Since the election I have had people unfriend me, friend me, congratulate me with many impressed that I called it from day one. Even though one can never guarantee an election; I have been studying Trump and learning from him for years.
When he won the republican primaries, I knew he would win the election. There are a lot of reasons for that, but one of the key ones I want to focus on is his ability to listen, understand and persuade.
As the left of politics and the pro-Hillary camps are busy rioting and causing havoc; the responsible people from this side (who I have lots of respect for as someone who used to be on the left) are really coming forward and discussing why they lost so badly. I actually used to be on the left; but over the years they squeezed me out due to being shamed, not thinking 100% like them and having different opinions.
As the election played out, you will notice that there were three (there are more, but for simplicity sake) sides that formed:
- Left / Pro Hillary
- Independents / Centre
- Right / Trump
I am actually an independent who become a Trump supporter. The reason was is that the independents really collapsed and the left wouldn’t actually talk to me anymore. Like many on the ex-left; if I questioned anything they said I would be labelled with all these horrible terms (usually starting with racist). What actually happened is that the left was no longer actually talking to me. They were judging me against a strict standard and without 100% obedience without question; I would be shamed out of their camp.
But guess who wanted to talk to me? The right. Trump. His supporters. The independents. They would talk to me, listen to me, not judge me, offer solutions of change to deal with my problems and challenges in life. You can say that I started off negative on them; and over time they successfully persuaded me.
They didn’t bully me, or shame me, they understood me and gave me solutions to my problems. Guess what happened? I became a fan. I then became an active supporter and although I couldn’t vote; I must have shared at least 300 x times supporting Trump for my friends around the world.
What this massive lesson taught me was the importance of really listening to people. If you disagree that is cool, but just judging people or labelling them like the left did to it’s own supporters just didn’t work.
You can’t bully or shame someone into supporting you as Hillary and that proved. Real persuasion comes from helping people solve their problems and get what they want.
My advice and thinking? Listen, Understand! Do not judge unless you are 100% (which I would then argue you can never be). Have an open mind and always engage in critical thinking even against yourself.
That is one of the true bases of persuasion and Trump and over 50% of the US population have proved 🙂
Love your work, stay awesome and thanks for the read!
P.S. Thank you to the awesome person on the internet who came up with this artwork. Owe you a beer / fine glass of red (you rock!).
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