If there’s nothing at stake—if there are no emotionally compelling risks or rewards for acting on your idea—people will probably ignore it.

Too often, we launch into details about how an idea will work before doing the much more important work of communicating why it matters so much. Ideas are approved when they’re important, when the stakes are high, and when they address the organization’s mission, aspirations, or fears.

Emotion is arguably the most potent motivator of human behavior. When issues are important enough, people overcome their apathy or fear to lend their support and get involved. If the issue doesn’t affect them in some way emotionally, they are unlikely to risk their reputations or waste their time. When people don’t care enough, they often dismiss ideas with statements like these:

At face value, these statements appear factual. Underneath, they really say, “I don’t feel the urgency to work toward changing this right now.”

So step one is to jolt people awake to express why your idea matters so much to them.

If you have tapped into the signals of the organization, you know what’s relevant in your workplace. Link your idea to what people are talking about, worrying about, or hoping to achieve.

Examples of “what’s at stake” messages range from the risk of losing lives to the frustration of trying to find the damn information for the monthly report, again. The important thing is simply this: does it tug at the emotions of the people whose support you want? Does it provoke them to consider a different approach? Does it tap into pain, frustrations, values, or aspirations that people feel deeply about? Does it inspire them to lend their support?

Position the new idea as integral to what people deeply believe in about the organization—what they want to achieve, be known for, or value. Make it fit within the frame or views that already exist. Examples of existing frames include:

The most common “what’s at stake” messages fall into one of six categories (see Table 5-1). Each category lists examples from different types of organizations. Based on your situation, which “what’s at stake” message might resonate the most?

Now that you’ve got people’s attention and framed the idea, paint a picture of how much better things will be. Make the status quo unappealing and the alternative a much better option, so much better that it is worth the investment to get there. Walk people through how things will work differently with your new approach. Help them feel this new way of doing things, evoking a positive emotional response. Remember: people make decisions based on emotions, either the desire to flee from pain or to seek relief and rewards.

Use specific examples to make it feel real:

Use this kind of evocative frame whenever you talk about your idea, and especially with people who don’t like your idea. If they push back, remind them that your idea is about easing suffering or protecting the organization’s reputation or making it less vulnerable or defending patient safety. Make it hard to argue against an idea that the organization deeply values. Again, this is why finding out what the organization really values is so important before you start communicating your ideas.

People support ideas (and people) that they think will be successful. It’s vital to show the gap between the ideal and the current state and briefly highlight the milestones for closing the gap. Avoid going into detail. If you’re explaining, you’re losing.

We’re sure you’ve been in the meeting where someone tries to explain exactly how his idea will work. Once you go there, you begin losing momentum and get stuck trying to explain how the sausage will be made—a sausage that no one has ever tasted, a sausage, in fact, that you’ve never even cooked before.

Developing the essential milestones to get from today to success requires a lot of work. Don’t show all the research you’ve done. If you do, people may get lost in the weeds and start attacking a minor tactical point instead of discussing the strategic value of the idea. Do, however, show that you’ve done your homework and are not just winging it.

People don’t support things that they think are unrealistic. The more people believe that the proposed change idea is likely to succeed, the more likely they will support it.

How we communicate is as important as what we communicate.

When you embark on your change effort, act as if success is just around the corner. Be cheerful. Be emotional. Show enthusiasm, even if it’s not considered cool or professional.

Nothing is less appealing than a dour reformer. Those who oppose you are just waiting for you to lose your cool and your momentum.

On the other hand, don’t drone on and on. We’ve all been to the presentations with flowcharts, timelines, quotes, and charts so detailed you can hardly read them, and a running commentary that never stops for questions. Don’t be that person.

Some suggestions to consider:

Almost all change starts in small, informal groups of people. Before doing any formal presentations, talk to your rebel alliance about your idea (see Chapter 3 for more about building a rebel alliance).

Communicating a new idea is a process. It includes developing relationships, learning from others, asking for their help in making the idea better, and enlisting their support to be able to make the idea happen. Rebels often mistakenly think that the way to get an idea approved is to present it to the management team, who will either say yes or no. It’s a mistake to focus all your communications efforts on presenting to management. Management doesn’t hold all the power.

The way to bring an idea to life is by helping people see the value in the idea for them and asking them to be part of the effort. Socialize your idea with many people, and work hard to get those one or two first followers who will take ownership and start to talk about it with others. The first followers validate both you and your idea. They can often be more influential than those in management.

There’s one more critical element to communicating, right up there in importance with communicating what’s at stake and building a network of supporters: learning how to gauge what people think about your ideas.

A common oversight is not noticing people’s reactions after we make a presentation or informally discuss our ideas. We have an opportunity to gain insights into how to build support and improve our ideas every time we talk with someone. Reading the signals will help determine your next move.

When people make eye contact, start to relax, lean in to listen, and nod in agreement, chances are good that they are open to your idea and want to learn more.

Another positive physical signal is laughter. People laugh when an idea is new to them. We laugh when we hear something that disrupts our normal way of thinking. According to Brice Challamel of the creativity consulting company Act One, laughter in a meeting means the audience heard an idea they find disruptive and unusual. Rather than ignoring the laughter (or worse, getting annoyed), rebels should comment on the laughter and ask the audience to explain why they laughed. In a sense, the audience is helping you identify your most rebellious ideas. Welcome that laughter. It means your ideas have potential impact.

If people look quizzical or lean back with their arms crossed and a stern look, they are not with you. When you see this, step out of your agenda to try to understand what the person is wrestling with, and ask some good questions. (Remember: questions are a rebel’s best friend.)

You might stop and say, “Jeanne, I sense there’s something about this concept that you’re not quite sure about.” Let Jeanne talk. Do not cut her off or tell her that she’s wrong or that she misunderstood your point. You want to listen to determine what your next response or question should be in order to have a helpful conversation for both Jeanne and you.

Here are questions for assessing the response to your idea:

If you’ve communicated clearly about how to solve a relevant problem and people don’t like your ideas, it’s wise to pause and assess whether the issue is important enough to keep going, despite the lukewarm reception.

If no one—not even your most trusted colleagues—think your idea is sound and valuable, that’s probably a signal that you should let the idea go or refine it so that people see the value.

If you do have some supporters and you all believe that this change effort is needed, especially at this time, it’s time to learn one of the most important rebel lessons of all: how to navigate controversy and conflict, which is covered in Chapter 6.