The 7 Rules for Persuasive Dissent
The 7 Rules for Persuasive Dissent
How to make an impact when you lack status and power in a group
NOTE: this is an illustrated abstract of my Harvard Business Review article.
It’s easier when everyone in a group holds the same beliefs and values. For example:
Law enforcement exerts less effort if everyone agrees that street murals are neighborhood enhancing art, not graffiti.
Organizations are more efficient when everyone agrees that work meetings should be short, focused, and cancelled often.
Talking with strangers is easier upon acknowledging that Time Bandits will always be the greatest movie about little people.
Surrounded by like-minded folks, their sentiments and stories offer a reflection of what we care about and prefer to hear. We feel validated. We feel a strong sense of belonging. When heads nod in unison, there is a sense of solidarity. The group feels confident in their thinking. With this confidence, group decision-making is rapid.
In 1912, Émile Durkheim referred to this pleasure of coming together as “collective effervescence.” But he noted a problem inherent to homogenous, harmonious settings:
Rational thinking is hard for the individual because it creates conflict with the pleasure created and nurtured within the group.
Just as the amount someone speaks in a group is a piss-poor proxy of intelligent thinking, the speed that groups reach agreement is a piss-poor proxy of decision-making quality.
When conformity is commonplace in a group, the more important and powerful individual dissenters become. It is essential for individuals to speak up when the group misses something important, moves in the wrong direction, acts rashly, or does something dangerous. We need individuals to break free from the haze of harmony and contemplate the merit of what is being suggested.
By voicing dissent, we remind other group members of alternative perspectives and possibilities. Even when the dissenter’s idea is wrong, other group members are stimulated to think differently. By thinking differently, on balance, groups generate more creative ideas and better decisions.
But there is a price for dissenting. Negative judgment. Rejection. Social persecution. Because while the group craves collective effervescence, the dissenter pushes for productive conflict. The dissenter slows things down, disrupting jolly positivity. Which brings us to the dissenter’s paradox:
While it is often in the best interest of an individual to follow the crowd, the group becomes smarter and wiser if an individual shares their unique knowledge and perspective.
There is a very particular path for how to dissent effectively if you are a minority within a group, lacking power, status, or a large number of people on your side.
Demonstrate how your work has benefitted the team. No humility. Detail evidence on why you are a loyal group member.
Pass the group threat test. Clarify how your message is not something to view as a personal threat.
Be creative with your consistency. Be brave and disciplined in sticking to the same message. Just be sure to zoom in and out with the message to avoid lulling audiences to sleep.
Lean on objective information. Behavioral evidence is more valuable than subjective impressions. Label which category you are detailing.
Address obstacles and risks. Be your own critic and elaborate on where doubt and uncertainty exists.
Encourage collaboration. Understand the background and motives of audience members and invite them in as co-creators with plenty of opportunity for credit.
Get support. Understand the central ingredients of friendships and alliances. Ask for whatever will be of benefit whether it is advice, emotional care, or access to social, physical, and financial resources. Relinquish the myth of the lone creator. Appreciate how much your close friends want to help you, just as you would want to be there for them. (Make sure to avoid the 8th deadly sin - disingenuousness).
Click here for more on each Rule For Persuasive Dissent.
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Extra Curiosities
THE PODCAST EPISODE - When everyone has a megaphone, what’s the cost of suggesting people should be healthy skeptics, questioning everything? Listen to this Smart People Podcast episode on how to challenge the status quo effectively.
The READ - There are few places where kids experience a childhood free of overbearing parents and screens, and with plenty of secure attachments and opportunities to develop social skills. Maybe the answer is living on a cul-de-sac.
The BOOK - It took an engineer 10 years to convince the Navy to consider sleep hygiene when assigning work shifts. Read a great story of the necessity and hardship of principled rebels.
The LISTEN - There are few songs you can listen to a thousand times per year. Consider Eskimo by Damien Rice. What’s yours?
The VIDEO - Debates rage about the origin of the word “Karen.” This 2-minute comedy routine is one possibility.
If you enjoyed this newsletter, please leave a ❤️. Even better, share this with someone who could use a boost. And if you read The Art of Insubordination (with additional strategies, tactics, and habits on the Rules of Principled Dissent), send me thoughts, questions, or beefs. I love hearing from readers.
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Dr. Todd B. Kashdan is the author of The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively (Avery/Penguin) and a Professor of Psychology who leads The Well-Being Laboratory at George Mason University.
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