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Influencing Strategy – The Overton Window
As presenters, we are always arguing for something. We are never ‘just sharing information’. If we are presenting quarterly sales figures to an executive team, we are arguing for the truth of those figures and against anyone who might seek to question their facts. This article explores a little-known influencing strategy – the Overton Window, and how it can help consultants, strategists, and salespeople build influence with even their most challenging clients.
Effective influencing begins with understanding—not with speaking, but with listening. Before any attempt to change minds or introduce new ideas, we must first grasp where our audience stands, what shapes their current views, and what they hope to achieve. This fundamental principle of influence reminds us that people aren’t blank slates waiting for our ideas; they’re thinking, feeling beings with their own experiences, aspirations, and concerns.
The Overton Window offers an interesting framework for applying this principle. It helps us understand not just where people stand today, but how their views might evolve tomorrow. Like a navigator plotting a course through challenging waters, this tool helps us chart a path from current thinking to new possibilities, moving at a pace our audience can accept, and through stages they can understand.
Think of it as a map for change—one that starts not with where we want to go but with where people are. Only by understanding their starting point, their fears, their hopes, and their perceived barriers to change can we help guide them toward new perspectives. The beauty of the Overton Window lies in its recognition that change is a journey, not a leap.
Principles of Influencing
Before exploring the Overton Window itself, let’s remind ourselves of the fundamental influencing principles underpinning its effectiveness. An influencing strategy encourages (pulls, not pushes) an audience towards a new idea. Influencers tend to:
- Seek First to Understand
- Listen before speaking
- Map your target audience’s current beliefs and their origins
- Identify their hopes, fears, and aspirations
- Understand their perceived barriers to change
- Find Empathy to Build Trust
- Acknowledge their current perspectives
- Show your understanding of their concerns
- Show respect for their existing values
- Create opportunties for open dialogue
- Guide People to Think Rather Than Push
- Help people discover new perspectives
- Provide evidence and examples of what is possible
- Allow time for processing, reflection and questioning
- Support the audience’s exploration of new ideas
How the Overton Window Works
Joseph P. Overton first described the concept of the Overton Window in the 1990s while working at a think tank in Michigan. The principle explains the limits of political feasibility based on public opinion. According to Overton, a politician can only support certain policies that align with the electorate’s views, falling within a “window” of acceptable ideas shaped by societal norms, cultural attitudes, and collective beliefs. The ‘Window’ describes six levels of public acceptance for any idea:
- Policy (Current law)
- Popular (Widely embraced)
- Sensible (Considered reasonable)
- Acceptable (Tolerable for discussion)
- Radical (Fringe ideas)
- Unthinkable (Beyond consideration)
The Overton Window is not static; it shifts as public opinion evolves. Activists, thought leaders, and media figures influence this movement, intentionally or unintentionally, by introducing and normalising ideas outside of the current window. As a result, once-radical or extreme ideas can become moderate and mainstream, while previously accepted ideas may shift to become socially or politically unacceptable.
For example, marijuana legalisation in the United States illustrates this shift. In the 1980s, legalising marijuana for recreational use was considered “unthinkable.” However, through advocacy, media representation, and changing perceptions, marijuana moved from “radical” to “acceptable” to “sensible” and is now legal in many states.
Similarly, in the UK, the concept of privatising the National Health Service (NHS) has shifted over time. While full privatisation remains unthinkable for most of the public, outsourcing parts of NHS services to private companies has gradually entered the “acceptable” zone through incremental policy changes.
A shift in the Overton Window can occur through various means, including media influence, grassroots activism, or significant cultural events. For example, once-radical ideas like same-sex marriage gradually moved from being unthinkable to becoming mainstream and were eventually legalised in many countries. On the other hand, some policy areas may fall away, with once-accepted ideas (Corporal Punishment for Children in schools, The Role of Women in Society etc.) becoming unacceptable as society’s values change.
Credibility and Critique
The Overton Principle has been widely cited in political science and sociology to explain shifts in public opinion and the strategic framing of political issues. Politicians, media analysts, and strategists often refer to the Overton Window when discussing how to introduce controversial ideas into public discourse or how societal acceptance of specific policies evolves.
Despite this widespread use, the Overton Window concept has critics. One critique is that it oversimplifies the complexities of public opinion. Public attitudes are often influenced by multiple factors, including economic conditions, cultural values, and media portrayal, which may not always fit neatly within the idea of a moving window. Additionally, some argue that the Overton Window places too much emphasis on public perception and overlooks the impact of institutional factors like political lobbying or elite power dynamics.
Moreover, while the Overton Window provides a useful framework for understanding how societal norms change, it is not a scientific model. There is no empirical method for measuring where the window lies at any given time, making it somewhat subjective and more theoretical than analytical.
The Overton Principle is a valuable tool for political analysis, and for change agents, writers and consultants, even with its limitations. At worst, it provides a framework for adding to our understanding how societal norms evolve and how strategic framing can shift public opinion over time.
Professional Application For Consultants
Consultants use the Overton Window when exploring and proposing potentially controversial organisational change:
Understanding Phase – Seek first to Understand
- Map current organisational culture and beliefs
- Identify pain points and aspirations
- Understand resistance to change
- Build relationships with key stakeholders
Trust-Building Phase – Listen, Reflect and Respond
- Demonstrate understanding of organisational challenges
- Share relevant case studies and evidence
- Address concerns proactively
- Create safe spaces for dialogue
Change Implementation – Get the Train Moving
Stage 1: Acceptable Ideas
- Begin with widely accepted improvements
- Show quick wins
- Build confidence through success
Stage 2: More Challenging Proposals
- Link to established successes
- Demonstrate clear benefits
- Provide strong evidence
Stage 3: Transformative Changes
- Build on accumulated trust
- Connect to organisational aspirations
- Support through transition
For Salespeople
When introducing innovative and potentially controversial solutions to clients:
Understanding Phase – Seek First to Understand
- Research client’s context and challenges
- Identify current solutions and pain points
- Understand decision-making processes
- Map stakeholder concerns
Trust-Building Phase – Listen, Reflect, Respond
- Demonstrate industry knowledge
- Share relevant success stories
- Address concerns openly
- Position as a strategic partner
Solution Introduction – Start where the customer is and look to add layers
- Begin with familiar solutions,
- focus on immediate pain points, and
- progressively introduce more innovative elements as trust builds.
For Writers and Communications Professionals
When shaping narratives for change:
Understanding Phase – Build Empathy
- Research audience values and beliefs
- Identify current concerns
- Map emotional and rational barriers
- Understand desired outcomes
Trust-Building Phase – Find Their Voice
- Establish credible voice
- Use familiar references
- Acknowledge valid concerns
- Create engaging dialogue
Message Development – Start with the points of agreement – illustrate what might be possible
- Start with shared values,
- use compelling evidence,
- and gradually introduce new perspectives through powerful storytelling.
Practical Implementation
When you apply the Overton Window in your own work it can be helpful to ask yourself some tough questions:
1. How Deep is Your Understanding of Your Target Audience?
- Conduct thorough stakeholder analysis
- Map current beliefs and their origins
- Identify potential resistance points
- Understand desired outcomes
2. Do They Trust You?
- Demonstrate genuine empathy
- Show respect for current perspectives
- Build credibility through expertise
- Maintain transparent communication
3. Are You Guiding Discovery or Pushing a Narrative?
- Help stakeholders explore options
- Provide evidence and examples
- Allow time for reflection
- Support learning and adaptation
4. Are You Making Progress?
- Move at the audience’s pace
- Celebrate small wins
- Build on successes
- Maintain momentum
Influencing Strategy
If politics is ‘the art of the possible,’ then influencing is the art of patience. The most powerful influencers, especially those working as minority voices, understand that change happens slowly, through a combination of understanding, trust-building, and shared discovery. The Overton Window reminds us that sustainable change often requires:
- Patience and Gradualism: Ideas that may seem radical today can become acceptable tomorrow, but this requires steady, incremental advocacy.
- Understanding the Audience: By gauging where an audience stands and meeting them there, influencers can effectively lead them towards more challenging ideas.
- Strategic Framing: Presenting ideas in an acceptable and relatable way helps move them closer to the mainstream. This involves aligning the messaging with shared values and gradually building a case for more ambitious changes.
- Trust-Building: The path to influence requires establishing trust, as people are more likely to follow those whose intentions they trust. Whether it’s salespeople, consultants, or speechwriters, the art of influence relies on framing arguments in a way that respects the audience’s current comfort zone while gently expanding it.
The Overton Window offers a valuable framework for anyone involved in change-making, whether it is in politics, business, or social advocacy. It encourages influencers to remain patient, be strategic, and foster trust—transforming unthinkable ideas into tangible realities over time.
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Jim Harvey
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