Unpopular Opinion or Startling Fact
A short series on attention grabbers.
Controversial topics have always garnered attention. The need to correct or to prove you wrong can be a strong feeling in your counter part. In my opinion, this is why social media debates can get very heated and become a trending topic for months. This may be a quick and great way of grabbing attention of the room because it challenges their beliefs however, it is a double edged sword because you may lose part of the room when you are unable to convince them with what you’ve prepared. A startling fact on the other hand, creates curiosity like a “Did you know?” style information delivery and is a softer approach.
Making Unpopular Opinion and Getting Hit
I have used both an unpopular opinion and a startling fact in presentations. Today, I leaned towards delivering an unpopular opinion. Well, you can say that I love making my life difficult for myself, in actual fact I have found there’s more to learn from someone who disliked your product or services than from a person who loves it. The same goes for a thought or an opinion. The requirement is, you have to be able to take a hit. This was a difficult thing to learn and I am still in the midst of mastering it. It requires you to manage your own emotions when the other party says you’re wrong or gets defensive and challenges you. Taking a hit means soaking up what he says and respond calmly in a non argumentative manner while in no way means staying down and not respond.
The best part about this journey was I started finding out information gap whilst making those unpopular opinions or remarks. It either helped me with my research or better prepare my pitch deck. Remember, the unpopular remark works like a double edged sword, you have to be ready to take on criticism and be prepared to explain yourself. This is where you have to be convincing, whether it is by data, or by case study. Irrefutable fact will only convince those who are rational in arguments. In my experience, our human side shows especially in times of debate and arguments. In that instance, I had to summon all my experience in client management, risk management communication, knowledge in communication and then some to maintain control of the presentation and to continue. Today’s audiences are slowly getting more comfortable to disagree with you in public, hence the open discourse.
My experience, tell it to the audience in their perspective first to the point that they start agreeing with you, after that tell the unpopular opinion as if it is asking them to put themselves in someone else’s shoe. In my opinion, this reduces friction while keeping the discussion alive and in a more civil manner.
Startling Fact(s)
This is an interesting one and it gets easier when you are an industry expert. With knowledge of the ins and outs of a particular business, startling facts will come naturally to you but not to those who aren’t in it. This may include institutional investors too. No one knows everything, so I believe in putting up information as though the other person did not know. You’ll be surprised by the questions that stems from this way of presenting by non industry experts. However, you do not want to use a fact that no one cares about as it wouldn’t have the impact that you want. (At risk of sounding like a broken record) It goes back to your target audience, what kind of information would impact them to most? Is this information relevant to them? The startling fact has to be an unknown to their reality if it were to have any impact that ultimately make them say “Really?!”.
Remember to take the results individual parts of your pitch/presentation into consideration when it comes to planning what to use or how to use it. One-size-fit-all may not work and I don’t recommend it for a smaller audience size. Try it out in your next attention grabbing pitch session and stay tune for more.