Negative Nudging — Explained
Negative nudging; an attempt (albeit knowingly or unknowingly) to push a conversation towards a preferred topic or direction that suits the experience of the one giving the ‘advice’.
Example: In a meeting arranged to discuss digital strategy, the social media supplier quickly shifted the conversation onto subjects that better suited their knowledge and services.
Negative nudging (as witnessed on different occasions by Ian Patterson - Digital Strategist) can be experienced without intended manipulation by either party, turning the conversation to matters that are not directly applicable to the requirements in hand.
The results of this effect can lead to the person receiving the advice becoming confused. Net result of such confusion can be one of two outcomes:
Given the misjudged advice, the conversation ends unproductively resulting in the needs remaining unmet and unresolved.
Due to lack of understanding the recipient agrees to progress on the basis of the skewed advice, thus taking them on an unintended path that is unlikely to satisfy the original requirements and can incur unnecessary costs.
Have you experienced negative nudging in a digital context recently? If so, I’d like to hear about the experience.
“If you get the chance to work with Ian — take it. His management kept us in check, but if things went wrong, he was with us in the trenches, doing everything he could to get things back on track.”
— Dan Cryer, Head of Technical Operations at Gear4music