The Background

Some might say that the hit 2002 film 8 Mile has a lot to teach about effective communication, and those people would be right. 

I recently listened to Lenny’s Podcast with Wes Kao, where she mentioned her MOO (Most Obvious Objection) framework to anticipate and overcome pushback in meetings. I’ve heard different versions of this technique over the years, but no one has defined its value as clearly as B-Rabbit, aka Marshall Mathers, aka Eminem, in 8 Mile.

In the movie’s final battle, he torches every objection his rival might raise—before the rival even grabs the mic:

I know everything he’s ’bout to say against me.
I am white, I am a f**cking bum.
I do live in a trailer with my mom…

That’s how you win a rap feud.

You’re probably already an expert at this. Remember back when you were a kid and you wanted something from your parents? You knew all the reasons they would say no, so you used it to your advantage. “Mom, I promise I’ll still be hungry for dinner even if I eat the ice cream now”. ← Me, last week.

The Requirements

Since it’s a skill you already have, let’s just formalize it for the workplace.

How to Object Like a Battle Rapper:

1. Before presenting an idea or pitch, ask yourself: What’s the most likely pushback I’ll receive?

2. Think through that objection: Can I address it?

   • If yes, bake the answer into your pitch.

   • If no, rethink the idea—or kill it.

   • If partly, tweak the idea until it survives the objection.

3. Include the thinking in your pitch.

   • Show you’ve already done the rebuttal work for everyone in the room.

4. Drop the mic. Claim your title.

So why use this approach? Ali Abdaal summarizes it nicely.

• Either your argument is now stronger–you’ve surfaced and solved critics’ points up front.

• Or you’ve exposed flaws early–can’t solve them? Time to get back to the whiteboard.

• Or idea 2.0 emerges–and you iterate into something better.

The User Stories

Let’s break down what this looks like in practice.

Imagine you’re a PM at Netflix (congrats!). You notice a subset of users rewinding theme songs over and over again, and those users are 2× more likely to keep their subscription 🤯.

Your first instinct: why not add a  “More Intro” button next to Skip Intro so superfans can jam out on demand?

Before you ping Slack, you MOO hard:

• Objection: “Most users hate extra intro—this adds clutter.”

• Options:

  1. Argue that most users secretly want this feature.

  2. Admit it’s too niche; scrap the idea.

  3. Pivot: create a Theme-Song Hub in the Netflix app where these users can listen to the theme songs on repeat.

You go with Option 3, and in your Slack message, you call out the objection yourself:

“We explored a More Intro button, but recognized it would confuse most viewers. Instead, here’s a lightweight Theme-Song Hub that satisfies superfans without adding friction for everyone else…”

Objection neutralized before it’s uttered. 🎤

Reply to this email if you found it helpful, and let me know how you’ve used this technique in the workplace.

The Meme