Established, since 1997, leading UK based training provider.
Celebrating 25 years in business! CPD Member - The CPD Certification Service ilm Recognised Provider

Why are Some People Dangerous?

Why are Some People Dangerous?

Why are Some People Dangerous?

Everyone thinks and everyone communicates.

  • Everyone thinks, but people use varying degrees of logical rationality, ranging from low to high levels.
  • Everyone communicates, but people communicate in ways that make them more or less inspirational.

These two characteristics; "rationality" and "inspirational communication skills", suggest four categories of people: The Best, the Most, the Many and the Dangerous!

The Best

The Best occurs when both these positive attributes are combined in the same people.

The result is a group of people who are logically rational AND are highly communicative, persuasive and inspiring. These are the great leaders, of whom Martin Luther King would be a terrific example.

The Most

Most of us are not great leaders. Most people are rational, but NOT gifted with amazing communication skills and powers of persuasion. But we live our lives according to rational principles, or at least we try to.

The Many

Sadly, there are a lot of people who fall into the category of "behaving irrationally and having poor communication skills". These people generally fail in life because they fail to do the right things, or even do the wrong thing. They don't communicate well, they lack motivation and a few turn to crime.

The Dangerous

The dangerous people are those who look and sound good, and are highly effective speakers, but their ideas are irrational. Their policies are based on a set of ill-defined terms, vague assumptions, illogical conclusions, obvious contradictions and faulty statistics. This in turn produces a non-sensical, dangerous philosophy, which they then expertly communicate to the Most and the Many.

Houston, we have a problem!

Members of "the Dangerous" can easily be mistaken for being members of "the Best".

The Most and the Many are likely to be duped by the Dangerous. The Dangerous person is believed to be one of the Best, mostly because of their persuasive linguistics. But simmering under the rhetoric, is a heap of self-contradictory, destructive and dangerous policies, that wreak havoc.

The most obvious example of the Dangerous but irrational speaker is Hitler, but I am sure you can think of more contemporary examples.

What are we to do with this information?

Whenever we are listening to the confident experts and politicians. We should take the contents of this grid into account.

We should ask ourselves, "Are we listening to the Best people speak, or rather the Dangerous?"

The logical test questions that we should apply to any speaker claiming to be an expert are these:

  1. Are they using ill-defined terms, dubious or hazy definitions?
  2. Is their whole case based upon unstated or vague assumptions?
  3. When put into practice, do their policies create obvious, glaring contradictions?
  4. Are the experts over-dependent on dubious statistics?
  5. Are their policies wreaking havoc amongst the Most and the Many?

If the answers to these questions is Yes, then we may NOT be listening to the Best people.

About the Author: Chris Farmer

Chris

Chris Farmer is the founder of the Corporate Coach Group and has many years’ experience in training leaders and managers, in both the public and private sectors, to achieve their organisational goals, especially during tough economic times. He is also well aware of the disciplines and problems associated with running a business.

Over the years, Chris has designed and delivered thousands of training programmes and has coached and motivated many management teams, groups and individuals. His training programmes are both structured and clear, designed to help delegates organise their thinking and, wherever necessary, to improve their techniques and skills.

Blogs by Email

Do you want to receive an email whenever we post a new blog? The blogs contain article 5-10 minutes long - ideal for reading during your coffee break!

Further Reading in Communication - Persuasive Communication

  • How to Negotiate Properly
    Successful negotiation needs careful thought and proper preparation. Take a look at the common negotiation errors that people make and learn to avoid them. Careful analysis and a logical approach will allow you to become a successful negotiator.
    Read Article >
  • How to Gain Co-operation
    In order to achieve any goal, you are going to need the co-operation of others and, since you cannot use force, you are going to need to gain their willing co-operation.
    Read Article >
  • Everything is Negotiable
    In business you have to trade with other people, which involves negotiating. Therefore, it is important that you learn the proper principles of negotiation, in order to get the best possible outcome for your organisation.
    Read Article >
  • Better Negotiation Skills
    Learn how to improve negotiation skills for positive outcomes. Discover negotiation strategies, perceived value, avoiding errors, and enhance your skillset with targeted training courses.
    Read Article >
  • The Rhetorical Triangle
    Persuasive communication is a useful skill, and the rhetorical triangle method will help you express yourself and get your message across to your audience.
    Read Article >

Looking for Communication Skills Training?

If you're looking to develop your Persuasive Communication Skills, you may find this Communication Skills Training Course beneficial:

Open Training Course Pricing and Availability

14 April
London - Central
£475 +VAT
7 May
Online - Teams
£475 +VAT
12 May
Birmingham
£475 +VAT
14 May
Gloucester (M5 J11)
£475 +VAT
Course Full
More dates and locations available
Save £50 on this course

Next Open Course Starts in 11 days, London - Central, places available Book Now >