Positioning matters.
The one thing I love about good political drama on TV is that it shows this clearly through the fourth wall. “House of Cards” (Netflix) is especially good in the first season for giving viewers a bird’s-eye view on how much it matters on every decision.
If you have 13 hours, take a minute to watch, and see how Francis Underwood takes advantage of every room,every negotiation, and even every sentence with how he positions himself. He does it to force the other people to react, giving him a distinct advantage.
Now, take a step back and look at the news, and how they position themselves to dispense fear, or even more dubious, companies like Wal-Mart position themselves to victimhood (like they have with the minimum wage thing)
How you get to the table matters.
We like to think that our brain is able to discern the priority of things, and that we are able to see the things that don’t matter. We don’t. In fact, the most charming of us use this to manipulate. Moving something slightly to the left, a question inflected differently, or the right smile can lead us to our doom. This isn’t an intelligence issue. It goes deeper, to our instincts, which in some situations leave us high and dry.
So pay attention
We have limited willpower. It takes energy and time to try to see through little tricks. The best defense, though, is to try to understand that it is happening, and place yourself in the safest position possible. You don’t have to manipulate, but understand that sometimes the best defense is a great offense.
Get in the right positions, learn how to read the people around you, and know that what you see isn’t always what you get.
From the desk of Adam Thomas 