“To reshape the world in the image of your values.”
It’s a big goal. But it can be done, one person and one conversation at a time.
David Lieberman wrote a book called How to Change Anybody. It’s about helping other people become more moral, thoughtful, and accomplished.
What greater gifts could you give than these?
But most people don’t want to be changed by you. So how do you approach people and help them see your vision?
Here are 9 practical tips from Lieberman. I picked ones helpful for writers.
1. To turn an outsider into an insider, you need to give him information that few people have.
2. When people don’t have anything invested—emotionally, financially, or otherwise—they’re quicker to jump ship.
3. Emotion creates motion.
4. Often a person will do something for someone else more readily than he would for himself.
5. Catch the wave of inspiration when you can, and you will be surprised how long you can ride it.
6. Behavioral change is easiest to make when the new behavior is incorporated within the context of a routine or pattern.
7. Keep asking why. When a person holds a certain belief, ask why. And when he answers those questions, ask why again.
8. To change a person’s thinking, you first need to get him to define exactly what he means.
9. If you want someone to change, you’re going to have to show him that it’s simple and easy.