Changing Mindsets — Prospective
It is widely believed that people see & experience the world with their eyes, but that’s a misnomer because people see the world with their brains & get the information through their senses; one of which includes the eyes. How one sees the world relies on their perception & beliefs about the world around them, which explains how different people seeing the same information can experience them differently, and hence; react or respond differently.
Our mindsets affects whether we persist through challenges, whether we think others should be given opportunities to learn, whether we get depressed, or even whether we act prejudiced towards a new idea, approach, innovation, or experience…
How do you help people develop mindsets that bring-out their best?
People’s intuitions about how to change mindsets are often wrong!
Persuaders sometimes make the mistake of approaching mindsets as if they were “Facts” to be memorized rather than habits of mind to be internalized. Conversely, they tend to ignore the personal & emotionally-charged nature of many mindsets, which means changing them calls for special sensitivity to the perspective of the persuadee (the person whose mindset we’re trying to change).
Introducing a new mindset successfully requires a careful application of persuasion principles.
Based on my personal experience, here are just 3 of these principles, which have been oversimplified for the sake of brevity & efficacy…
1. Tripping over the Facts
People don’t like it when somebody else tells them how to think, especially if it’s “for their own good.” If the persuadee suspects you’re trying to manipulate them, they are more likely to become defensive and to resist your persuasion attempts.
People like to arrive at their own conclusions themselves & don’t like to be bullied into thinking in a different way, so the most effective way is for them to Own the Idea. This is done by asking your audience to walk you through the process of how things work today & you asking probing & inquisitive questions (avoid yes/no questions) that allows them to think about the validity of how things are done today until you both arrive at the point where your audience trips over the real problem that you want them to realize!
2. Avoid Blame & Focus on Growth
People want to see themselves & others they care about in a positive light, and they resist persuasion if it paints them in a negative light.
To get around this problem while still inducing change, find ways to pardon the persuadee’s past behavior while increasing pressure to change future behavior. In other words, try to help them “Save Face” for past transgressions, but not for future actions.
3. Walk a Mile in their Shoes
Try to empathize with the person whose mindset you’re trying to change. Why do they hold a counterproductive mindset right now?
If you held that counterproductive mindset, ask yourself what might convince you to change your mind (hint: probably neither nagging nor bullying).
Takeaways…
Here are some tools that would help you influence others to see things from different vantage points & change their prospective in ways that would help them get out of their own way so that things can get done faster & easier;
Mindset & Behavior Shift:
The Maverick
www.DarTec.com.sa
Hashim@dartec.com.sa
