The Art of Persuasion - How to move other people

You may have come across some people in your path with whom you squabbled but could not deter them from their beliefs even if they were mistaken. One also comes across people in the news or some uncle and aunties or neighbors who have stone-like perseverant beliefs regarding good, rich, poor, vaccines, politics and religion, and everything else under the sun.

So what makes them so adamant? Why people don’t want to change their beliefs even when there are hard facts contradicting them?

Let’s dive into it. But first, let's categorize people.

There are three types of people we often meet.

The Ignorant Type

1. The Ignorant type – There are a handful of people who would simply say '‘It doesn't exist ' ' because it hasn’t happened to them. They fail to understand the plight of others. For instance, some girls who have not been eve teased will not understand what other females have gone through. Similarly, some people often fail to recognize the discrimination and denial of rights underprivileged people face daily.

The Obsolete Type

2. The Obsolete type - Some people have been out of touch regarding new discoveries inventions and advances in fields of science and technology. Many individuals have disputed beliefs that the earth is flat, vaccines don’t work or climatic change is not real. Science takes evidence and facts into consideration. And for these people, this disciplined and learned topic is in contrast to their faith.

THe Mountain Type

3. The Mountain type – The majority of the people have a bias towards certain behavior and are stuck in the orthodox views of how a society should function and religious dogmatism. They are very reluctant to even consider a pragmatic framework for such complex situations to advance in a better future.

In many ways, our actions and reactions are direct results of our entrenched beliefs, be it astrological, religious, or even psychological. They are set like concrete in our minds. Slowly and steadily, over the course of time, these beliefs become an image of our self; our truth. If someone comes and shakes it or even tries to change or replace our truth, we go on the defensive and sometimes an offensive mood. What will be left of us, if our truth is taken from us? Nothing! Our whole life becomes a lie. It takes a personal toll when we take away from them their reality. And then comes in a new factor, fear. So people cling to their thoughts more and are afraid to try new ventures.

Our beliefs get more cemented by our surroundings and what we take from our elders. The norms, cultures, and attitudes that we engulf growing up, become the norm for us throughout our lives unless something with more authority and charisma comes and persuades us. You might intellectually be aware that your beliefs and convictions are wrong but it still takes a personal and mental toll to change the principles that you have invested your whole life in.

Now it should not be misunderstood that someone else's truth is the universal truth. We as an individual should be more accepting and patient with others as we all crave human interaction.