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> Have you ever actually gotten that to work? Have you personally ever changed a single persons mind? I know the question wasn't directed at me, and it's not w
by jnbiche 9y ago
> Have you ever actually gotten that to work? Have you personally ever changed a single persons mind?
I know the question wasn't directed at me, and it's not with respect to the proposed Muslim ban, but I have changed the mind of some of the voters from this general background: specifically, would-be Roy Moore voters. I convinced a good handful of them not to vote for him[1]. And as far as I know, they stayed home.
The key is to be extremely patient, honest, and respectful. You can't use the typical Twitter technique of beating them over the head with opinions, or even the blunt HN technique of overwhelming them with facts. You have to first try to understand their viewpoint, and where they are coming from. Doesn't mean you have to agree with it, just understand it. And the best way to do that is to start asking lots of respectful questions, and depending on the person, sharing your own background. Then, start interspersing harder questions about the subject in question, like Roy Moore in this case. Don't push too hard, but ask hard questions in a respectful way.
Of course, in these situations, you have to be open to having your opinion changed, as well.
It's not a very eloquent summary of what I've done in this situations, but it's the best I've got tonight.
1. Perhaps the hardest part about this is differentiating between propaganda sock puppet accounts, whom you will likely never convince, and actual people who happen to believe some pretty crazy things. Once you've identified real, genuine fellow citizens behind whatever pseudonymous social media account, you're half-way there.
- frandroid 9y agoSarah Silverman's encounter with a troll recently was a great demonstration of what you explain here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2018/01/08/a-man-trolled-sarah-silverman-on-twitter-she-ended-up-helping-him-with-his-medical-problems/?utm_term=.72ecc01d6f56 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2018/01...
- rdtsc 9y agoI forgot where I read it, maybe on the Southern Poverty Law Center's site, but I could be wrong, but they were talking about a similar thing -- how to convince people to change their mind. The example was about how to change people's opinion in regard to transgender people. The idea was similar -- beating them on the head with 140-character sarcastic blurbs, showing stats and facts, insulting etc, just doesn't work. What works is to talk to them face to face and to present a case of one particular individual, not a hypothetical one but one whose name is John or Jane and how they are struggling and how they face hate and discrimination and how it makes them feel.
- whatshisface 9y agoI'm still waiting for a TV commercial to tell me the story of a kid whose parents lost their jobs due to emissions restrictions. Anectodes work perfectly - it's terrifying, because they work in any direction equally well.
- dsfyu404ed 9y agoNumbers, statistics and well reasoned argument can certainly mold someone's opinion on a subject if it's not one they're passionate about one way or the other. Most of the pro-gun liberals I know said they didn't have a strong opinion on the subject and they found the pro-gun numbers and stats less filled with dishonest trickery than the anti-gun numbers and stats. With most issues most people don't care much. These are the people who you can convince to have a baseline opinion that is (for example) against the CIA shipping people off to be tortured with carefully reasoned argument. It's like how most people believe man-made climate change is a thing to some extent. They don't care strongly but a couple decades of numbers and facts have influenced the baseline opinion of those people.
- matt4077 9y agoThis is very similar to a famous study. Where door-to-door canvassing was shown to be very powerful to change people‘s mind. I believe it was California’s prop 8. Unfortunately, that study turned out to be completely falsified. But, in anotothef twist, the underlying hypothesis may indeed appear to have some merit—there are a few studies now underway. (Sorry for not including links—on mobile right nowk
- EvanAnderson 9y agoThis American Life had a good episode about the study you're talking about being discredited: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/584/for-your-reconsideration https://www.thisamericanlife.org/584/for-your-reconsideratio... There is also a transcript available, too: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/584/transcript https://www.thisamericanlife.org/584/transcript