The Internal Discussion to Create Confidence and External to Create Influence

In my daytime, I run a unique recruitment agency that specializes in remote workers.

Like any other manager, when I train a new salesperson, I explain to them all the benefits of hiring remote people and using a remote recruitment agency. Yet sometimes I tell my salespeople: “if time is limited and the person on the other side is not giving you the time or the attention needed to explain the benefits of our service, just look directly in their eyes and tell them, “we will provide you better people.”

That sincere stare might get the listener to take the Leap of Faith. Yet, for this to work, for the salesperson to project sincerity, he or she has to believe that our service is as good as we say. The salesman must be super confident and sincere. As we explain in the science behind activism,  the right facial expressions and paralinguistic cues are sometimes all he needs to get the sales without even needing to explain. Yet, Visual and Paralinguistic Cues come naturally with confidence, certainty, and pride.

And when I invest time in teaching my salespeople how good our product is, I’m naturally teaching them about how to sell the product, but I’m also trying to get a buy-in that will produce real conviction.

The trouble with many Jews (and I’m referring to the most Zionists and not just self-hating Jews) is they do not have that conviction. They have been exposed to so much hate and propaganda from the Anti-Israel Marketing Machine and hearing such an apologetic tone from their family and colleagues that they are continuously soul searching. Many Zionists are going through the thought process that while they believe Palestinians are not right in this conflict, they are also not convinced that Israel is so right either. And this is clearly the wrong mental state to start influencing other people. Unfortunately, this is even more prevalent in the Progressive Zionists community, which I’m working very hard to change, considering that they are truly the frontline of Israel activism these days.

This is why I feel that most people who are interested in defending Israel’s legitimacy need to go through 2 types of training. The first is what I call the internal discussion. It is a discussion that removes all the poison and propaganda which is making Israel look like some totalitarian regime and actually seeing Israel as one of the most progressive countries in the world. (And I know many of you are rolling your eyes right now, but not for long.)

The internal discussion is everything that involves making our advocates prouder and more certain about why they are defending this little country and its people. It is by knowing that while so many people tell us otherwise, we are not in the wrong and simply trying to survive. That also includes learning about how people are irrational for thinking we are at fault for the Palestinians’ suffering.

So, this is the opportunity to show all the wonderful inventions Israel created to save the world and how Israelis go to the world and help other countries. When I see a post about companies like future meat that created an affordable alternative to meat production and can save us from global warming, it makes me proud of Israel.

Learning about how Israelis have been the most significant help in the Haiti crisis makes me feel good about defending the country.

And the discussion of irrationality also empowers me. The awareness that a bunch of people, whether haters or well-intentioned people, are pointing and shouting at me that I’m supporting some evil colonizing nation makes me feel comfortable knowing that they are simply irrational.

But this is where it ends. The internal discussion is important but should be kept as much as possible, as the description says, internally. Keep between colleagues and allies. No random stranger, especially with negative connotations, wants to hear how a country they have nothing to do with is awesome. It simply sounds like we are bragging. I assume it’s pretty obvious that no one wants to be called Irrational, which could only backfire. I don’t know if you have ever seen these memes on social media that point out that if the BDS community wants to boycott Israel, they should boycott their phones, computers, entire medicine cabinet, and toaster.

These memes are nice and rile me up, but on the other side, no one gives a shit, and they will still boycott whatever they want. So yeah, the internal discussions have their place, but we spend way too much time on them.

The second discussion is, of course, the external discussion in which we should invest the majority of our time. Learning everything we studied in the 5 components of changing people’s minds, we simplify this overcomplicated conflict and then go on the offense to delegitimize anyone who is actually defending the Palestinian regime and its supporters. Of course, the main purpose of the external discussion is to influence other people. Yet interestingly enough, it is also part of creating conviction. This is why the external discussion is so much more important.

So that’s the deal. There is room to get our team to be riled up and excited about Israel, and feel free to read why you should fight for Israel and why Israel is the most progressive country. But it’s important to understand that these arguments have their limitations and don’t generate much value outside our circles. We invest too much time in these internal discussions and not enough focus on facts that will generate true influence. I encourage you to fall in love with your country, be proud, and get pumped. Israel has accomplished things in the most unusual circumstances, unlike any other country, and she is absolutely worth your defense. But once you feel pumped, join me in the fundamentals, and let’s start learning how to get the world to see the country the way we do.