Is there anything more exciting then having a great idea? Whether your idea will open up new markets, save the company millions, or bring an exciting new product or service to the masses, a great idea is exhilarating.
But, you probably won’t go it alone. You need others to help you realize your vision. So, you have to get the word out about your great idea—sell it to your management, your colleagues, and the world. But, sometimes, just getting the word out isn’t enough. Sometimes, other people just don’t get it. You presented, you shared, you communicated. But still, you’re not getting through.
Psst! This is how you effectively get permission from leadership.
At ThoughtForm, it’s our job to really “get” our clients: their businesses, their ideas, and their messages. And we work really hard at it. We wallow in their writing and documents, we ask questions, we playback and restate in our own words, we ask more questions, and we write it all down and iterate, iterate, iterate. But your leadership, your peers, and most of all, your customers might not be willing to work hard to understand.
And if you’re not clear, they are going to give up.
Leadership might fund a different initiative, not yours.
Your peers could resist your new process and undermine the change.
Your customers could go with a different product or service, or make no choice at all.
So, how can you get through? Here are some approaches you can use to increase understanding:

• Use language your audience can digest
• Share only the relevant info
• Help them to connect the dots between ideas
• Present in a format that gives them an “aha moment.”

Too many great ideas get overlooked because they just couldn’t get through. But, this doesn’t have to happen to you. Think about what your audience needs to know to really “get it” and give it to them in a way they can truly digest. Any maybe, just maybe, we can all save the great ideas. #savethegreatideas
Here’s a tip: use plain language to help your audience get it.