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Decision-Making and Gaining Buy-In in Polarized Times

Patrick Leach, SDP President; Independent Strategy Consultant
April 30, 2020 (Invited Talk)

Abstract: People naturally seek out and believe evidence that supports their current beliefs and deny evidence that contradicts those beliefs. Liberals, conservatives, and libertarians weight and interpret basic human values differently. When people with similar views discuss a subject in a group, the group’s views become more extreme than the most extreme individual’s view prior to the discussion. Social media exacerbates this problem. How is one to make decisions, let alone gain buy-in from diverse groups in today's polarized world? Evidence alone doesn’t change minds; there must also be an emotional appeal. This talk discusses these problems and concludes with possible approaches to mitigating them.

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SDP membership is required for access to this webinar.

Keywords: framing and structuring framestruc, soft skills and facilitation ssfacil, cognitive biases cogbias, confirmation bias

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