How to define the Change your Idea depends on

It’s time for the fourth installment in your step-by-step guide to building the Red Thread® of your message or content. To see the first post in the series click here. To go to the previous post, click here. To go to the next post in the series, click here. This time around, you finally get to introduce your answer to your Audience’s question.

• The change in thinking or behavior that’s the heart of your idea (which can also be your product, service, or business)
• The change your idea represents in the marketplace — what’s different from what other people are doing to achieve the Audience’s Goal

Here’s what you need to find and talk about your Change:

WHAT IS THE CHANGE STATEMENT?

At its simplest, the Change Statement is your idea, your answer to your Audience’s question (their GOAL). It is the high-level shift in thinking or behavior that you’re asking your audience to take (or the change you or your business made, once upon a time).

Your Change Statement should fit comfortably in this sentence:

That’s why, to achieve the goal, we need to [CHANGE].

All together, this is what your Red Thread® looks like so far:

We can all agree we want to know… [GOAL].
While there are barriers we all know exist, the real problem is… [two-part PROBLEM].
Yet we can agree it’s true that… [TRUTH].
That’s why, to achieve the Goal, we need to… [CHANGE].

It should also meet the following criteria:

• The Change is more than a simple reverse of the Problem, it’s the conclusion of all you’ve introduced so far
• As such, it flows both in logic and language from the other three statements — it builds on the concepts, language, and logic you used in your Goal, Problem, and Truth,
• It resolves the tension between the two parts of your Problem Pair
• It contains only one shift in thinking or behavior, not multiple ones
• The Actions you’ll introduce next logically fit within it
• It’s a realistic shift, given where your Audience started

Examples

That’s why, to achieve the goal, we need to…

• “…make the invisible, visible, instantly — we need to turn the effects people can’t feel into results they can see” (Life science startup client UrSure, project: investor pitch)
• “…pair Big Data with ‘Thick’ Data — data and insights drawn from what Big Data doesn’t (and can’t) track” (Client Tricia Wang’s TED talk)
• “…adopt this project as a way to both increase who sees our content, and through the revenue it generates, increase our capacity for content output” (Nonprofit media company client; project — persuasive messaging coaching to get funding to create a new newsletter)
• “…address the imprints from our past experiences that are still lodged as fear in our bodies” (Client Linda Ugelow; project: drafting keynote)
• “…personalize incentives to the people in positions” (Client Tracy Timm; project: diversifying message to a new audience)
• “…see the stone as the symbol” (DeBeers — not a client, just one of my favorite examples!)
• “…do scary stuff on purpose, every day” (Client Judi Holler; project: revising keynote)
• “…develop Multilevel Leadership™ — leadership at every level” (Client Ted Ma; project: differentiating core message)

HOW TO BUILD YOUR CHANGE STATEMENT

To build your Change Statement:

• DO THIS: Identify the simple, single shift in thinking or behavior that helps your Audience achieve their Goal (Hint: you may have already done this with your answer to, “What’s your idea?”
• DO THIS: Turn your answer into a statement that satisfies the criteria for a Change Statement

If that’s not producing clarity quickly…

Resolve the tension of your Problem Pair:

• DO THIS: Revisit your Problem Pair and ask yourself, “Is there a Change people can make that combines the two perspectives?”
• DO THIS: Turn your answer into a statement that satisfies the criteria for a Change Statement

…or “roll up” the specific actions you want your Audience to take (more on this in the next installment!):

• DO THIS: Determine what specific, concrete actions or elements your Audience needs to do or have to achieve their Goal
• DO THIS: With your Actions collected, ask yourself, “If people put these Actions in place, what Change will they have made? “What shift in thinking or behavior do these Actions represent?”
• DO THIS: Turn your answer into a statement that satisfies the criteria for a Change Statement

…or refine your original answer to, “What’s your idea?”

• DO THIS: Go back to your notes from the post on the Goal, and/or your answer to the question, “What is your idea?”
• DO THIS: If the concept of that idea works as part of your Red Thread® (and it likely does), ask yourself, “How do I need to adapt this to make it fit with the Goal, Problem, and Truth I’ve already introduced?”
• DO THIS: Turn your answer into a statement that satisfies the criteria for a Change Statement

Even if you weren’t sure what your idea was when you started drafting your Red Thread, by the time you reach the Change, you are… and so is your Audience. You’ve made the answer to their Goal question clear. With the Truth, you’ve also made inaction impossible (or close to it!) when it comes to the Problem. Instead of a dizzying array of choices, you’ve presented them with a simple, single new choice to make.

So, what did you come up with? I’d love to see the Change Statements you’ve drafted, as well as the other Red Thread Statements you’ve come up with so far. Want some feedback? Send them to me! Happy to take a look.

This post, along with other great content, originally appeared on www.tamsenwebster.com. Want to get it before anyone else? Sign up for my newsletter! Questions? Email me!

#marketing #messaging #persuasion #startup #entrepreneurship #psychology