WARNING: Not for the Weak Stomach; But For a Stronger Point of View
If you are interested in sharpening your persuasion chops and getting others to act, this article is 100% for you.
Few people ever raise their hands when I ask how many folks loved reading world history when they were in middle school. This is true when I lead trainings with groups of thirty to groups of two hundred plus participants. Remembering how many dry facts were involved and how foreign historical events felt, I am not surprised by the lack of enthusiasm. This is when I introduce a book called, “Poop Happened: A History of the World from the Bottom Up.”
The New York Times Bestselling author Sarah Albee is on to something here, in particular with her audience. She knows that being well informed about world history is important in developing our young citizens. She also knows that getting them to read through dry history textbooks would be an uphill battle. So she went about influencing their mindset of world history from a whole new different point of view: Poop.
For as long as there were humans gracing the earth, human waste has been an integral part of the rise and fall of civilizations. Such a seemingly unsavory topic has been a part of public health, urbanization, ancient and modern innovation and yet has been buried in most history textbooks. Albee reasoned that middle school kids love being grossed out. The more toilet humor, the more she can intrigue them. Bingo! Toilet. Humor.
Albee found a legitimate angle to talk about world history, one that also intrigues and delights her young audiences. (I know… gross!)
Next time you find yourself having to persuade a group of people unwilling to act upon something you know is important for them, think about their point of view. You may not find the answer in poop. But with a thorough exploration in a guided process, I am 100% confident that you will find a legitimate angle – an unexpected one – that intrigues and delights your audiences. Most importantly, this angle will get them to act even if they show great initial hesitation.
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Photo Credit: Nicolas Raymond via CreativeCommons.org.
