to turn you off:
Don’t talk about SOME-THING.
Talk about SOME-ONE.