Keep it sensory, smarty

A few principles for getting your ideas out in the world

I’ve worked for a number of years now with an amazing group of people fighting poverty with what are called 2-generation solutions: interventions that not only change kids’ lives, but the adults that surround them, too. Last week I got to meet a new group of them—grant officers at foundations, government leaders, nonprofit executives, college presidents and more, from all over the country. My job, along with my collaborators Amanda Machado and Mia Birdsong, was to help make them smarter about getting their ideas out into the world and give them space to start getting them down on paper.

It occurs to me that so many of you who read this newsletter are also organizers, teachers, writers, activists, and leaders in your own communities and organizations who may be supported by knowing some of what I try to drive home when I do this kind of training. Here are a few key principles to keep in mind:

1. Good storytelling is sensory and specific. We can get caught up thinking that the way to be accessible is to be general. In fact, the opposite is true. Our brains are associative machines, so if you say something super specific, the listener’s brain automatically does the work of overlaying their own associations. Example: “When I was growing up, my mom used to make oxtail soup when we were sick—a rich broth of meat, peas, and tomatoes made the whole house smell safer.” I bet you’re now thinking about what the person that cared for you as a child made when you felt bad, no? It’s kind of magical.

2. When you think about audience, don’t aim for what you want them to know; aim for what you want them to feel (about themselves, especially). Even though we are emotional creatures, we tend to forget this about our audience when we are writing an op-ed or a speech. We try to wedge in a bunch of facts and big ideas, rather than remembering the old-as-time wisdom that people remember what they feel. If you can make people feel smarter, more hopeful, angry and spurred to action, you’re much more likely to be remembered, than if you have the exhaustively cited, perfectly constructed argument. (This also requires being merciless about cutting jargon!)

3. Remember: the goal isn’t to put the perfect idea out in the world, it’s to put an idea so compelling out there that everyone wants to get their hands on it and make it their own. We exalt the individual genius, the hero on a stage, the eureka moment, but in fact, most ideas are part of vast ecosystems of thinkers, moments, and collaborations. So don’t wait until you’re sure your idea is perfect. That time may never come. Put it out there and be willing to “learn in public” (you see what I did there?!). You and the world will be better for it.

Speaking of ecosystems, a lot of these ideas have developed over my now two decades being a storyteller and mentoring others to tell their stories. I’ve worked alongside a lot of brilliant people, but most frequently my work wife, Vanessa Valenti, who now runs FRESH (the speakers bureau I cofounded with her and John Cary, my dude). I usually use this space to explore my own ideas, and I’m so grateful for it, but one of my other happiest places is helping other people explore their ideas, tell their stories, and agitate for change. Lucky me.

LuLu the llama keeps it real sensory