Stump the Chump

What Is "Stump the Chump"?

"Stump the chump" is an expression used to refer to a situation where one person challenges or questions another person in front of others to make them appear foolish. This divisive behavior can occur in a meeting, presentation, conference, or another type of forum.

Understanding Stump the Chump

"Stump the chump" is a dynamic whereby someone in an audience repeatedly questions the person who is doing the presenting, speaking, or leading at a meeting or other event. The questioning generally carries an aggressive tone, which often is disruptive to all present. Sometimes this behavior is a conscious psychological ploy—as used in the fields of politics, law, human resources, or entertainment; but often, it may come from a subconscious, destructive impulse within the aggressor.

The one who is posing the challenge may be said to be attacking the other, sometimes with hostility, as in heckling. An example of stump-the-chump conduct is asking an expert presenter a question that they will not be able to answer, potentially undermining their credibility.

The phrase "stump the chump" may apply to contexts other than corporate meetings and events, such as:

• Job interviews: Hiring managers may use this type of questioning to weed out applicants or catch them off guard.
• Trivia games: The host of a television or radio game show may question contestants in this manner in order to trip them up.
• In the courtroom: Lawyers often employ this technique when cross-examining someone on the stand.

In a corporate setting, when someone tries to stump the chump, whether conscious or unconscious, the motives are various. For example, stumpers may want to make themselves look smart and in control while trying to make the speaker look incompetent. They may be challenging the speaker’s authority by trying to show that they know better. They may be stealing the spotlight to position themselves for a promotion or raise. If the meeting involves higher authorities or important guests, stumpers might be trying to impress others by impairing the speaker, while showing themselves in a positive light.

Dealing With Stump the Chump

Although it is not pleasant to find yourself on the receiving end of stump-the-chump questions, you are not necessarily powerless in their face. If you find yourself being heckled by someone in this manner, you can try to diffuse the situation by refusing to become hostile (regardless of the questioner's attitude) and by remaining upbeat and unflappable (at least outwardly). 

Below are some concrete tips that can help in this sticky situation:

• Stay positive and in control. Maintaining a friendly environment will help keep the rest of the audience on your side.
• Play the role of “helpful facilitator.” Turn the questioning back on the disrupter by asking for clarity about their meaning. Or, offer to move the discussion offline in order to give the questioner your full attention.
• Engage aggressors with humor; have fun with them. Generally, a joke can soften hostility.
• Let the challenger be the expert in the discussion; offer praise for their acumen.
• If you can not—or choose not—to answer the stumper’s questions, then remove the focus from yourself; invite the audience to answer instead.
• Operate from the assumption that there is no conflict. You can choose to ignore stumpers by not engaging with them. Taking aggressors seriously by responding to them assumes that there is a conflict; this can lead to debate mode and serves only to exacerbate the situation.
• Let go of the need to be right, which also avoids conflict.
• Seek out areas of agreement; work with the group to outline key ways in which you all agree.

Stump the Chump Example

2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, who is openly gay and Christian, was heckled several times during his campaign. At one of his rallies in Des Moines, Iowa, a heckler yelled, "Remember Sodom and Gomorrah," a reference to the two cities mentioned in the Bible which were destroyed by God. While it has been debated, most interpretations of the Bible believe that homosexual behavior was the cause of the destruction.

Buttigieg did not lose control and remarked: "The good news is, the condition of my soul is in the hands of God, but the Iowa caucuses are up to you." In Fort Dodge, a protester interrupted Buttigieg's speech and shouted: "You betray your baptism." Buttigieg defused the situation with humor and said: “Coffee after church gets a little rowdy sometimes.” He added: “We’re so dug-in, in such passionate ways, and I respect that, too. That gentleman believes that what he is doing is in line with the will of the creator. I’d do it differently. We ought to be able to do it differently.”