Facts + Sensitivity = Impact

Fantastic insight from Neil deGrasse Tyson about how important it is to be sensitive to someone’s current state of mind when you are trying to teach or persuade.

You’re a Professor of public understanding of science not Professor of delivering truth to the public. And these are two different exercises. One of them is to put the truth out there, and as you said, they are valuable or the don’t. But that’s not being an educator. That’s just putting it out there.

Being an education is not just getting the truth right. There’s got to be an act of persuasion in there as well. Persuasion isn’t always: Here’s a fact –  you are an idiot or you’re not.

There is a sensitivity to your state of mind and it’s the facts plus sensitivity when convolved together creates impact.