Wise words from Han Solo
Let him have it. It’s not wise to upset a Wookiee.
-Han Solo
Wise words from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….. Sorry Yoda fans, but the best advice in Star Wars came from a smuggler, not a Jedi.
Being right isn’t as helpful you’d like. At present time and galaxy, this is both the most common intervention I make to clients, and never what they want to hear. It is especially difficult advice to accept for those eager “to get the facts out”. Some of the reasons that ‘being right’ is not going to go the way you think include:
- No one cares. These are arguments without an audience. Right or wrong, arguing with the waiter about wine pronunciation won’t impresses your dinner company. Don’t waste energy on fights that can’t provide a return.
- No one can accept it. These are arguments you can’t win because the audience is unwilling to consider them—facts that are intuitively rejected. Reciting stats about commercial aviation’s exemplary safety record will not assuage the fears of the passenger seated next to you that is terrified of flying.
- You are taking the bait. These are arguments that lead to unwinnable or unhelpful fights. Ronald Reagan famously warns: “If you’re explaining, you’re losing.” This is where ‘being right’ goes from being a waste of time to harmful. Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72 offers a legendary example:
Every hack in the business has used it in times of trouble, and it has even been elevated to the level of political mythology in a story about one of Lyndon Johnson’s early campaigns in Texas. The race was close and Johnson was getting worried. Finally, he told his campaign manager to start a massive rumor campaign about his opponent’s life-long habit of enjoying carnal knowledge of his own barnyard sows.
“Christ, we can’t get away with calling him a pig-fucker,” the campaign manager protested. “Nobody’s going to believe a thing like that.”
“I know,” Johnson replied. “But let’s make the sonofabitch deny it.”
The real lesson in all of this is the oldest of communication—know your audience. Public debate is often emotional. To be effective and gain the moral high ground requires an understanding of the values at play—what is this really about? Understanding this context is what enables a campaign to develop a winning narrative. This is also why it pays to do research.
May the fourth be with you.
