Don’t Hide Your Bias, Explain It

“Fair and balanced” — I’m sure you know where that slogan comes from. In a world where information and misinformation alike are available at our fingertips (and in the blink of an eye), sometimes it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not. But one thing’s certain: if you’re looking for an easy way out of an argument, just claim that the person you’re arguing with has bias. And then watch as the other person tries to defend himself and insist that there is no way that he can have a bias of any kind.

After all, “bias” has a very negative connotation. Why do you think Fox News came up with that safe little slogan — “fair and balanced”? It just wouldn’t have the same ring as “We cling to the Right but try to hide it because we don’t want to look biased“. The point here is not to bash Fox News; they were merely the most obvious example I could think of to make my point.

The point is that I hope you never hear me say that I do not have bias. Because that would be a lie. And if you said that line, it would be a lie as well. The truth is we all have a bias. “Bias” is synonymous with “worldview”. And “worldview” is pretty much what it says — it’s how you see the world. As far as I’m concerned, if you don’t have a bias, you don’t have an opinion.

The mistake we make is in believing that if we admit that we’re biased, people will assume that we can’t see the other side of the argument. My bias doesn’t stop me from trying to see both sides of every argument; I try to encourage people to tell me why see a certain issue a certain way. Why? Because that person has a bias that is different from mine. And I want to understand it.

Just because I listen to your argument, your bias, doesn’t mean that I’m automatically going to convert to your way of thinking. But afterward, I will understand where you are coming from. And by understanding how you think and what is important to you, maybe I will know how to better reach you — or maybe we can find a way to reach a compromise. Or we might simply agree to disagree. Hopefully, if nothing else, at least I will know why you feel the way you do. Marketers, remember — your target audience has a bias. And if it doesn’t agree with your bias, you need to learn to understand it so that you can communicate to them. Personal branding fanatics, your bias is part of your brand. If you’re not pushing your bias, you’re hiding a big part of who you are and missing an opportunity to impress.

Yes, we all have biases. We all take different paths through life. We all see different things and have different experiences. Any number of factors can affect your worldview – your age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic background, education — these and other factors all influence your bias.

So the next time someone calls you biased, let that person know that he’s right. But don’t stop there.

Don’t hide your bias. Explain it. And make people understand why you feel the way you do.

Tagged as: bias, opinion, worldview