At the Esomar Congress in Prague this year, Colonel Mustard, Lucy Davison, took part in the ‘Skills pitch: Insights 2050’ – joined by Claire Rainey (Virgin Media O2), Hennieke Potman (Accell Group), and Paul Hudson (FlexMR). In case you missed it, read her speech below to find out why persuasion is the essential skill for market researchers and insights professionals in 2050.
“I’m here to persuade you why, in a post-truth world, persuasion is the most important skill we need to survive and thrive in 2050.
Working in data and insights, we have facts at our fingertips. But Vaclav Havel, the Czech playwright turned statesman whose image I’ve chosen, reminds us that truth is not just about facts – it’s about how those facts are carried into the hearts of people. He led a revolution without a single shot being fired.
Havel wrote, “truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred.” For us in insights, that means truth and data alone are never enough. Like Havel, who persuaded a nation with honesty and moral clarity, we too must present our findings with empathy, courage, and humanity.
Persuasion is the key skill to give our work power. Without it, insights stay locked in reports, never shaping action. Persuasion is not manipulation; it is the art of helping others see what is real and meaningful – the bridge between evidence and decision, between analysis and change.
A compelling chart, a clear narrative, most importantly a story grounded in human experience – these are our instruments of persuasion. They move leaders from hesitation to conviction.
In this post-truth world, where plausible arguments often outweigh facts, researchers must master persuasion. It is the force that turns truth into progress. Without it, we have information. With it, we have impact – and a future in which we thrive.”
In the follow-up conversation with Paul Hudson after her 2-minute pitch, she cites Aristotle (as one does, obviously).
“His timeless theory of persuasion rests on three pillars: ethos (credibility), logos (logic), and pathos (emotion). Insights professionals naturally embody ethos through rigorous research and logos through logical argument. But it is pathos, appealing to human emotion, that completes the formula. When fluently combined, they create the perfect recipe for persuasion that drives numbers into strategy and the right actions.”
And as Lucy concluded in Prague, she calls out to the global insights professionals in that room: “The truth needs you”.