Crossing your legs. Touching your chin. Leaning back in your chair. Ever noticed how, when you really get on with someone, you naturally start to mimic their movements? They’ll pick up on your mannerisms and gestures, too, until you’re almost doing a small-scale synchronised dance.
Feels good, doesn’t it?
You’ve probably also noticed that when this happens, you feel closer to that person.
This is deeply ingrained, instinctive stuff that happens because of the presence of ‘mirror neurons’ in different parts of the human brain. Primates exhibit similar characteristics, but in many ways, they are fundamental to what it means to be human.
What’s most fascinating is that, when mirror neurons are firing, they make us more attuned to other people’s actions and emotions.
In short, we quite literally start to feel other people’s feelings.
I’m guessing you can see where this is going.
Science’s understanding of mirror neurons may be young and incomplete, but recognising its importance in consumer behaviour (and by extension the world of consumer insight and marketing), is both intriguing and full of possibility.
Especially since mirror neurons don’t just respond to face-to-face experiences; they’re also sympathetic to examples of the human condition we see on screen or even just hear.
Highly tuned in, you might say.
3 key ways in which knowledge of mirror neurons can be used are:
- In qual insight: We can (and at Lucid, we do!) use mirror neurons to build trust, put people at ease, pose questions when the time is right, and gauge and interpret responses on a much deeper level than simply what’s being said. And we can do so when using almost any qual method
- In marketing generally: We can trigger people’s mirror neurons by telling relatable stories, depicting real people in everyday situations to make an immediate connection and using their language not ours. Because as soon as there’s an element of self-recognition, those mirror neurons start bobbing up to the surface.
- In social media marketing specifically: While social media takes a lot of flak for making people socially withdrawn, it can also bring people together. Creating empathetic material that encourages interaction and engagement fires up those mirror neurons, creating a feeling of community and togetherness.
And truly, that’s just the tip of the mirror neuron iceberg. There’s so much more to learn and consider. At Lucid, we’ll be watching this space carefully, because it’s truly fascinating stuff. Right now, I’m pinching my right earlobe. What are you up to?
To find out how we make the most of mirror neurons to get closer to people’s emotions, email maddy@lucidpeople.com or call +44 7710 946493.
Maddy is Director of Lucid. She has been described as a ‘maestra’ with groups of people and is appreciated for her passion and commitment as well as the clarity of her strategic thinking, insight and expression. Maddy began her career in advertising at Ogilvy and BBH and then worked at the Arts Council, English National Opera, AEA consulting and Stimulating World Research before setting up Lucid.