List the Negatives First

No one expects a strong advocate to admit the many weaknesses in their argument, much less upfront and at the beginning of their advocacy. But this is exactly what some of the most persuasive leaders do to overcome resistance to their most unpopular ideas. 

Great advocates often inoculate their listeners by getting their objections out of the way before they make their case. This not only violates expectations in a positive way, but it also displays the powerful conviction held by the advocate who continues to believe in a proposal even when the drawbacks are plentiful. 

When advocates offer a boatload of disadvantages and agree to them, it catches audiences off guard. When they then remain convinced the primary benefits of the proposal outweigh the many negatives, people listen differently. This is a rare argument and the conviction it requires invites further study. The best advocates go beyond offering a simple two-sided argument and load up the audience with every negative they can think of. They then wipe those objections away with a single point of belief that the primary reason for yielding to the proposal overshadows everything else. 

Not all advocacy lends itself to this negative overload strategy, but when advocates can deploy it authentically, it can be tremendously powerful. There are many reasons why you might be suspicious of this approach, but the best advocates will attest to the power of negatives first. By golly, we just did it.