Larry D. Lauer

Lesson 73 is that people generally hear what they want to hear, and that contrary arguments actually reinforce already held beliefs. So when setting out to change how people are thinking, what should professional communicators do?

First, know that it will take time, and will often not  be successful. This is why grassroots politics centers around using those who are already on your side to work with those who are already undecided. Minds rarely change, and when they do it’s at the end of a long process. Most of us have come to our opinions as a result of our interactive experiences at work, with friends, with family, and over time.  We tend to think like those with whom we have been interacting on a regular basis. And today we even tend to make media choices that reinforce what we already believe. Thinking differently almost always requires a substantially changed message environment for a sustained period of time.

But if you are still determined to make the effort to persuade, you must begin by raising provocative questions. The more questions I have to confront the more likely I will become confused.  And when I am confused, I will become extremely uncomfortable.  Psychologists call this state “cognitive dissonance.”   In that state, I become psychologically compelled to reconstruct my belief system. It’s the only way I can regain my sense of well-being.

It will take a deluge of new influences to orchestrate this state of cognitive dissonance. It best happens when new thinking people appear in my immediate environment, and new message points assault me from a new set of media sources.  But even then, not all minds will change. Making the effort,  however, is a legitimate form of strategic communication and honest persuasion. 

This process, admittedly, is a form of brainwashing.  But brainwashing as we sometimes find it in militaries and concentration camps is different. It is accompanied by brutal techniques to wear down resistance by producing physical and mental exhaustion. Changes in thinking produced like this almost always disappear later on.

The type of brainwashing we find in politics today is different, but some of it can also be questionable. Many of the consistently repeated message points are untrue or misleading.  And when misleading messages bombard people repeatedly and consistently, are repeated by influencers in the immediate community, and are accompanied with confusion producing questions, the messages can begin to sound true. This is dangerous and irresponsible.

Our responsibility as professional communicators is to use our mind changing processes and tools cautiously, responsibly and honestly. Then, we must make additional efforts to help educate the public about the new realities of the 24/7 polarized world.