Not only is deep canvassing persuasive but, by contrast to almost all other approaches, the change appears to be durable, at least over the course of months. It seems to have been a decisive factor in the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York.
What makes the difference is the listening. There’s a solid rule in life: if you don’t listen to other people, they won’t listen to you. I’m often told that people are “too exhausted” to engage in politics. That can mean they’re overwhelmed by work and family life. But it can also refer to the exhaustion of being unheard. The sense that no one is listening is alienating and demoralising.
Another benefit is that deep canvassing allows people to change their minds without losing face. A study in the journal Political Communication found that when someone is heard attentively and without judgment, “they are more likely to become more open-minded and process information in a less defensive manner”. Active listening creates “a sense of shared social identity”, which can build “faith in wider democratic processes”.
The way to change politics is to talk to your neighbours.
Imagine a technique that can heal Britain of division and keep out the hard right. I call it ‘radical listening’
George Monbiot
But the more you talk to your neighbours then the more you will find out that some to more than you thought of your neighbours are, in fact, hard right.
After all, there’s no guarantee at all that the actual culture itself agrees with George now, is there?
I. too , am worried by the rise of the hard right. Their regular weekend marches through the streets of our cities calling for the annihilation of Jews. their fondness for carrying arms. Their death threats to anyone who doesn’t agree with them. Shall I ask George for his help in deporting them? Or don’t you think it’s worth it…
Where ‘Listening’ means replacing the previous voters with new, shiny, third-world people who vote in their own ethnic interest.
‘There’s a solid rule in life: if you don’t listen to other people, they won’t listen to you.’
Monbiot listens to no-one who disagrees with him; if he did, he wouldn’t think all the mad shit he thinks.
Ah, the “hard right” as opposed to the “left-leaning”.
The fuckers wouldn’t lean left if we strung ’em up.
Was hoping the greens were going to come around in the local elections but I haven’t seen them. I had a few choice phrases ready regarding their policies and leader.
…
Phwoar !
She doesn’t like sausage, Otto.
In the run up to last year’s local election that never was, I had a lengthy doorstep chat with a LibDem canvasser. He seriously thought he could talk me into taking Ed Davey seriously.
He’s fallen in the water!
The problem is, he keeps getting out!
I see a logical contradiction here. If I am a deep canvasser and a really good listener, isn’t there a chance that I too will change my mind?
I think the point is you merely *pretend* to be a good listener for this trick to work.
Really it’s just a psychological sales technique, a form of manipulating the customer into saying “yes”. Kind of thing you’d think a good leftie would be opposed to.
Yep. I did a company mandated training session on neuro linguistic programming years ago. To improve our sales technique, which being in tech support and projects I couldn’t give a shit about. The nineties fad for manipulation of the customers.
Good news about NLP is that it’s pseudoscientific crap. I’d hate it even more if it was a genuine scientifically validated form of mental manipulation. Bad news about it is that it’s ubiquitous. Pretty much any sales person you come across will have been trained in it. There are similar things for customer care assistants and so on. “Deep listening” springs to mind.
I have to say “deep listening” triggered my long dormant memories of NLP. I’m twice that age now and less likely to believe in bullshit.
But the point of listening, in sales, is not so you can think of the next glib bullshit to promise the customer. It’s not to better trick people.
It’s so you can serve the customer. By understanding their needs and putting together a deal that delivers real value.
That’s how people who are good at sales do it. Start from a place of humility (they know their business better than you) and being genuinely interested in your customers. And they’ll hopefully still be your customers in a decade, because you won’t have sold them lies, such as “net migration in the tens of thousands”.
Moonbat, obvs, starts from the premise that the customer is wrong, stupid, racist, and possibly illiterate. (Read the article) Those Greggs-eating dumb hordes – who probably aren’t even vegetarian – need somebody middle class and university educated to pretend to have a conversation, as an excuse to preach Guardianista talking points at them “How do you do, fellow little people I definitely don’t despise? How do you think your child’s murder and/or rape by an ethnic gang operating in broad daylight in London might have been caused by the climate crisis and/or Nigel Farage?”
Hey, at least it’s a sort-of conversation. As someone observed, modern progressive leftist “conversations” with normal people involve the leftie ludicrously pretending not to understand things, so that discourse becomes impossible. Once you see it, you can’t unsee. E.g. politicians in 2026, with a straight face, defending massive, colonisation scale migration of Third World citizens to the UK as “good for the economy”.
Like, our host Tim who I hope not to soil the curtains of, this being his gaff, but I am reminded of his advice on Stern. Take a carbon tax based on the calculation provided, declare it job done and that’s the end of needing any more global warming spend or silly regulations. Hahaha. I don’t blame our host for operating based on logic and good faith, it’s just that what we currently call the “Left” (a strange name for a modern priestly caste of lawyers and pubsec mandarins fighting tooth and nail to ensure maximum hair-shirt suffering and humiliation to the working and middle classes) doesn’t subscribe to your racist, gendered, hetero fascist notions of “truth”.
Ed Miliband was always coming after your tumble dryer, kids. But it’s interesting that Moonbat thinks listening to proles is a Eureka moment worthy of an entire one of his presumably well paid columns. The modern, highly online, progressive left is an ontological hazard. It’s not like they have fixed “principles” or “beliefs” you can nail down.
As we saw last year, one day trans women were women, bigots, and the next the Supreme Court’s decision that they’re not really, according to the Equality Act (and by inference, any legislation based on biological sex because they’re bloody well not women, are they?). The Starmerbot received his firmware upgrade, and flawlessly lied. “What? Trannies? Never eard of em!”. The Labour Party has always believed Eddie Izzard is a bloke, honest guv. One day Chavez is a socialist hero, next day he’s being scrubbed from buildings. Many such cases.
These wind-sniffing, weathervane-riding, moral-panicking-about-Netflix-dramas dishonest cowards truly believe they can give moral and political instruction to bricklayers (who may not be able to read). I would watch a comedy show in this vein, starring Steve Coogan as George Monbiot. But I still wouldn’t buy a TV licence.
The problem with this “listening helps the salesman build a better deal for the customer” thing, from the customer’s point of view, is that it’s very hard to distinguish from “listening helps the salesman find ways to repackage the thing he always wanted to sell in the first place into what sounds like a more persuasive bargain, based on his reading of what I said is important to me, and which now I am going to sound like I’m contradicting myself if I say no to it.” It can feel a lot like someone trying to trick you into saying yes out of a kind of politeness and an embarrassment at saying no to someone who has heard me out and spent time (allegedly) rejigging things in my favour. In some ways I dislike this even more than a hard sell where I don’t get a word in edgeways. But then I’m the kind of guy who buys something when I want to buy it and have satisfied myself with my research on it, not when someone else wants to sell it to me. My feelings about Moonbat’s little proposition are similar, obvs.
I have, in my time as a salesman, actually said to a customer “Ah, so that’s what you want, is it? No, not really me. Sure, it could be done, but expensively and possibly badly. For that you want XYZ bloke. Yes, he’s often a competitor of mine but for what you want he’s the right guy.”
Yes, obviously, I lost the sale that I could, maybe, have tortured him into. On the other hand the same guy spent the next decade including me in every RFQ on anything at all in my area and never once quibbled about price on something where I said “That’s Me!”.
That could be a good customer rather than me being a good salesman, true. But I do have to admit that in those years of dealing with weird metals that was my modus op. And, you know, it worked?
I also defer to others when I know it really isn’t my gig. I don’t like being a cunt.
Me too (albeit it only happened a very few times because I usually got asked because someone who knew my work recommended me for a pretty similar job).
I have had good experiences with a used car salesman and an insurance salesman. I surely can’t be alone in this?
The thing with all of this is selecting the business well. Every business can be driven in the short- or long-term. Make sales now and fuck the reputation, or serve customers well and build reputation.
I know excellent double glazing companies, garages for used cars. The excellent double glazing companies don’t have to go knocking on people’s doors. People come to them because they do a great job and people tell their friends.
Fleecing people works great as a short-term, single sale strategy. People get ripped off by taxis in Vegas because how often are you using that taxi company? It’s why I take an Uber when I can. I have a relationship with them.
I just did some work for a customer I first did work for over 15 years ago. He knows I’m even honest enough to tell him that he doesn’t need a 3 month custom job doing, but we could use a certain package and spend a week setting it up. Not great for the bank, but it keeps a good reputation.
it’s very hard to distinguish from “listening helps the salesman find ways to repackage the thing he always wanted to sell in the first place into what sounds like a more persuasive bargain
Yes, obvs most people just want whatever’s in your wallet, now. Don’t trust people. But if you’re a corporate buyer, you can build your own trusted relationships with a long term account manager, if you want. You’d be surprised at how cagey public sector buyers get, sometimes, when you’re trying to understand what it is they actually want, nevermind the need. Everybody likes to buy, everybody hates being sold to. So don’t trust sales people, as a rule, but again you might be surprised at how many sales interactions are legitimately trying to do the right thing by the customer. And the customer is wary of this, because “you’re trying to sell me something”. Well yes, but the double digit percentage mandatory vendor price increases due to RAM shortages really are coming next month, sign now because you do need the servers in the new data centre you promised your director will be running by the summer. An honest and loyal salesman will be the Matthew McConaughey to your Ben Stiller, even when you go full retard and ignore his wise advice and then end up needing things to happen emergency-fast on shoestring budget to spare your blushes. I’m your guy, pal.
and which now I am going to sound like I’m contradicting myself if I say no to it.
Yes, it’s a shady trick often used by religious cult recruiters. Get you to say “yes”, to something completely inoffensive, then lead you on a merry conversational dance of eliciting further “yeses” until their read of your body language says it’s time for the Decision Point. And hopefully at that point you’ll have been agreeing with the nice recruiter so much, you’d feel embarrassed saying no to the polycelibate vegan spaceship community on a remote compound in Bulgaria.
Here is an artificial advantage the salesman (if he’s a pro) has that you don’t: he’s not emotionally invested in this conversation. He’s financially and possibly career invested, if you’re a big account, not the same thing. He’s quite prepared for you, at any time, to say “no, fuck off” and it won’t spoil his afternoon. Not even his next fag break. So, think like a salesman: if you feel like you’re being fed bullshit or buffaloed, remember they are trying to talk you into a commercial transaction, however ingratiating they may seem, and it’s not rude to shut that down instantly if you’re not interested. The secret to winning conversations like this is not caring as much as the other guy. What, he has the world patent on the only medicine that can cure your sick Mum’s shingles? No, he wants you to buy double glazing or computers or something. So you’re entitled to value your time enough to either end the convo whenever you want. Or if he does potentially have something of value and interest, you’re entitled to cut out the bullshit and come down to business, no? That’s what I said to the caller from that cancer charity, anyway.
In some ways I dislike this even more than a hard sell where I don’t get a word in edgeways.
It’s the gruesomely false, gold-toothed smile of the Arab peddlar with an evil little monkey on his shoulder. The fake “mate… mate…” crap sales patter from some doughnut you’ve literally just met, possibly against your will. If a man can’t give you an elevator pitch without giving you the creeps, he should have his company car, phone and his badge revoked immediately and all immunity from prosecution for indiscretions at the Christmas Party rescinded while he’s physically propelled from the building and into the gutter like the smelly tramp loser he is. In my day, ee, we had t’have immaculate woolen seams, parade gloss shoes, and the ability to conceal hangovers well until drinks o’clock (1730) to succeed in this business. Gentleman, what did we learn?
A – Never
B – Shoot
C – Women
Nice response, cheers Steve. Appreciated Tim’s above too, and yes I’ve also turned down work as not far enough down my street. I do appreciate that B2B is a bit different to B2C sales, generally longer term relationships and more bespoke arrangements where customisation actually matters. Enough money on the table that it’s worth ironing stuff out properly. Whereas if you’re just one customer among millions on the phone about a mobile contract worth just a couple of hundred quid per year, the retentions agent you’ve fought your way through who offers “special deal, just for you” really has no more power than his own persuasive charm and whatever the computer screen in front of him is telling him to offer.
Btw I know polycelibate is the “I’m not-having-sex with lots of people” joke but it’s also a Thing these days, even has its own pride flag: Polycelibate is a polyamorous relationship term that avoids reproducing models of a conventional relationship (“I have a girlfriend, but I don’t intend to go live with her”). https://transid.org/books/queer-orientations/page/polycelibate
Fatigue
Councils and big businesses should hang the Polycelibate Pride Flag during Pride Month (I almost did the wrongthink thing of writing Pride Week, naughty of me, clearly the flags need to hang for three more weeks or else it’s just performative virtue signalling and civic or corporate pinkwashing) alongside the Polyamorpluromual Pride Flag (for “plural people whose identity as polyamorous is influenced by their plurality”), the Seliamory Pride Flag (“a polyamorous subtype categorized as wanting multiple partners but not wanting these relationships to intersect”), the Soloamory Pride Flag (“for those who identify as being in a relationship with oneself”) and a hundred others.
I’m all for it. Because eventually even people who are proudly, vocally woke are going to say “well it’s all getting a bit much, isn’t it?” Fatigue indeed.
Yeah, but mine’s like metal fatigue. When it breaks it’s permanent, and you won’t like the consequences. Or rather, rainbow people won’t. I’ve had enough. My benign, amused indulgence has all been used up.
If it cheers you up I heard a young, very left-wing, pro-Gaza, Bangladeshi Londoner having a proper moan about last year’s Pride parade. Why do they need to keep stuffing it down our throats?!? (Amusingly this is a direct quote.) It’s disgusting! They should wear some clothes!!!
Not that I’m thrilled by further signs of Britain’s social fracture but at least some coalitions of convenience won’t last forever.
Am I to believe that George thinks Mamdani is a good thing? How does he think it’s going now? Presumably Zorhan listened to people who wanted frozen rent, free buses, city-run grocery stores and taxing the rich and duly put those promises in his manifesto. But now it turns out there isn’t the money for those things and nobody will subsidise them. And Wall Street is off to Dallas and Miami, nobody needs to be in NYC. Does George have an opinion on that?
“Deep canvassing works only if you have a large army of volunteers, ideally from the community you’re trying to reach.”
And something similar is what is going on every day in people’s lives. One of their neighbours or a member of their family tells them something, explains something, they learn a fact that changes their perception. There are odd things people told me that completely changed my perception of something. There are things I explained to people where they said “oh yeah”. I’ve got a few converts to “jobs are a cost” in my time.
Madmani won because no one else ran.
NYC votes Democrat.
Madmani won the Democrat primary because he was the cleanest turd.
Moonbat and the other collected collectivists ascribe meaning to it. There is none.
I hope he will provide an example to other democrats thinking to do the same. But I doubt it.
People are looking for authenticity and sincerity, once we learn how to fake it well, we’ll be all set.
ha, deep listening is, i’m guessing, a thing from therapy. Yes the therapist has the “right” answer- they have been trained up the wazzoo in korreckt think, but it’s nothing if not practical, having as they do, to sit down for 40 minutes at a time with a.n.other human.
As such the therapist will have honed a slightly better delivery system than just shouting in someone’s face that they’re wrong and evil. But still i doubt it’s the answer George thinks it is because you do have to pay them for that 40 mins of deep listening.
This is why you never talk to cops. They have years of experience tricking people into saying incriminating things. You will lose.
“Sir, I’m not answering any questions.”
Funnily enough a retired cop told me the same. “Don’t even try to be helpful!” That’s how they get you, he reckoned.
Going about my lawful business officer.
Dont even say “No comment” because it will be used in court.
Opposition to the hard left must cease. Embrace the Uniparty!
Rush Limbaugh pointed out for decades that what they demand is . . . surrender. They don’t want a debate. They don’t want a “conversation.” They want surrender. Peace will come when YOU surrender.
“Hey, Moonbat, why don’t YOU surrender?”
You’re right, they demand surrender.
That’s why I long ago gave up arguing with progressives/communists. There is no middle ground. They’ve long since made it clear that it is them or us.
In fact, they are intellectually dishonest. The issue is never the issue. All their efforts are to get people to accept communism.
‘Heal Britain of division’ is philosophy, not a strategy.
‘Keep out the hard right’ is demonizing those who resist communism.
Radical listening = Shut up, listen to me and do as I say.
Bargaining.
When my missus died, I skipped 2 and it took me a long time to get to 5.
3 and 4 seemed to last forever.
Sad to hear that, Otto. Come on the Imberbus and have a laugh.
How will we recognise each other? I suggest carrying a potato.
If it’s not too windy I’ll be wearing my nearly-orange panama hat. It’s like a Belisha beacon.
My first wife, The Good One, died 40 years ago this week. After a 10 month illness. I was pretty numb by the time she passed. Only stage I remember is 4. Depression. For a long time. Not sure I ever got to ‘acceptance.’ Got to where I couldn’t cry anymore.
I am so sick of this intellectually vapid, morally dishonest bollocks.
Or, to put it another way, I am so sick of this intellectually dishonest, morally vapid bollocks.
I mean, just at the level of an A-level student, how is this gilded poltroon, this Monbiot, simultaneously going to ‘heal division’ and ‘keep out the hard right’?
It’s cunts, all the way down.
Somehow I don’t expect Monbiot has any intention of changing his mind.
>The way to change politics is to talk to your neighbours.
But only over social media where the government can monitor you and ensure you only post and read approved positions.
I talked to my neighbor a few days ago.
I don’t like him anymore.
Monidiot has never, ever, actually listened to anyone with an opinion contrary to his in his entire life…..
Ranted against them, protested against them, excluded them from his Circle, yes. But actually listening to figure out if the other side actually has a point? Never..
Pretty normal behaviour for a leftie.