Here’s the scenario:
You have an innovative idea or a creative way to change a process and improve it.
Your team doesn’t seem to get the idea and you’re explaining the same points over and over, just hoping someone will finally understand.
Yes but HOW?
You have to start with managing your own expectations. Don’t expect anyone else to get your idea, or even like it. Especially if your idea is really new or a drastically different way of approaching a situation, no one is likely to get it.
In fact the chances are you’ll have a lot of work to do to help anyone understand your idea. People also tend to resist change, so anything that might involve them changing something (even if it is in their best interests) comes with a degree of apprehension.
How can you successfully implement innovative solutions in an environment that actively resists them?
Here are five ways to take the reins:
1. Pick your moment
If the person that you want to get your idea works from a diary, make an appointment. Don’t bound up to their desk brimming with enthusiasm for your great idea. If they are busy on something else you are unlikely to get a positive response.
2. Be direct
Tell them what you want. Be clear with others if you have an expectation. Do you just want someone to listen, or are you looking for them to build on your idea or to challenge it?
3. Prepare for objections
Think about what your idea means to the listener and the reasons they might not like it. Calm skepticism by working out answers for any negatives they might come back to you with, or questions they may have.
4. Push their buttons
Think about what actually motivates them, what are the parts of the idea that they will like? How will it specifically make their lives easier or more interesting? How can you emphasise the parts of the idea that you think will resonate with them?
5. Become an expert storyteller
Many of the world’s very best innovators and influencers are also some of the most accomplished storytellers. Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech was a revolution call for the Civil Rights movement in America and Steve Jobs painted a story of his visionary future with his presentation that launched the iPad. We’re hard wired as human beings to learn through stories that provoke an emotional response.
As an innovator your ability to tell stories could be the difference between your innovation staying on the drawing board or making it to the market place.
That’s why at Lucidity we design and deliver training to help you be an expert storyteller. For more information drop us a line at lucy@lucidity.org.uk.
Image source via Creative Commons