Jobs's reality-distorting force field is a high-power language

Jobs's "reality distortion force field" is a term often mentioned by people who have been in contact with him, and it is also a concept that impresses everyone who has seen "Jobs".

The "reality distortion force field" is a kind of manipulation, persuasion, and demagogy.

Jobs seemed to have magic, exporting his own ideas, opinions, and visions, convincing others to believe what they did not believe and felt impossible, and then letting the other party meet his requirements and accept his proposals. This is not so much an ability as a charm, whether it is leading a team or negotiating a business.

I want to talk about the "reality distortion force field" from the perspective of communication. The Art of Communication improves the power relations of language. Communication researchers identify forms of language that can enhance or diminish their influence on others.

Jobs's "reality distortion force field" is a typical language of power, characterized by self-confidence, firmness, decisiveness, and authority.

In contrast, there are forms of low-power language, such as flickering words, hesitant temptations, polite questions, and negative expressions:

"I think we should..." "Maybe... You should try to be on time..." "Can I interrupt you?" "Maybe I shouldn't say that, but..."

Both formulations have pros and cons.

High-power language appears confident, authoritative, and aura, unquestionable and repulsive, and can help you get what you want in a short period of time.

But in the long run, it can cause a crisis in your relationships. For statements that are too authoritative have disrespect and superiority implications, as if you are going to gain their submission against others. Jobs's "distorted reality stance" is one of the sources of his relationship crisis, even though he doesn't seem to care much about his poor interpersonal relationships.

Low-power language is not confident enough, lacks authority, and lacks aura, but is polite, euphemistic, and reserved for others. Sometimes politeness without losing authority is better than a tough statement.

On the other hand, it depends on where we are and where we are.

If you are a leader, authoritative dictation can make your important instructions quickly implemented. But if you just want the assistant to make you a cup of coffee, you can say, "Can you make me a cup of coffee?" While both you and your assistant know that this is a command and not a request, the question sentence seems considerate.

Blindly imitating Jobs's "reality-distorting force field" is, I think, a fool's errand.