. . . . Long, worthwhile article. Bookmarked.
"...a small training manual distributed by the Communist Party that showed how a small group of people – as few as four – could dominate a much larger group and sway the outcome of any action taken by that group.
This details a technique known as the "Diamond Strategy" which is used for social engineering of larger groups, say within a parlimentary meeting, a Town Hall, or similar: it is designed to be used to shepherd a large group of people towards a desired conclusion (or one planned in advance, but which is meant to look "spontaneous").
It does this by playing on people's fear of making noise, of standing out like a sore thumb -- and by giving the impression that the majority is already in favor of the preordained conclusion, so that those who have come to the meeting undecided quickly decide to follow the apparent consensus.
[Thank you grey_whiskers.]