Stories are particularly helpful to use when presenting ideas people haven’t heard before. The better the story you tell about your idea, the better the presentation, and the greater the likelihood people will be thankful for spending time with you.
Why not try it on for size? Why not craft a story to present your next new idea?
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Square and Twitter explains the value in writing a story from the user’s perspective. He discusses Square’s vital use of narratives to understand what customers truly experience when using the product. According to Dorsey, all of a company’s other strategies and tactics should grow naturally out of these powerful user narratives.
Seen what Seth Godin has to say about stories? Here’s his take. Got good points.
These questions are for you to use when you watch these two storytelling examples. Use them too, as a guide for crafting your tales.
This week I attended a lecture by Dan Roam, author of Blah, Blah, Blah and other titles, who showed simple ways to use drawing instead of words to convey new ideas. Dan said the brain is 75% oriented to visual and suggested successfully engaging others involves using drawings. He led us through an engaging hour practicing doing just that.
Check out his work for new ideas, especially if you are feeling a little stale and want to brighten up.
Fun, eh?
Marci Segal, MS, Creativity and Change Leadership, Freeing leaders thinking so they can create new futures (who has a story or two to tell about innovation and creativity and presenting ideas in brand new ways. HUGE successes. Got a minute?:-))
Gratitude is the antidote to dissatisfaction, writes Eco-philosopher and Buddhist Joanna Macy in Active Hope. “Gratitude is about delighting in and feeling satisfied with what you’re already experiencing” (p.46). She says more than $400 billion is spent on advertising yearly that supports messages that you’ll be better off when you buy x product. By having an attitude of gratitude toward who we are, the people you know and the things you have, you are saving important planetary resources from being used to manufacture yet another pair of shoes. Macy, J. and Johnstone, C. (2012). Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in without Going Crazy. Novato, California: New World Library.
…a tsunami of gratitude occurred and no one wanted to buy anything because they are pleased with what they already have. What kind of different future might emerge?
Jordan used the quick checklist for creative ideas. The new idea arrived. Another call came through.
“Marci, thanks, I got it. Now how do I sell it to my boss? Can you remind me?”
“Jordan, your learning and retention style amazes and delights me. I’m happy to zap over this checklist for you, here t’is.”
“Dostoyevsky once said, Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most. When presenting a new idea to your boss, your responsibility is to cut that fear. Got it Jordan?”
“Thanks Marci. Done.”
]]>Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that when just 10 percent of the population holds an unshakable belief, their belief will always be adopted by the majority of the society. The scientists, who are members of the Social Cognitive Networks Academic Research Center (SCNARC) at Rensselaer, used computational and analytical methods to discover the tipping point where a minority belief becomes the majority opinion. The finding has implications for the study and influence of societal interactions ranging from the spread of innovations to the movement of political ideals.
“When the number of committed opinion holders is below 10 percent, there is no visible progress in the spread of ideas. It would literally take the amount of time comparable to the age of the universe for this size group to reach the majority,” said SCNARC Director Boleslaw Szymanski, the Claire and Roland Schmitt Distinguished Professor at Rensselaer. “Once that number grows above 10 percent, the idea spreads like flame.”
As an example, the ongoing events in Tunisia and Egypt appear to exhibit a similar process, according to Szymanski. “In those countries, dictators who were in power for decades were suddenly overthrown in just a few weeks.”
The findings were published in the July 22, 2011, early online edition of the journal Physical Review E in an article titled “Social consensus through the influence of committed minorities.”
An important aspect of the finding is that the percent of committed opinion holders required to shift majority opinion does not change significantly regardless of the type of network in which the opinion holders are working. In other words, the percentage of committed opinion holders required to influence a society remains at approximately 10 percent, regardless of how or where that opinion starts and spreads in the society.
To reach their conclusion, the scientists developed computer models of various types of social networks. One of the networks had each person connect to every other person in the network. The second model included certain individuals who were connected to a large number of people, making them opinion hubs or leaders. The final model gave every person in the model roughly the same number of connections. The initial state of each of the models was a sea of traditional-view holders. Each of these individuals held a view, but were also, importantly, open minded to other views.
Once the networks were built, the scientists then “sprinkled” in some true believers throughout each of the networks. These people were completely set in their views and unflappable in modifying those beliefs. As those true believers began to converse with those who held the traditional belief system, the tides gradually and then very abruptly began to shift.
“In general, people do not like to have an unpopular opinion and are always seeking to try locally to come to consensus. We set up this dynamic in each of our models,” said SCNARC Research Associate and corresponding paper author Sameet Sreenivasan. To accomplish this, each of the individuals in the models “talked” to each other about their opinion. If the listener held the same opinions as the speaker, it reinforced the listener’s belief. If the opinion was different, the listener considered it and moved on to talk to another person. If that person also held this new belief, the listener then adopted that belief.
“As agents of change start to convince more and more people, the situation begins to change,” Sreenivasan said. “People begin to question their own views at first and then completely adopt the new view to spread it even further. If the true believers just influenced their neighbors, that wouldn’t change anything within the larger system, as we saw with percentages less than 10.”
The research has broad implications for understanding how opinion spreads. “There are clearly situations in which it helps to know how to efficiently spread some opinion or how to suppress a developing opinion,” said Associate Professor of Physics and co-author of the paper Gyorgy Korniss. “Some examples might be the need to quickly convince a town to move before a hurricane or spread new information on the prevention of disease in a rural village.”
The researchers are now looking for partners within the social sciences and other fields to compare their computational models to historical examples. They are also looking to study how the percentage might change when input into a model where the society is polarized. Instead of simply holding one traditional view, the society would instead hold two opposing viewpoints. An example of this polarization would be Democrat versus Republican.
Thanks to Jan Nickerson for the link.
]]>Have you ever experienced jet lag?
Jet lag occurs because your body’s cycle, it’s circadian rhythm, is thrown off course. You experience daylight and darkness at different times than what you are used to and this disrupts your natural times for eating, sleeping, hormone regulation and body temperature variations. Your body is out of alignment with the new environment and can’t immediately adjust to the new location’s rhythm.
How do you know if you are jet-lagged? The common symptoms are headaches, insomnia and fatigue, disorientation and irritability, grogginess, mild depression, constipation and/or diarrhea.
Have you experienced Time-zone lag?
Time-zone lag (TZL) occurs when new ideas are rejected. New ideas hold promise for a different future. A person who says no a new idea shows a preference for continuing on a path set in the past rather than welcome creating a new one. Creating a new path requires mental and physical effort, focused attention and new decisions that disrupt established natural rhythms. Saying no is a protective response to make sure things continue to run smoothly within established boundaries.
You know you are experiencing TZL when you hear people use idea-killing statements such as, “we’ve tried that before”, “it will cost too much money”, “you want to do what????” Symptoms include feeling rejected and discouraged, insecure, confused, irritable and angry, disappointed, frustrated, mildly depressed, lonely, worthless.
Time-zone lag interferes with innovation
Experience shows that when people feel TZL they are less likely to be open to or contribute new ideas. A remedy is needed. Innovation and creativity are rising in popularity as business skills to get new ideas and make new decisions to chart new courses of action and achieve results.
Quick fix for Time-zone lag
Totally eliminating TZL takes time, let’s face it. Use this short-term remedy to help reduce its hold.
When presenting new ideas visit each time zone to make it easier for your idea to be accepted.
New ideas and new decisions are required for cracking open new thinking to create the future. Use the TZL remedy to facilitate others’ safe journeys into the next new world and to increase the likelihood of hearing a ‘yes’.
]]>Chances are in your favour when you do these three things:
You’ll build relationships, gain trust and demonstrate how you ‘grok‘ your audience. And, chances are, your next pitch will be more easily received.
]]>
Some people get ideas from inside, through reflection. Others, when interacting with the world outside of themselves.
Some people get new ideas from taking a look at the physical world, others, through insights and imagining what if, connecting things that have never been associated before.
Some people make new decisions by establishing measurable criteria, or linking them to existing frameworks; others, through connecting to others or aligning the solution to personally held values.
Carl Jung’s psychological type theory provides insight into how people find new ideas and make new decisions and how these processes may differ from person to person. When creativity professionals have this knowledge, it’s easier for them to welcome and facilitate everyone’s contribution.
I gave a presentation at the Creative Problem Solving Institute in June 2010 week to show people how to:
Feedback from the session revealed we accomplished another unintended goal: participants learned what others need to hear to be open to consider a new idea, very helpful, they said, when working with people who’s styles are different from your own.
Marci Segal, MS, Creativity and Change Leadership; Freeing leaders’ thinking so they can create new futures.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
Pitches are interactive experiences where the idea giver shows how the new suggestion will make life easier for the idea receiver. You will be dealing with people, not automatons.
People have preferences for the kind of information they like to hear and share. They also have preferences for the ways in which they may decisions. Without going into the deep theory of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator® instrument here’s a brief mention of these preference themes.
Make sure you include language that speaks to each. Some will be easy for you, others not. Persevere. There’s a few benefits in putting in the sweat work.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when in the presentation itself.
Be open to suggestions for improvement.
Consider the human dynamics at play.
Creativity involves new ideas and new decisions. It’s personal.
Innovation, on the other hand is “…a multi-stage process during which organizations transform ideas into new/improved products, service or processes, in order to advance, compete and differentiate themselves successfully in their marketplace.”
If you want your idea to fly…well, you know what to do. Speak to the language and needs of the people you are pitching to. It’ll open the doors for wonderful new and exciting futures.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
]]>Managers want to know how your new idea makes their life easier. They want certainty, to avoid risk, to win. They need to feel secure, worthy, and that they are contributing to organization’s success. You need to assure them that your idea does it all.
To get a ‘yes’ to your new idea you need to address what’s important to the person you are pitching to and the organization.
Here’s a checklist of questions and points to use before you approach someone with your creative suggestion. Having good answers will help you get ready to have your idea fly to create an exciting new future.
You’ve got the idea and want to hear a ‘yes’ to it. Here’s what to do.
Ask your boss, client, colleagues if they are open to considering a new idea.
If this idea is to have any sticking power it needs support. When you are ready to answer the questions and address the points below you will increase the likelihood of a yes.
THE LIST
These are questions and points to cover when making a proposal in an organizational setting.
1. Demonstrate its value.
2. Show how it will be implemented and by whom.
You can safely present your when you’ve covered all these points. You can use your creativity to come up with ways to answer them too. Just make sure to help the people receiving the new idea appreciate its value and the benefits they will derive from adopting it.
The next post shows more about the human factor in making the pitch.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
]]>Creativity is personal, innovation is societal. Your idea is involving, compelling and exciting and for you, how is it likewise for others? Do the work and find out.
Thanks to Robert Alan Black for the link to http://www.despair.com/ for this and other reality-check demotivational posters.
Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine
]]>