by Bill Dale

The old adage, you have two ears and one mouth, use them in that ratio, is still valid today

THIS MONTH we will be dealing with two separate but interlinked issues. How to work with people to gain trust and help them examine their own assumptions and worldview. Then we will examine why campaigning for a self-governing independent Scotland requires a different approach to what people know about campaigning in an election or indeed how spin-doctors use traditional marketing methods to develop brand and consumer loyalty.

We will look first of all at gaining trust. This part involves using questions and then listening to responses. Note that this has to be done face-to-face, surveys whether online or hard-copy are inadequate. So why should you use questions when you are discussing any topic with anyone? Well the easy answer is that in order to get to know someone’s views, feelings, priorities and worldview you need to listen to them. You cannot be listening to them if you are talking, particularly talking at them, as we have so often observed campaigners doing when they are attempting to discuss a topic with someone who may not share their views. It is easy to appreciate why people talk so much, many are very enthusiastic about what they have discovered in their research and are keen to share it with the world.

The deeper answer is that as we have pointed out before, it is not possible to persuade anyone of anything, you can only create the situation where they persuade themselves. Remember that Frames trump Facts, so the more data and argument you provide in an attempt to persuade someone of your point, the less chance you have of success. Indeed, the Backfire Effect may well result in their believing their original position even more strongly than before you provided them with “evidence”. So the reason for asking questions is to get the other person to talk, and in doing so, create a situation where they can be open to considering different positions, positions that they will have articulated for themselves. This is such an important point that it bears repeating. Only by using questions and truly listening to the responses can you have any success in getting anyone to consider change, particularly where intangibles are involved. We will look later at why change involving intangibles is different from the traditional approaches typically adopted in sales, marketing and indeed campaigning in elections.