Disagree Without Proving Them Wrong: A Lesson from the World’s #1 CEO Coach

When he’s not floating through space with Richard Branson or trading enlightened punchlines with the Dalai Llama, I get to learn firsthand from the #1 ranked CEO Coach in the world, Mark C. Thompson .

One thing I noticed? Mark never proves people wrong.

That’s not to say he never disagrees—he just knows how to do it without triggering defensiveness. He’s mastered the rare skill of making people feel heard, not defeated.

He understands something most of us struggle with: proving people wrong doesn’t work.

Psychologists call this the backfire effect—when confronted with facts that contradict their beliefs, people don’t change their minds; they double down.

When we correct others, we create resistance, not change. Our default response isn’t truth-seeking—it’s ego protection.

With decades of experience coaching the world’s top leaders, Mark has seen it all. He disagrees with people all the time. But what you feel when interacting with him is curiosity, never combativeness.

Mark never feels like he’s losing an argument—because he doesn’t feel like he’s in one. He recognizes the difference between disagreement and conflict.

When Mark disagrees with someone, there’s no tension—just an opportunity for a more informed decision. He assumes the other person is bringing different data and experiences to the table, not that they’re uninformed, biased, or acting in bad faith.

How to Disagree Like a World-Class Communicator

If you want to master disagreement like Mark, it helps to follow a simple framework like HEAR:

H - Hedge (soften your stance with thoughtful qualifiers)

E - Emphasize agreement (find and acknowledge common ground)

A - Acknowledge (validate their perspective)

R - Reframe positively (shift from correction to exploration)

At the core, it comes down to choosing your disagreements wisely:

? Do you actually need to engage in this?

? Does this disagreement need to be resolved?

? Does it truly matter—big picture—what this person thinks of you?

The punchline: getting better at disagreeing helps you achieve your goals.

Disagreeing “without proving them wrong” is a skill that distinguishes world-class communicators like Mark from merely smart ones.