Mr. Murdoch's rehearsal of his presentation indicates an attempt to verbally convince the Chinese of his goodwill. It does not however include a connection with the Chinese way of thinking. This is what the actual narrative during the meeting provides. The initially cold Chinese reception of Murdoch and his company indicates the truth perceptions initiated by Murdoch's earlier speech. His willingness to however participate in Chinese narrative protocol does win him a degree of favor. This narrative also differs fundamentally from his failing speech in that it is an interaction rather than a one-sided speech. The Chinese delegates are able to respond to every element of the narrative and draw conclusions based upon Murdoch's responses. This contrasts with the initial speech in that conclusions were drawn without the opportunity for rebuttal. Murdoch could only attempt to make amends by non-verbal means, and this was insufficient.

Another way in which Murdoch's narrative contrasts with the trouble-making speech is that he uses non-threatening assertions in a non-threatening narrative style. He for example suggests rather than demands, and expects an equal partnership rather than a power struggle with the Chinese government. The change in truth perception prompted by these assertions is evident in Mr. Ding's sudden interest when Murdoch's association with Fox movie studios was mentioned. Murdoch's communicative success...

The truth perception of the Chinese then overshadowed all attempts on Murdoch's part to prove his true feelings regarding China and its government. No conciliatory actions on his part spoke as loudly as the perception brought about by the speech. A further mistake was making this remark during a speech, when there was no opportunity for the Chinese to demand clarity or to retaliate verbally.
Murdoch's final success relied on his subsequent verbal communication not only with Chinese officials, but also with the people and entrepreneurs of the country themselves. This communication brought about a better understanding of their values and concerns. Murdoch found that these were remarkably similar to his own. By changing his own truth perceptions regarding the Chinese then, Murdoch was able to connect with them closely enough to change their own truth perceptions as well. This is true both of the Chinese citizens and the country's officials and government.

It is thus clear that Murdoch engineered both his defeat and his success by different types of narrative - one-way speech and two-way dialogue. It is by means of dialogue that he was able to most effectively influence the perception of his narrative.