People are ingenious and gifted with intelligence. The world embraces creativity and invention, and when intelligence is put to use for good, wondrous things are possible, but beware when intelligence is used for evil, devious tactics.
The following examples of underhanded tactics are inspired from stories I have read in the news or from my own life experiences.
Diverting Attention
You write an on topic reply to a post on the Facebook page of a political party. A few people respond in support and add to your train of thought and communication flows and it seems solutions may be possible. Then you notice a few people posting off topic or irrelevant comments, at odds with the topic being dealt with. When next you look, people are no longer on topic as many have jumped in and are commenting at random to the diverting posts that now intersperse the page. Your conversation is lost in the noise of diversion. Was diversion a tactic undertaken on purpose to divert attention from the communication and from coming up with valuable solutions? Think of other places where this might happen, for example, in discussions at work. The more people make comments or ask questions which divert, the more difficult it is to stay on topic and to use a group's time wisely to deal with one matter at a time. Often diversion may not be done on purpose, people are merely interested in where their thoughts lead them, but the end result is the same, in a weakening of focus. Stick to the topic at hand and park all side conversations until the main issue has been dealt with and only then move on. Conversation will be much more effective. It is always better to concentrate and to stand united than to divide energy and attention.
Link to next blog article: Underhanded Tactics (Part 2: Inciting a Reaction)
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