Oprah Winfrey announced yesterday that after 25 years on the air, she would end her beloved talk show in September 2011.
This announcement caused visceral reactions among my Facebook "friends." Several status updates read "Oprah, NOOOOOOOOOOOO," or "Why Oprah, Why?"
Retailers, celebrities, politicians have long coveted the supposed "Oprah Touch;" it has been know to make or break a business or a person.
What is it about a talk show host that connects so deeply with society? Why does her word and advice carry so much power? After all, she is a television host.
AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
Clearly, there's something special about Winfrey that lies behind her fame.
In order to understand the psychology behind why people connect with her and accept her guidance, I spoke to Stuart Fischoff, the senior editor at the Journal of Media Psychology. In the early 1990s, Fischoff was a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show. He says Winfrey is a master of impression management. She understands her influence and knows how to shape her image as a means of managing her persuasion power.
People seek leaders who will guide their decisions, according to Fischoff, and he says Winfrey exhibits the very qualities people look for in leaders -- authenticity and trust.
Over her reign as the daytime talk show queen, she has cultivated an intimate style of communication that eliminates the barriers between herself and the audience. Fischoff says there's a "certain degree of every person in her" and she lets you feel that.
When Winfrey talks to you, she makes you feel as if you are the only person in the world. She doesn't put you on the spot or place judgment, instead she listens with an open mind.
Fischoff says Winfrey's ability to connect is a gift and that people crave this connection and easily "fall into her aura." Plus, he adds, Winfrey is smart and unguarded with her faults, which shows her humanity. So when Winfrey tells us to read a book or guides us to buy a specific candle, we listen to her.
In general, people fear making judgments, so when a trusted authority tells them something, they feel like they have the protection of having listened to an authoritative person. And if their decision is wrong, they can blame that person.
But Fischoff believes Winfrey is limited in her powers of persuasion.
He thinks when it comes to topics like food, dress, and shopping, yes, her word resonates, but Fischoff questions her impact on more polarizing issues. When it comes to the arena of sensitive topics, like abortion, he thinks if she took a side, she would be viewed as the "enemy" either way, which would disrupt her image and power.
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