I’ve been recently thinking about the various ways of indirectly getting a message across. In It’s not always what you say and It’s just like an analogy, we looked at some examples of communicating a message more powerfully by leading the audience to apply the issue we present to another, sometimes unstated, but analogous, issue.
Another way of doing this is to simply and clearly lay out all of the evidence that leads to an obvious conclusion, but then stop short of stating that conclusion. You might state that a conclusion needs to be reached, a decision made or an answer found, but that it’s not your call to make.
This can be particularly effective, if you are presenting to business superiors, who may not appreciate being told what to do. Letting them make the call preserves at least the illusion that you respect their experience and knowledge and will defer to their judgment.
Of course, there is a danger in this approach. You have to trust that they will come to the conclusion you want. Even if you feel you have brilliantly laid out the facts that can lead to only one conclusion, they may surprise you.
In that case, the impact of having them reach their own conclusion, an impact that can work so powerfully for you, is turned against you. Once they have a stated their own, different conclusion, they have a vested psychological interest in it and will be very tough to turn around.
There is also the risk of them not recognizing that a decision or conclusion is called for. They may just take your information under advisement and leave it at that.
I’m of the opinion that it’s usually best to be clear about what you are trying to achieve. Your audience may not agree with you, and may not make the decision you are advocating, but they should at least know what your position is. Still, leaving the conclusion up to them is another arrow in your quiver, and used with care, a sometimes effective one at that.
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