It is nearly impossible to get some people to see the truth, even if it’s deadly important. But you can plant a seed that might germinate later if you do it right.
I’ve gone to great efforts to get people I care about to see the truth about the incredibly unhealthy food they are eating. Lately, I’ve been trying to convince a close relative that Trump is leading her, and all his supporters, off a Covid-19 cliff. No matter how much effort I put into carefully selecting my words in email messages I’ve sent, I cannot get her to see the truth about Trump (article). I give you more on my decision to use written communication later.
It is easy to see why though. She has told me that she only listens to Trump, believes he is not responsible for the dire Covid-19 situation in the United States, and agrees with most of his decisions. Her choice to do these things is pure self-imposed ignorance and stupidity.
If a person only listens to Trump, his gutless enablers, and Fox News, as most harden Trump supporters reportedly do, they will never, ever know the truth about Trump, Covid-19, or anything else.
Trump is a master manipulator, con, liar, cheater, blamer to the likes of which the world hasn’t seen since Hitler. How does he do it? Repeat, repeat, blame, lie, repeat, repeat, blame, lie, repeat, repeat. Just exactly like Hitler did. And like other present-day dictators do as well.
Why does a person refuse to see the truth? Because they are closed-minded, defensive, insecure, self-righteous, and self-centered. Just like Trump.
I have found that the best way to plant a seed that has the greatest chance of germinating is to craft a high-quality seed and put it in the ideal environment. When you consider verbal vs written communication (article), writing is the best way to accomplish these things. From there you just be a good example.
Writing allows the sender to carefully choose their words. And since it’s in writing and not verbal, the recipient is forced to read the entire message to understand it and is not able to immediately strike back as they could if done verbally. This delay encourages the person to think before reacting. Since it’s in writing, it’s more likely to stay in their mind and they can refer back to the written communication if they want.
I’ve used written communication to repair relationships (article), enable couple’s communication without confrontation (book), and present crucial information such as I’ve discussed here.
Planting seeds is more effective and less frustrating than trying to convince someone about an important issue on the spot.