Spreading Your Ideas
Often we have great ideas that people just don’t glom onto as fast as we think they should. If you’re like me it really bothers you that they don’t see the potential and possibility. I often find that it becomes a need to make them “get it.” My approach can be an unwanted “Tank Crossing” if I’m not careful. I have to remind myself that pushing my idea when the audience isn’t ready can actually do damage to the relationship I have with them. So, what do you do in a situation like this? I recently read a great New Yorker article that made a lot of good points about getting others to hear and accept your message or solution faster.
Forcing your ideas can be worse than a bull in a china shop.
Here are my cliff notes:
1. Do good deeds… Solve a problem with your message and point out that you are solving a problem.
2. Appeal to emotion and good sense…. Give people a reason to change their behavior.
3. Show – don’t tell…. How does your solution or idea make the problem better or make it go away? Prove it.
4. All in…. Make it easy for your audience to ‘join’ or adapt to include your solution.
5. Transparency is key… Layout the path and show your audience what to expect along the way. If the solution will take 3 months bear fruit tell people that up front.
6. Go with the flow… Work with people’s natural tendencies not against them. Understand why they believe and behave the way they do. Give people tools to help them.
7. Make sure there’s a payoff… The way people feel once they accept the new idea or product needs to be better than how they feel now without it.
8. Conversation is the key… People spread ideas, not technology, training, or logic. Make your idea conversation worthy. Dare we say it…. make it fun.
9. Be your audience… Find common ground with your audience. If your ‘like’ them then they’ll accept your ideas easier. Don’t be false though. If you’re not like them find a spokesman who is.
10. Skin in the game… Help people get involved in spreading the idea. Let them have a stake in the success and failure of whatever your great idea is.
At FWC we enjoy helping a great idea spread by being a partner to you not by forcing an unwanted tank crossing. We’re here to amplify your ideas and to have fun along the way. Thanks for reading.
— Keith