Last night I went to a presentation by one of my early mentors, Howard Gardner, who spoke on his new book, Changing Minds. Howard gave me my first job after graduate school doing post-doc research at Harvard Project Zero and he continues to lead that group. Howard is known for his research on the multiple intelligences we bring to most tasks as he discussess in this CIO Magazine interview. As he frequently does with other topics, Howard has assimilated a vast amount of research and presented a useful framework for looking at the issue of changing minds. His coverage ranges from changing the mind of a nation to changing the mind of an individual close to you and even yourself. Since we are often interested in changing the minds of clients and colleagues on issues, I am summarizing the seven levers that he found to impact mind changing. There is not yet enough research yet to suggest which lever to use for which level of audience. Those who are effective at changing minds generally are good at all seven and when they lose their influence it is usually because they slip up on one or two. So this list can serve as a useful checklist of what to include, and be conscious of, as to attempt to change another’s mind.
Reason – is there a logic employed, have the pros and cons been addressed?
Research – is there data to support the position?
Resonance – do we have a good feeling about the person attempting the mind change and/or does the new position feel right to us – can we connect emotionally with the mind changer?
Redescription – do we employ different ways to present the argument that build on each other?
Resources and Rewards – while rewards are useful, if only rewards are involved the result is more likely to be a temporary behavior change and we will revert to the prior position when the reward is withdrawn and not undergo a real mind change
Real World Events – the context for considering the new position, such as the dot com boom and then the subsequent bust, can put it in a better or clearer perspective
Resistances – we need to be aware of, and address, possible obstacles to the mind change
Real mind change is generally a slow process that involves all these factors, even when there is a sudden tipping point that takes us over to the new position.
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