Explain-as-Process, Not Ethos
Describe your service as a sequence of steps, not a set of values, to win buy-in
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 74%
Studying how mediators explain mediation to potential clients, Stokoe found the outcome splits precisely at the moment the mediator delivers the 'let me tell you about what we do' package. Explaining mediation as an ethos ('we're impartial, we don't take sides, we don't judge') turns callers off, because it is abstract and asks them to buy a philosophy. Explaining it as a process ('this happens, then this happens, then this happens') buys them in, because they can see themselves slotting into a concrete sequence and believe things will actually change. Because this package is delivered at a predictable, semi-scripted point in the conversation, staff can be trained to switch from ethos to process, and the improvement comes purely from the wording, not from altering the service.
Origin
Elizabeth Stokoe developed this from recordings of mediation services explaining what mediation is to prospective clients, as one of her first applications of conversation-analytic research to improving real organisational practice.
Core principles
- 01People buy into what they can picture themselves moving through, not a stated philosophy
- 02A values pitch ('we're impartial, we don't judge') is abstract and turns listeners off
- 03A step-by-step process lets the listener slot themselves into a visible sequence
- 04How you describe what your organisation does is trainable, unlike moment-by-moment reflexes
- 05The change in outcome comes from wording, not from changing the service itself
How to run it
- 1
Locate the explanation package
Identify the predictable moment in the conversation where you say 'let me tell you a bit about what we do'. This is where outcomes split.
Pro tip Because this moment is semi-scripted and early, it is one of the easiest things to change in real practice.
- 2
Cut the ethos language
Remove statements of values and philosophy ('we're impartial, we don't judge, we don't take sides'). These leave the listener with nothing to picture.
Watch out Ethos statements feel principled to the speaker but land as vague and off-putting to the listener.
- 3
Rewrite as an ordered sequence
Describe the service as concrete steps in order: this happens, then this, then this. Make the sequence visible and finite.
Pro tip A laid-out process lets the listener mentally walk through it and see change happening.
- 4
Make each step self-locating
Phrase steps so the listener can see themselves slotting into them, converting an abstract offer into a path they occupy.
- 5
Train and compare
Train staff to deliver the process version and compare conversion against the ethos version, since the service itself is unchanged.
Pro tip Nobody is born knowing how to explain an unfamiliar service, so this is genuinely teachable rather than innate.
In the wild
Someone phones a mediation service after a neighbour or workplace dispute; they were referred by a lawyer, the police or the council and often want the other party evicted or arrested, not a friendly room. When the mediator explains mediation as an ethos ('we're impartial, we don't judge'), callers are turned off. When the mediator instead lays out the process step by step, callers become more bought in because they can see themselves slotting into a sequence that will actually change something.
→ The process-framed explanation converts more reluctant callers into clients, with no change to the underlying mediation service.
Common mistakes
Pitching your values instead of your steps
Leading with impartiality and principles gives the listener nothing concrete to picture and turns them off before they buy in.
Treating the explanation as fixed
Assuming there is only one way to describe your service ignores that the wording of the package, not the service, drives the outcome split.
Is it for you?
Best for
Explaining an unfamiliar service (mediation, onboarding, consulting) at the moment a prospect decides whether to become a client.
Not ideal for
Situations where the value proposition genuinely is a stance, or where no defined process exists to describe.
From the transcript
“if you explain it as a sort of ethos, a philosophy, we're impartial, we don't take someone's side, we don't judge, people are quite turned…”
“if you explain there's a process, this happens and then this happens and then this happens, then people are more bought into the idea that…”
From the episode
The Science Of Analysing Conversations - Elizabeth Stokoe - #506
Elizabeth Stokoe