Using rhetoric to persuade better

Anand Giridharadas is a political analyst, former foreign correspodent and columnist, and most recently, author of The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy. The book outlines activists, politicians, educators, and more as they do their best to, well, persuade. After writing it, Giridharadas offered his advice on how to be more persuasive:

1. DO: Recognize that people who disagree
with you are complicated, too.
DON’T: Treat them as immovable monoliths.

2. DO: Call people in to the future you want.
DON’T: Call people out for not getting it yet.

3. DO: Amplify what you’re for, and help
people see it.
DON’T: Live in perpetual reaction mode
to the other side’s outrages.

4. DO: Play the long game of trust building.
DON’T: Try to change a mind in a day.

5. DO: Distinguish disinformation’s victims
from its powerful perpetrators.
DON’T: Make the duped and manipulated
feel stupid.

6. DO: Get offline and get doing. Organize.
Canvass. Associate!
DON’T: Give in to hopelessness.

All of Giridharadas’s tips have one common thread to them: Don’t give up! It is so easy to give up — on people, on causes, on the world. But giving up is a big “DON’T.” And rhetorically, it’s not very useful. Arguably, one of the most important aspects to being persuasive is to truly believe in what you’re fighting for.

Kenneth Burke argued that in order for rhetoric to work, there must be identification — all parties involved must have something in common. Giridharadas and his book argue that we all have at least one thing in common: humanity.

So next time you an a family member disagree, or you’re in a heated debate with a friend, try to remember that changing minds is a long game, and one that requires you to acknowledge their beliefs and complicated natures. Engage, don’t attack. Our world will be better for it.

If you’re interested in hearing more from Giridharadas, I highly recommend Brene Brown’s podcast episode with him.