Stop 90% of Right-wing trolling easily without blocking — Bad news: Right-wing trolls are ubiquitous. Good news: They can be tamed. How often does this happen? You’re discussing the upcoming election on Facebook or Twitter when a Trump supporter… swears and calls you names sneers with contempt in smug, dismissive comments implies you’re a bad person or questions your motives Uh oh, you’ve got trolls.

The science behind why your attempts at persuasion fail — and what to do instead. — To change hearts and minds, stop making these common mistakes and start doing what works. All over America, Democrats are working hard to elect Biden and an important part of that effort is persuading people that voting for Trump is a mistake. While persuasion is a critical component of any winning strategy, our methods often make things worse, putting us on a war-like footing with…

People a lot like you. — “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” — Abraham Lincoln I’ve found one of the biggest barriers for Democrats when trying to engage with and persuade voters across the aisle is misperceptions about who Republicans are. We think the average Republican voter is very different…

Take this short assessment. — To grow the progressive movement, left-leaning folks need to communicate effectively with people outside our tribe. However, most Democrats are lousy at talking politics with people who disagree with us. What about you? How good are you, personally, at talking about politics with folks who think you’re wrong? For the…

Just 3.5% of Ukrainians can stop Putin — without violence. — Nonviolent resistance is twice as effective as violent civil uprisings. My fellow peace-loving progressives seem oddly stymied by the invasion of Ukraine. They know war isn’t the answer, but beyond calling for economic sanctions they seem baffled about what to do. …

And how to earn them. — Persuasive conversations are built with strong relationships — not arguments. Most political conversations between Republicans and Democrats go off the rails from the start because not enough time (let’s be honest, no time) is invested in building trust. …

Haidt and Lakoff Start at the End, Not the Beginning — When people learn that I teach progressives how to communicate more persuasively with Republicans, they often get excited and say, “Oh! Like Lakoff and Haidt!” My response is, “Um, yes…sort of.” The work of Jonathon Haidt and George Lakoff guides progressives in the art of framing: communicating about issues in…

You think you’re in a courtroom — One of the biggest problems I see in political dialogue is that often our intuitions about how to influence the views of others are very poor. Decades of courtroom drama (and The West Wing) have many of us thinking — wrongly — the best way to change someone’s mind is…

Labeling them and their politics “insane” gets us nowhere. — Often when I tell progressives about my work with Smart Politics, they nod and say, “That sounds great, but you can’t do that with the real crazies.” What they mean, of course, is there’s no point talking with anti-vaxxers, QAnon believers, MAGA voters, or others who hold beliefs very different…