One bad habit of mine is to share materials to make a point instead of making a point myself. But my attempts usually weren’t successful despite the merits of those materials. I wondered why people didn’t see the “light.” But, recently, why sharing articles, reports, or some data rarely persuades anyone clicked in my head.
Persuasion and following commitment do not originate from our rational mind especially if the problem space is complex and the benefits and the costs are not obvious. Rather, they happen at the emotional level. So you change behaviors when you have others feel your pain.
For example, if I want to avoid slow review turnaround time and resulting big pull requests, the best way to persuade is to vividly describe how I feel that longer review cycles slow down my projects.
It is not easy to do, I know. I also keep forgetting this. But next time I feel the urge to share an article, I will take a step back and think about the pain I have at the moment.
