Research Hit: Communication — Why”Not” is Not Effective — or Just Plain Bad

Research shows that negating with “not” may not have the desired effect!

Isn’t this one of your communication tips?!

Yes, I have been using this tip for literally decades now. So feel kind of satisfied, but also frustrated, that science has proven what I have been saying for nigh on 25 years — or more. Obviously, I’m also not the only person that has been saying this.

And what precisely does science say about “not”

So my advice has been instead of using a grammatical negative such as this is “not good”, use a negative word such as “this is bad” or vice versa.

And you say, science has now proven this?

Yes, indeed, a paper just out by Arianna Zuanazzi et al. of New York University, has explored this question combined with brain imaging.

And what did they find?

The study included 78 adults who read and interpreted statements and sentences with and without grammatical negatives and underwent brain scanning while doing this also.

They found that:

• Negated adjectives are processed more slowly and with more varied interpretations.