The HBR Guides Collection (8 Books) (HBR Guide Series)

33

Anticipate

Resistance

As a presenter, you’re asking people to change their

beliefs or behavior. That’s not something they’ll enjoy

or fi nd easy, so every audience will resist in some way.

People will adamantly defend their own perspectives

to avoid adopting yours. While listening to you, they’ll

catalog what they hear. Having come into the room with

their own knowledge and biases, they’ll constantly evalu-

ate whether what you say fi ts within or falls outside their

views.

So think through why and how they might resist, and

plan accordingly. Here are the most common types of re-

sistance, and how to get ready for them:

Logical resistance: Can you fi nd logical arguments

against your perspective? Dig up articles, blog posts,

and reports that challenge ...