Show, Don’t Tell: How to Multiply Your Chances of Changing People's Minds

Many years ago, I was tasked with leading the engineering team in charge of the re-architecture of the delivery experience in the Uber Eats Eater App. It was a very bold project, spanning over mobile and a number of critical backend services.

I was excited about the opportunity, but there was a little wrinkle in the plan. In typical Uber fashion, we were given 3 weeks to complete the project.

My first reaction was: “Wow that’s ambitious, I’m not sure we can deliver in such a short amount of time”. But that didn’t seem to concern, nor convince the leadership team.

I wasn’t able to influence my leadership team to change the deadline until I sat down and created a massive spreadsheet breaking down the work and assigning estimates. I used the spreadsheet to show people that 3 weeks wasn’t going to be enough, which helped me negotiate for more time and resources.

The principle that made the difference between the two approaches is: “Show, don’t tell”.

In today’s article we’re tackling:

• What is “Show, don’t tell” and how does it work?

• 🔐 How to apply “Show, don’t tell” in your day-to-day work (paid subscribers)

• 🔐 “Show, don’t tell” also means “Leading by example” (paid subscribers)

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What is “Show, don’t tell” and how does it work?

“Show, don’t tell” is a storytelling technique in which you aim to tell the story through sensory details and actions, rather than exposition.

“Show, don’t tell” is more than an excellent writing technique, it’s also a very effective communication principle that can be used in work contexts to be more persuasive.

The Russian novelist Anton Checkhov explains it best: