Debate and dissent can be scary—many of us feel judged or as if when someone disagrees with us, we have to battle and battle until we come out on top. It can be hard to accept that there may not be one ‘right’ answer and one ‘wrong’ one—instead inviting the reality that there might be several different ways of tackling the same situation or problem. Debate can actually be healthy, however, and creating a forum for some dissenting discussion can get people energized about your business.
One of the reasons that blogs and websites and forums are so popular is that people get to share different ideas and opinions. Your web site can be a great place to encourage some debate about issues that affect your field or industry. If you give presentations or conduct workshops, or even in your networking—a little debate and controversy can spark interest and get more people involved and aware of what it is that you are doing.
For example, let us say that you sell a certain type of shoes. Instead of just making a flat statement about how perfect and beyond compare your shoes are, why not encourage some debate about different soles or colors or foster a discussion (on your web site or in person) about what makes a great shoe. By encouraging input and fostering discussion—not to mention allowing differing opinions to surface, you are creating dynamic conversation and getting people more involved than if they just read a flat statement. If you can not be threatened by differing opinions, you may find that you are able to get energized yourself by some debate and discussion and you will definitely find that people feel more attached to your business and come to your web site or your community to find out what is being said and discussed.