Virtually all of my clients over the years have shown a strong desire to persuade others that they're right, moral, and worthy of admiration, or at least acceptance.

Their usual explanations of why persuasion is important are:

Achieving goals and implementing ideas

Building relationships and social support

Influencing decisions and actions

Resolving conflict and driving change.

How often does any of that happen in our polarized world?

A Seeming Paradox

Public discourse these days is marked by great confidence about simple solutions to complex problems. Yet no one seems able to persuade anyone who doesn’t already agree with them. That’s because confidence with implied certainty is more likely to inspire contradicting responses, if not backlash. Confidence can easily come off a

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