Stepping Stones

This is a keeper; It will be of great help to prepare my presentations using these tips.

How to Save the World

The four approaches are:

1. Anxieties: What is causing stress to your audience that your idea/proposal will relieve? Audiences that respond to this approach are those who focus on the urgent before the important. If an issue is keeping them awake at night they will have a propensity to listen and respond positively to ideas and proposals that address it, even if the benefits are otherwise small. So by talking about possible anxieties, you have a better chance of ‘tapping into’ anxieties that this audience segment feels, and getting them engaged.
2. Incapabilities: What can your audience not currently do that your idea/proposal will enable them to do? Audiences that respond to this approach are those who focus on vulnerabilities rather than abilities. If an issue makes them feel that they are at risk if they do not resolve it, they will have a propensity to listen and respond positively to ideas and proposals that address it, even if the benefits are otherwise small. So by talking about incapabilities, you have a better chance of engaging that segment of the audience that responds to risk more than opportunity.
3. Needs: What does your audience need that your idea/proposal will address? A third segment of your audience will be process focused, and will respond to ideas and proposals that address needs that they have already identified and perhaps articulated, which are not being met (and could not be readily met) by any obvious solution. You engage this segment by recognizing and anticipating what they need and want, without them having to tell you.
4. Benefits: What are the specific, measurable benefits to your audience of your idea/proposal? A final segment of your audience is impressed more by opportunity than risk, and will respond to ideas and proposals that stress benefits that they can personally relate to in the context of doing their job, task or hobby. They are not generally impressed by generic lists of benefits – they want to know that you know enough about how they would personally use your idea or proposal if it was implemented (so you need to do your homework to know your audience). They are also not generally impressed by lists of features.

By "audience" I am referring to whichever group you are trying to persuade – ‘real’ customers who will pay money for your idea or proposal, managers who you need to get to buy into and approve your idea or proposal, or internal users of your organization’s tools and processes.