Earthling Ed: Controlling conversations and perfecting persuasion

Vegan. A polarising word that has divided people for decades. No matter where you stand on the spectrum of feeling toward veganism, it's largely accepted that the cause has an image problem. Confrontational. Angry: these are just a few of the terms regularly associated with the movement. Earthling Ed, aka Ed Winters, is well aware of this and has become a beacon for the cause with his speech and debate style.

His viral debates and stream of content have amassed millions of views online. Ed has spoken at over 1/3 of UK universities and has taught as a guest lecturer at Harvard University in both 2019 and 2020. He's also founded two restaurants and an animal sanctuary, housing over 100 animals rescued from slaughterhouses. In this episode, we talk to Ed about the power of persuasion, using empathy to connect with people in conversations and much more.

Here's what we discussed:

• Can you tell us about your journey to becoming vegan? (01:08)
• Can you tell us about your journey to becoming known/famous? (02:55)
• You are known for your videos debating the public about their views on veganism. Has your debate style changed the longer you've done these? (06:14)
• Have you always had the type of personality to put yourself out there in front of people to seek a solution? (10:03)
• What skills do you need to be someone who can debate in a healthy way? (14:01)
• How can you ensure that you don't miss the point of what someone is trying to communicate by being offended? (17:43)
• Many of our listeners are business owners who need to utilise the power of persuasion to get people to believe in their idea and help them secure funding. How have you mastered the power of persuasion? (25:50)
• How did you develop your own personal brand into something that now makes you money and sustains you? (28:36)
• How can you really make sure that every aspect of your business's supply chain is living up to its claim to be ethical and sustainable? (33:51)
• What is an example of a brand that is saying that they are ethical and sustainable and actually living up to this? (38:16)
• Do entrepreneurs ever pitch to you for investment? (42:37)
• Have you looked for investors in your business ventures? (44:53)
• Answer the Internet: Can you explain the argument that consumers should be responsible for climate change when 100 companies are responsible for most of the emissions? (45:49)

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