I was raised at a family dinner table that encouraged independent thinking and expected you to express your opinion – to dig into what you believed, be prepared to debate your convictions and support why they are important. It wasn’t until I was on the debate team in college that I experienced the mind-stretching exercise of arguing both sides of an issue. It’s a very difficult task, forcing you to set aside personal biases, thoroughly examining both perspectives and being prepared to present, equally effectively, which ever position you are randomly assigned. For company leaders, this ability to examine an opposing perspective is both a vital skill for neutralizing your organization’s critics, and for introducing the possibility of gaining their support.
In a past episode titled, Speaking Your Audience’s Language, I said that an entire Minute with Messaging™ could be dedicated to communicating with challenging audiences. Well, this is that episode.
Just as you need to prepare for the question or questions you don’t want to be asked in a media interview, taking time to think through your challengers’ objections in advance of formulating messages is a valuable strategy. I’m not recommending you become defensive or assume an adversarial position, what I’m talking about anticipating criticisms and diffusing them by purposefully incorporating answers into your organization’s messaging.
Of course, overcoming challenging viewpoints is not just accomplished through words – the messenger that delivers them is equally, if not more, important. Let me give you some examples that combine these points.
A common criticism of challengers to universal Pre-K in public schools is that it essentially amounts to free day-care. In anticipation of this argument, a school district would be wise to not only include in its communications documented benefits to student learning, but to also call on the testimonies of elementary and middle school educators who describe the advantages they see in the classroom of children who have attended Pre-K. If another challenge is that critics don’t believe the quality of public-school Pre-K is as high as competing private programs, recruit the endorsement of a parent who can afford to send their child to any private school but chooses the district’s program specifically because of the quality Pre-K education it offers.
Persuading challenging audiences has the greatest potential if you approach it with a healthy dose of intellectual humility, in other words, an open mind to new ideas. You may discover in the process several things you hadn’t realized before. The messages you’ve been using may be confusing or incomplete and have contributed to misunderstanding. Hesitant supporters may be making some good points that you’ve not considered and are worth your attention. Regardless, working from a foundation of common ground is a great starting point. Identify the overarching intention that you all share, and build from there.
I’m Kelli Newman and this has been a Minute with Messaging™. I encourage you to subscribe to this podcast on your favorite platform and search past episodes for more topics you may find helpful. And to learn how your organization can benefit from Newman & Newman’s communication strategies, visit our website at NEWMANandNEWMANinc.com.
