DANGEROUS MEME #3: ADVICE FOR ADVANCING RADICAL IDEAS

civilization From Daniel Quinn, Beyond Civilization :

People will listen when they’re ready to listen and not before. Probably, once upon a time, you weren’t ready to listen to an idea than now seems to you obvious, even urgent. Let people come to it in their own time. Nagging or bullying will only alienate them. Don’t preach. Don’t waste time with people who want to argue. They’ll keep you immobilized forever. Look for people who are already open to something new.

When presenting a new idea, you don’t have to have all the answers. It’s better to say ‘I don’t know’ than to fake it. Make people formulate their own questions. Don’t take on the responsibility of figuring out what their difficulty is. We each internalize information differently. If you don’t understand a question, keep insisting they explain it until it’s clear. Nine times out of ten they’ll supply the answer themselves.

Above all, listen. Your close attention is sometimes more important than your articulateness in winning converts. And learning is always a good thing.

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3 Responses to DANGEROUS MEME #3: ADVICE FOR ADVANCING RADICAL IDEAS

  1. Rori says:

    I love this! I need to remember that for my own self when I read other blogs. Sometimes I just get so damn angry.

  2. Dave Pollard says:

    Thanks Rori — and thanks too for the link to the ACLU article, which I’d missed.

  3. augustine@natda.f9.co.uk says:

    Yes yes! Absolutely. Should be graffitied on walls , virtual and real, everywhere.Please check out Augustine’s interviews on http://www.nataliedarbeloff.com/blaugustine.htmlBest wishes.

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