Share
Preview
Set your own table! ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
Having an issue viewing this email? Click here
poseycorp website
poseycorp helps innovators become great communicators.
(Sometimes by sending out helpful stuff in a newsletter.)

ISSUE 67

Convening conversations
“...the way to guide is to ask and not to tell.”

- Jerry Colonna, Reboot
 
It’s increasingly clear that right now may be the best time in decades to pursue huge ideas. We are ready for powerful, lasting change. We need big ideas to propel us into a future we are just starting to imagine.

So let’s say you’ve got a great idea. NOW what do you do? How do you create a concentration of energy around your idea? How do you demonstrate leadership? You need an evangelism plan. An evangelism plan is a go-to-market plan for your vision.

Evangelism is the process of conversion - tech innovators, activists, artists and political leaders tell us what’s broken in the world, their vision for fixing it, why their approach is the best way forward. Evangelists persuade people to abandon the status quo, to take leaps, to embrace change. It’s a process that requires art and patience, because people are neurologically wired to resist change.

Convening a conversation is one of the most powerful evangelism tools. So many people are dying to get a “seat at the table” so they can finally share their ideas. They don’t realize that they can set their own table and invite the influencers to come to them. Here’s how:

  • Pinpoint your target audience – who do you want to influence/convert/inspire/sell to?

Your audience is never “everyone.”

  • Identify the influencers and allies that people in your target market listen to.

This isn’t as hard as it seems. Who’s quoted in articles on your topic? Who’s posting about it the most? Who has the most followers? Who’s written the best-reviewed books on your topic? Interns were invented to do research like this.

Join the social media conversation. Retweet, compliment, ask questions, add value. Build a toehold among the group of people you want to influence.

  • Connect with these influencers

This is the hard part, because it has to be done by hand, individually. Let’s say that one of the biggest influencers you want to meet is an academic. She may not be on social media at all. She may require a letter thanking her for her book with some specific additional data or ideas that she might find useful.

A person with a gazillion Twitter followers will ignore your DM. Do you know anyone who knows anyone who knows this person? Can you offer an insight of sufficient value to this person that they’ll be willing to give you time when you do find a way to connect to them?

Do you know someone who’s already swimming in the right swimming pool with the right influencers you need to reach? Can that person help you - join your advisory board? Co-author a white paper with you? Be a guest speaker at your event?

Investing time here can pay dividends for decades. It’s worth all of the effort it takes.

  • Convene a conversation via social media, in person, whatever the environment allows.

OK. Now you know some key people. Invite them to a carefully designed small event - a conversation with just 10 - 30 influential people. Keep it private - this is essential. Ten of the right people getting introduced to each other by you does a ton to cement your reputation.

As the host, you structure the conversation and invite your guests to participate in whatever output document/project gets discussed. The meeting must have a purpose, an outcome that will help create change. Your role is NOT to pontificate - your role is to listen, ask valuable questions and encourage fruitful conversations.

After you’ve successfully convened a group of the right people, you’ll start to get invitations yourself. Accept the right ones. Keep convening, participating, and delivering ideas; keep nurturing your influencer relationships; keep amping up your vision to keep the cycle of thinking and co-creation going. That’s how you change hearts and minds. That’s how you change the world.


On poseyblog


We're talking about how to communicate complex concepts:





“I went from 0 to 60 in three hours,” said an empowered and happy media trainee.

If you’d like great results, schedule a conversation with me! It’s easy! Reach me at inquiries@poseycorp.com.
Your business must scale, and you must scale with it. Great communicators create the change they want to see in the world. poseycorp helps innovators build powerful messages and the skill to deliver them so they can break through the noise and be heard! Lisa Poulson, poseycorp’s principal, is expert at helping innovators scale by becoming great communicators.

Do you wish everyone around you had great communication skills? Share this link with them so they can learn too!





 
 
Resources
 
 
I don’t know if Guy Kawasaki invented evangelism in the tech industry but it feels like he did. Read what the OG evangelist has to say!
 
 
 
poseycorp
1592 Union St., #338
San Francisco, CA 94123
United States

Want to change how you're receiving posey emails?


Email Marketing by ActiveCampaign