Here’s an edited version of part of what he said in a program that he recorded exclusively with Mixergy.
Why don’t facts persuade?
When we have an opinion about a subject and someone gives us reasons about why that opinion might be wrong, our immediate instinct is not to change that opinion, but instead to lower our opinion of the information source.
This has been documented in all sorts of different countries and contexts. One of the studies was done in 2004 in the course of the presidential campaign, John Kerry versus George H W Bush. And they put in front of 30 people–15 strong Democrats and 15 strong Republicans–blatantly self-contradictory statements by the two candidates.
What they found was that Republicans loved the statements that supported their point of view–and found ingenious reasons to dismiss the other statements. And likewise the Democrats. So the two groups were even more deeply entrenched in their positions at the end of the day.
So, if more data doesn’t persuade, what does?
Stories. Stories work from the right side of the brain. People actually live the experience. They breath the experience. They identify with the hero of the story. They become the hero of the story in their own minds. And the analytical tools are left on the ground while they are experiencing the story.
Then, having lived the story, having breathed the story, having become the story, they start to see the world in a different way. If the story is going well, they start to think, “that was pretty interesting, I can do that in my world.”
What’s one way that we can find the right story to tell?
The criterion is, who wold be the hero that the audience would most likely empathize with? So, if you’re talking to publishers for example, other things being equal, a publisher would be a hero they’re most likely to empathize with.
Download the full 40-minute program for more storytelling techniques.
