PROvoke: Systems Analysis Between Seduction, Manipulation, and Power (a Paired Performance Dialogue)

This isn't a lecture, but a public vivisection of the profession. Two analysts dissect 3 inconvenient layers of our work — things everyone knows about, but rarely names.

Layer 1: “Dark rhetoric”. How we consciously use psychological triggers (FOMO, ego) to “sell” the architecture and “convince” a team. A transparent breakdown of techniques we call influence, but which are essentially manipulation. 

Layer 2: “Image as an interface”. Why do costume, voice, and posture work like an API for trust? And why does this API have “double standards” for men and women? An honest conversation about how appearance shapes authority and how to deal with it. 

Layer 3: “Ethics and efficiency”. Where is the line between effective communication and manipulation? Is it possible to be successful while remaining honest? Or is honesty a luxury that a result-driven professional can't afford? 

The finale offers no answers. Instead, t turns the questions back on you. This is a talk-as-a-mirror. Look into it.