The cybersecurity industry has a problem. Everyone is scared of the subject, and a lot of it is our fault. The rapid growth of the cybersecurity industry has evolved from fear through the use of negative emotive language as a tactic to promote change and get people to engage urgently. This is often why we never hear stories that a breach has been stopped before it happens.
Yet, playing on people’s fears and uncertainties is consequently achieving more harm than good. As fearmongering story headlines such as “AI AM IN TROUBLE” have contributed towards decision paralysis, heightening anxiety and most importantly has widened the gap between people and technology. Evidently, while this communication style is being used for good, it far outweighs the reward. It is important for security leaders to rethink their communication style and use emotive language to promote positivity to help raise security awareness within their teams.
Emotive language is used to help evoke an emotional response from the reader. When used effectively, it can help you to form a deeper connection with your audience and can persuade them to take action. Professor, author and viral marketer, Jonah Berger believes that emotions significantly impact our judgement and appealing to them is a powerful way to grab the attention of the reader.
But in the world of security comms, we must be mindful of how we use this technique. Cybersecurity can be a daunting subject for many, so organisations should avoid using negative emotive language which could create anxiety and panic among readers.
For instance, in the scenario where you are communicating the importance of protecting the business against malware, when describing the outcome of an attack like this, avoid using words like “disaster” or “catastrophic”. Negative language such as this, promotes fear and can hinder how the message is received by the reader. In this context, the use of emotive words, may make the reader feel a great sense of panic, pressure and great responsibility which can cloud their judgement, and impact their security behaviour negatively.
Positive vs. negative emotion language can also look like:
Negative Emotive Language:
"Our systems are at extreme risk of being completely compromised if we don’t act now. Hackers are relentlessly targeting our vulnerabilities, and any delay in response will devastate our operations and reputation."
Positive Emotive Language:
"By taking proactive steps today, we can strengthen our systems and safeguard the company’s data against any potential threats. Our dedicated team is constantly monitoring for risks, ensuring we stay ahead of evolving challenges to protect our future."
Emotional language can be used to convey a positive message within security awareness materials and can make content more interesting. It can also help to improve engagement levels and aid positive behavioural change in the long term.
For example, positive behavioural changes can include not just safer online decisions - such as knowing not to click on suspicious looking links in emails, or always using a VPN when working on the move - but also creating an environment where people feel safe to ask security questions or raise their hand when they need help.
Emotional language can also help craft an interesting story. By connecting your readers to the characters and events on a deeper and more personal level through emotive language, can make the content more compelling and memorable. In his book, Contagious, Berger explains how emotional content often goes viral, as "when we care, we share" and emphasises why it’s important to focus on feelings rather than function.
For example:
"It's a Tuesday morning like any other. You arrive at the office, get your laptop out and switch it on, your coffee clutched in your hand as you gear up for the day. As your laptop powers on, the screen is unresponsive, except for a glaring picture of a pirate flag and a note saying, "Your data is ours, pay the ransom". You look around the floor and see your colleagues looking similarly confused... what's going on? This is ransomware, and suddenly, your day is looking for a lot more complicated."
Emotive language also helps to personalise content and make it more relatable by tapping into to the reader’s emotions by drawing upon shared experience or empathy. It can turn boring and factual information into something that resonates with the reader on a human level, allowing them to form an emotional connection to the content.
Take a moment to evaluate your own communication style. Are you using emotive language in your security communications to convey a positive message? Challenge yourself and see if you can create a compelling story in your security awareness materials. In doing so, this can help engage your team and in turn, improve desired security behaviours.
Stay tuned for the next blog in the series, where we’ll dive into the importance of incorporating engaging questions into your awareness communication materials. We’ll explore what kind of questions you should be asking your readers, and how the right questions can help to encourage deeper thinking and improve learning through engagement.
In the meantime, you can find the previous blog in the series "Exploring The Transformative Power Of Simplified Language"