Become a map reader is the third part of the Reaching others knowledge series that helps us have open conversations and help others make better decisions.

You may have asked yourself: Why doesn’t everyone notice that something is not right?

We will try to find an explanation.

We perceive reality by interpreting it in accordance with our inner map that we have created through our own experiences. The maps are personal and differ from one another. If we don’t understand each other’s maps, we talk past each other and have difficulty reaching others.

Everywhere we turn, we see advertising and marketing. The media and authorities use similar methods to get us to change our behaviour. Sometimes it is done for our own good. If we understand how propaganda is structured, we can more easily detect—and point it out to others—when it is being used.

Awareness of how susceptible we all are to advertising and persuasion campaigns provides an understanding of how easy it is for unsuitable thought patterns to end up on our map. A genuine interest in understanding how others think and what is on their maps is a prerequisite for reaching others.

Our inner map

We have an inner map. The map represents our perception of reality and contains knowledge, beliefs and our personality. We can see how it spans all levels of our mind. Some parts are conscious, others are subconscious. (1 22:28, Reaching People, 2021a)

Each person has a unique and individual map. We build our map, our perception, both with our own experiences and with experiences we are told about.

We need the map to make reality, with its infinite details, understandable.

The map in memory

The map consists of ideas, organized as nodes in a giant network, called associative memory, where each idea is connected to many others. There are different types of connections. Connections between cause and effect (rain ↔ wet), between properties (lemon ↔ sour) and between categories to which they belong (apple ↔ fruit). An idea that has been activated evokes many other ideas, which in turn activate others. (2, Kahneman, 2011)

Associative memory remembers some types of ideas and connections better than others. We easily remember paths through space, but have much more difficulty remembering lists. Memory masters remember lists by placing them along a mental route. (3, Foer, 2011)

The map builders

Our intuition (the Elephant) plays a crucial role in maintaining and updating the map and what is seen as normal in it. Intuition often overlooks ambiguities and spontaneously constructs stories that are as coherent as possible. An idea that fits the map is automatically put in place as if it were true. (2, Kahneman, 2011)

New knowledge is received by our reasoning mind. It takes repeated learning and practice for knowledge to become part of our competence and skill set. An example of such learning is learning a new language. Regular and strenuous practice eventually leads to a skill that we can use without effort. The skill has then become part of our intuitive thought process.

Filter

We filter information when we build our maps. Filters are necessary because reality has far too many details. (4, Millas, 2022) When we build our maps, we draw upon our previous experiences and filter new information in mainly three ways: through deletion, distortion and generalization; deletion, distortion and generalization. (5, Grinder & Bandler, 1975)

There will therefore always be a gap between reality and our map. Stories that we receive through the media often have a great influence. If those stories are not truthful, the gap becomes larger.

Intuition has a great influence on how information is filtered and received. A person with a positive attitude is more open to listening. Think of it as always talking to the person’s intuition (elephant) first and foremost.

Our map images become unique because we have all filtered in different ways. This may explain why we can see things in such different ways. If we don’t know each other’s maps, it’s harder to reach others.

Delete

Why do we delete information? We do this because we can’t possibly take in all the information we are inundated with. To prevent important information from drowning in the flow, we delete anything deemed unimportant. (6 16:31, Reaching People, 2021b)

How do we do that? We keep only what we have in focus. The rest is deleted. We also discard information that does not fit into our map. It often becomes too much of an effort to fit it in. Deleting helps us avoid cognitive dissonance.

What can go wrong when we delete information? If the deleted information is important, our map will have bigger gaps.

An example of how information is deleted is that events and facts that do not match the public narrative are often rejected altogether.

Another way to delete is to avoid information channels we do not trust.

Distort

Why do we distort information? The map must be coherent. Information that doesn’t quite fit on the map is unconsciously distorted to make it fit better. Once on the map, the distorted information is perceived as true as everything else that is there. (6 18:29, Reaching People, 2021b)

How do we do that? Real experience is distorted. We make assumptions and interpret the information in a way that makes it fit.

What can go wrong? We rely excessively on our own assumptions that sometimes do not match reality. If someone we trust distorts reality, we are often led to do the same ourselves.

An example of how we distort information is when we assume that there must be a good reason why someone speaks condescendingly about someone. We then easily get a distorted picture of that person.

Generalize

Generalizations are assumptions we have about a situation or thing. We generalize to instinctively recognize important situations. Generalizations often determine how we react. (6 20:30, Reaching People, 2021b)

How do we do it? We draw conclusions about experiences that are similar to those we have already experienced. We only need two or three similar experiences to generalize. The experiences that lead to generalization do not have to be self-experienced. They can be the experiences of others that we are told about. There are plenty of such stories in the media.

What can go wrong? Unusual events can be interpreted as universally valid. In this way, preconceived ideas about individuals in other groups can be created.

An example of a generalization is that people with other group affiliations are untrustworthy and dishonest.

Facts, logic and reason

Why is it hard to reach others with facts, logic and reason? It’s not because the people we’re talking to can’t understand; they simply don’t want to understand. The two most common reasons for this are: they don’t trust us and what we say doesn’t fit their map. (7 4:49, Reaching People, 2022)

When we are in opposition, we are not receptive. Then we do not trust the other. When we don’t understand each other’s worldviews, it becomes difficult to present information in a way that allows it to fit on the map. We therefore delete, distort and generalize information from other groups and what does not fit.

Today’s fact-checkers give the filterer an easy way out of having to take a position on difficult information.

Many conversations have been about us trying to convince each other of something without being on the same side and without understanding each other’s maps. It does not work well.

Mass influence

Mass influence can overcome a person’s free will and judgment. People under influence have difficulty thinking and acting independently, but at the same time feel that they are thinking clearly and acting of their own free will. The paradoxical situation arises because the change in thought patterns that advertising and influence campaigns create occurs subconsciously.

We are all susceptible to mass influence. The risk of this is greater if you are not open to questioning both new information and that which is already on your map. Mass influence can be used as a method of authoritarian control. And then even the smartest, most highly educated and most functional people’s ability to think rationally and act independently can be undermined. (8, Steven Hassan, 2016)

We are exposed to mass influence in many contexts. Both the private and public sectors invest large resources in advertising, influence campaigns and nudge for behavioural change. They have understood how effective and valuable the methods are and devote extensive work to refining them. (9, Nobel Prize, 2017)

In 1940, the National Board of Information was established with the task of informing, scrutinising, mapping and controlling Swedish public opinion and, to some extent, public opinion itself. Vigilance campaigns were considered necessary. A Swedish Tiger was one such campaign launched in 1941. The Swedish words also mean: A Swede keeps quiet. (10, Beredskapsmuseet, 2022)

The two parts of advertising

Effective advertising and advocacy campaigns consist of two parts: an emotional message and a simple story. A well-constructed message resonates with the target audience’s worldview and creates a strong emotion that motivates them to act.

The message is interpreted intuitively, while the story reaches the reasoning mind. A good story is captivating and explains the desired action or behavioural change. The function of the message is to motivate the individual to act. The ability to influence comes mainly from the message, not from the story.

Imagine a scene in a commercial with a sad child playing alone and a stressed father working overtime. The next scene shows a product that gives the father more time for the children. In the closing scene, the father and the child do a pleasant activity together. The message, to stop being a bad father, can arouse strong emotions in those fathers who worry about not being present enough for their children. The story connects the product to a feeling of success.

In this way, the story helps us rationalize the intended connection between the activated ideas. If strong enough emotions have been aroused, our thought patterns are reprogrammed and the change in behaviour can become permanent.

If you start looking for messages and stories, you will find them everywhere. (11 54:40, Bustamante, 2024)

The 5 rules of propaganda

On average, around 10 percent of a company’s turnover is allocated to marketing. (12, Shepetyuk, 2020) Sometimes it’s more. In 2019, a pharmaceutical company spent a whopping 34 percent on advertising and sales. (13, Forbes, 2019) You only invest that much money if you know that marketing and propaganda work.

To understand why some issues are more difficult to discuss than others, we examine how propaganda can distort perceptions of reality. Using the five basic rules of propaganda, we examine how it is structured.

In Norman Davies’ book Europe: A History, he describes in critical terms Europe’s history of recurrent abuses by authorities and how propaganda is systematically used to shape the population’s perception of reality. (14, Davies, 1996) Based on his work, he identified the five basic rules of propaganda: simplification, disfiguration, transfusion, unanimity and orchestration. (15, Reaching People, 2021c)

Simplification is achieved by reducing everything to a contradiction between good and bad or good and evil. Simplification makes people choose sides. This is how the US president simplified it: “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” (16, The White House, 2001) We can counteract simplification by showing the countless options for action that exist.

Disfiguration is achieved by discrediting and damaging the credibility of opponents with caricatures and smears. The intention is to silence critical voices. One such disfiguration was when people were singled out for encouraging natural methods of staying healthy. (17, Expressen, 2020) We can counteract disfiguration by not accepting patronising labels and making an effort to get on the same side.

Propaganda is transfused by mixing the desired message with the prejudices, values ​​and beliefs that the target audience already has. As citizens, we often share the value that it is important to take responsibility and protect ourselves and others. Authorities can then transfuse messages by spreading the idea that anyone who does not follow their advice is selfish. We can counteract transfusion by making it visible how the reasoning goes against basic moral and ethical principles.

Unanimity can be achieved by presenting the opinion as if it were generally accepted by all experts and right-thinking people. An example is the Bread Institute’s campaign: The National Board of Health and Welfare wants us to eat 6–8 slices of bread a day. We can counteract unanimity by showing alternative descriptions of a good diet. (18, SVT, 2006)

Finally, the last basic rule of propaganda, orchestration. An example is the constant repetition of the same message in different variations, channels and combinations. In this way, resistance can be drained even from doubters.

Discover propaganda

Now that we know what the basic rules of propaganda are, we can more easily detect when they are used. You are likely to experience propaganda when; it is either for or against, critics are silenced, prejudice and bias are involved, everyone seems to agree and repetition is noticeable.

We expect something completely different from those who engage in honest journalism. Honest journalism wants to show several sides to a contentious topic. Honest journalism shows respect for everyone and promotes understanding and tolerance. Honest journalism wants a lively and open debate and seeks variety to capture our interest.

The hotel of knowledge

The knowledge hotel is a way of seeing the map.

Anyone who has been critical of how the public narrative has been presented in the media has had reason to investigate for themselves how things are.

Over time, we have built knowledge and piled insight on insight. We can see the insights we have piled on top of each other as floors in our hotel of knowledge. (19, Reaching People, 2021d)

Anyone who has uncritically accepted the public narrative has not had that motivation. They may also have woven some inaccuracy into their knowledge hotel, which has remained quite empty.

If we trumpet insights from the penthouse down to those, we are trying to reach on the ground floor, it will be difficult for them to absorb the information. Without the underlying insights, the information becomes difficult to relate to and to verify. It is also often difficult to accept that you, as a non-expert, may have that knowledge.

It is better to start from basic beliefs and common ground when trying to reach others.

Common ground

We can see it as keeping the conversation at ground level when we choose to talk about common basic beliefs.

That politicians are influenced by vested interests, that corruption occurs and is perhaps even common, and that influence campaigns are common and sometimes openly stated, are examples of such universally valid beliefs.

But if we trumpet from the penthouse “The Swedish Psychological Defence Agency actively participates in information warfare abroad, runs campaigns against the Swedish population and publishes a handbook for journalists” (20, MPF, 2025) to those passing by below, we may have difficulty reaching others.

The illusion of explanatory depth

We often believe that we can give an explanation for all the beliefs we have on our map. But if someone were to ask us to explain how we know that something we believe is true, we discover that in many cases we cannot. We lack explanatory depth. (21, The Decision Lab, 2021)

The illusion of explanatory depth is common and applies to all of us. If you can’t explain, it’s often good to admit it and ask to come back. That way, you don’t lose much credibility and show that you’re human.

Those who have accepted the public narrative often believe in several superficial ideas and find it extra difficult to explain. Anyone who tries to explain or defend such superficial ideas can themselves discover the contradictions in the narrative. In some cases, this triggers cognitive dissonance. Be understanding and try to soften the dissonance. This gives the individual’s reasoning mind a better opportunity to adjust the map.

Does shock therapy work?

You can also think of other methods to reach others. We can call one of these shock therapy. In this case, we use emotionally charged and hard images and messages, and sometimes crude humour to show the contradictions in the public narrative.

For some, it was precisely the hard-hitting truth that made them see through the public narrative. So, shock therapy has worked to some extent. Using the method can be satisfying. To be able to speak plainly and to shake people up. Maybe that’s why it’s so widely used.

But far from everyone is receptive to shock therapy. For those outside our information bubble, the method can actually have the opposite effect. We can be perceived as alien and fanatical. Those we are trying to reach can then become even more convinced of their own position.

Be sparing with shock therapy. Concentrating on the other person’s thoughts and feelings rather than your own usually produces much better results when we try to reach others.

Reaching all the way

So how do we reach others?

If we want to reach others all the way, it is important to try to first get on the same side. Once there, we make an effort to understand each other’s maps. With that understanding, we can start from the parts where we have a common view and have open conversations where we together seek insight. In such cooperation, it becomes possible to sow doubt around locked-in perceptions.

Choose a path in the conversations with less resistance. Don’t worry that some important elements are, for the moment, out of reach. Once the contradictions are recognised and trust in the media and authorities is broken, the house of cards will collapse. Those who start questioning eventually go on to reassess other elements as well.

Summary

Each person has a unique and individual map, which represents their own perception of reality. We have built these maps using both our own experiences and the experiences of others. Because reality contains too much detail for us to handle, we need to filter information. We do this in three main ways: we delete, distort and generalise. The fact that we have filtered differently explains how we can see things in such different ways.

If we are in opposition when we speak to each other, facts, logic and reason do not work. It does not matter how convincing our arguments are. They are simply filtered out.

When we know the five basic rules of propaganda, we can more easily detect when they are being used. You are likely to experience propaganda when; it is either for or against, critics are silenced, it is prejudiced, everyone agrees and the repetition is noticeable.

Start from common basic beliefs when you try to reach others. If we trumpet insights from the penthouse, it will be difficult for those on the ground floor to absorb the information. Without the underlying insights, the information becomes difficult to relate to and verify.

A viable way to reach others is to first orient ourselves and get on the same side. Once there, we can begin to understand each other’s maps. With that understanding, we can start from the parts where we have common ground and have open conversations where we seek insight together.

References

1. Perception, Reaching People, 2021a, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edyo9XQgoyI
2. Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman, 2011, https://archive.org/details/thinking-fast-and-slow-daniel-kahneman/
3. Moonwalking With Einstein The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, Joshua Foer, 2011, https://archive.org/details/moonwalkingwitheinsteinfoerjoshua_201910
4. The Brain’s 3 Main Filters – Distortion, Deletion & Generalisation, Chis Millas, 2022, https://chrismillas.com/distort-delete-generalise/
5. The Structure of Magic, John Grinder and Richard Bandler, 1975, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Structure_of_Magic
6. Questions – Part 1, Reaching People, 2021b, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii6aCduFmso
7. How To Ethically Influence, Reaching People, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld0hi9GPEDI
8. Undoing Undue Influence and the BITE Model, Steven Hassan, 2016, https://web.archive.org/web/20240328234342/https://freedomofmind.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/BITE-Model-Handout-9-23-16.pdf
9. The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2017, Nobel Prize, 2017, https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2017/summary/
10. En Svensk Tiger, Beredskapsmuseet, 2022, https://www.beredskapsmuseet.com/ensvensktiger
11. Former CIA Spy Reveals How They’re Controlling You, Andrew Bustamante, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_A8XElrAqA
12. What is the average marketing budget by industry, Shepetyuk, 2020, https://merehead.com/blog/average-marketing-budget-different-business-areas/
13. Pfizer Spending Twice As Much On Selling Than Research?, Forbes, 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/12/09/pfizer-spending-twice-as-much-on-selling-than-research/
14. Europe a History, Norman Davies, 1996, https://archive.org/details/europehistory00davi_0
15. 5 Rules, Reaching People, 2021c, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRYpyumCaaQ
16. Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People, The White House, 2001, https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html
17. Bluffläkare och hälsogurus tjänar pengar på Corona, Expressen, 2020, https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/coronaviruset/blufflakare-och-halsogurus-tjanar-pengar-pa-corona/
18. 30-årig brödkampanj håller än, SVT, 2006, https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/30-arig-brodkampanj-haller-an
19. Hotel of Knowledge, Reaching People, 2021d, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90OfkJ_qYIw
20. Informationskriget i Ukraina, MPF, 2025, https://mpf.se/kunskap-och-stod/temabibliotek/kriget-i-ukraina/informationskriget-i-ukraina
21. Why do we think we understand the world more than we actually do? The Illusion of Explanatory Depth, The Decision Lab, 2021, https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/the-illusion-of-explanatory-depth

The material has been developed by Us together in collaboration with Reaching People.