Last week I wrote, ‘Know your audience‘ and asked, “Are you trying to share your view only with people that already agree with you? Or are you trying to share your view with others who think differently?“
Yesterday I wrote ‘When you live in a democracy… VOTE‘ and quoted Thomas Jefferson, “We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.”
Would my message actually reach anyone who chooses not to participate and change their mind? It’s possible, but unlikely.
I’m in education, it’s not that I don’t believe that we can change minds, open them to new ideas, and help people learn… it’s just that I’m guessing my audience already votes. And if they don’t, my post won’t change their pattern of behaviour. This reminds me of a quote that I often share,
“As a general rule, adults are much more likely to act their way into a new way of thinking than to think their way into a new way of acting.” ~Mark Millemann
Adults don’t tend to act differently as a result of hearing new and different ideas. They are not convinced easily, or as easily as kids. So how do we speak to them? In his comment on my ‘Know your audience‘ post, Dave Sands said,
“Perhaps share a your message in a “way” that they will hear it as well. Too often we display an emotional response to those who hold a different view and our egos emerge blocking any chance of reciprocal understanding. Staying logical and intentional with a genuine will to listen goes a long way in seeking to understand as opposed to seeking to convince.“
‘A genuine will to listen.’
Why don’t people really vote? I gave the reasons I thought, but are they the reasons people actually have?
It’s interesting that I originally titled this, ‘How do you speak to them?’ and not, ‘Listen to what they have to say’. But is listening enough? Can listening help me better understand something like a person’s choice not to vote in such a way that can then alter my argument enough to change their minds?
I can’t say that I’ve really tried. So, if you choose not to vote, tell me why? You don’t have to do this ‘out loud’, here is a contact form to share your thoughts privately, if a comment below is too public.
How can I help you act your way into a new way of thinking? Or why won’t I be able to do this?
I’m listening:)
I won’t vote because I’m not an American citizen and do not live in the United States. I do vote in elections here in Canada, though.
I’m not really a fan of the whole idea that you should ‘know your audience’ (or more cynically, ‘read the room’). That may relegate me to permanent obscurity, but fame has never been the objective. And it may render what I have to say less persuasive, but again, persuasion isn’t the objective either.
My job, as I see it, is to describe the rocket house (and all those who dwell within the rocket house) as clearly and as well as I can. I do so with a mixture or description, argumentation, metaphor and illustration. What I’m trying to create is less a body of knowledge that other people can carry forward than a rich resource that people can mine (or not) as they will, to create their own things, whatever they are.
So to me it’s irrelevant whether people agree with me or not; the question doesn’t even come up. I’m not ‘preaching to the converted’ because I’m not preaching. I think it’s less important to have ‘a message’ than to be true to that there is to say.
I just voted today, there is a Provincial election in BC and when I wrote this post i was thinking of that as well as the election to the South.
Having followed you for many years, it is clear to me that you do not preach. Your description of what you do is very honest.
My point of the post was that I really don’t know why someone in a democracy chooses not to vote, and I’m not sure telling people ‘get out and vote’ would change that… I don’t know how to talk to this audience, or at least I don’t think I do?
What I have done is gone to vote with both my daughters when they voted the first time, and instilled in them the importance of making an informed decision. One daughter voted the same as me, one didn’t… both knew it was their choice. I hope that the younger generation are less apathetic than those that have come before them.