Communicating for Buy-In Kurt Crake Why Should

Communicating for Buy-In Kurt Crake

Why Should You Care About This? • • • “Leadership in the 21 st century is about buy -in” – Mark Walton The key to your success as a Navy leader (or civilian executive) will be your ability to move others to action. Credibility doesn’t come with a job title anymore. 2

Objective For This Session • • Provide you with “state of the art” knowledge and an experiential opportunity to develop a Strategic Story that will help you get “buy-in” from a target audience Get feedback from a group of your peers 3

Preview • • What do we really mean by “buy-in”? How do you get “buy-in”? Elements of a “Presentation for Buy-In” A Step by Step Approach Some Examples Some Helpful Hints About Your Presentations. . 4

How Do You Get What You Want? • You have to know three things: • What you want • Who can give it to you • How to get it 6

What Is “Buy-In”? • For the purposes of this discussion, buy -in consists of both • A positive emotional state • Approval • Support • Sense of Commitment • Active Participation • Something the target audience will do in support of your agenda 7

How do you get Buy-In? • The key to buy-in from others is a story of a positive future outcome…for them! • Appeal to higher purpose or greater common good • The tool to get your target audience to that state of commitment and action is a Strategic Story. • In crafting your story, try to align with your target audience’s agenda, and make your points in the order they consider them. Back up each point with evidence. 8

The Elements of a “Presentation for Buy-In” • • Buy-In Objective Vision of a Positive Future • Supporting Message #1 • Supporting Message #2 • Supporting Message #3 • Call to Action 9

The Elements • Buy-In Objective • What is it that you want…exactly? • A clear-cut single objective • Foundation for the rest of the presentation • Who is your target audience? • What action do you want them to take, and in what time frame do you need them to act? 10

The Elements • Vision of a Positive Future • To take the actions you want, what’s the story of a positive future your audience would need to hear? How will the future you want give them the future they want? • It’s not about anyone else but your target audience. Know their perspective and agendas. • Don’t talk about yourself. Use the words “you”, “us”, or “we”, but never “I”. 11

The Elements • • • Buy-In Objective Vision of a Positive Future • Supporting Message #1 • Supporting Message #2 • Supporting Message #3 Call to Action 12

Your Supporting Messages • • Develop three supporting messages or concepts that fulfill your audience’s agenda What are their needs, wants and goals for the future? What are the elements of a positive future from their point of view? • Examples: ROI, cost reduction, improved efficiency, better quality, etc. • Back up each point with evidence or a rational argument. 13

Why Three? • • • Recurring pattern used by master communicators through time Backed up by modern psychological research Three is enough to be persuasive, not too much to remember 14

The Elements • • • Buy-In Objective Vision of a Positive Future • Supporting Message #1 • Supporting Message #2 • Supporting Message #3 Call to Action 15

The Elements • Call to Action • You are much more likely to get what you want if you actually ask for it! • Don’t stop short of the goal by implying, or letting the audience infer what you want. • State it clearly and simply. • Make it easy to act. • Immediate or near term action is best. • Ask for a commitment or first step toward the action you need. 16

The Elements • • • Buy-In Objective Vision of a Positive Future • Supporting Message #1 • Supporting Message #2 • Supporting Message #3 Call to Action 17

Step by Step • Preparation • Define Your Buy-In Objective • Step #1 • Envision and Articulate a Positive Future for your Target Audience • Step #2 • Develop Three Supporting Messages That Fulfill Your Audience’s Agenda • Step #3 • Call Your Audience to Action 18

Outline Form Vision of Positive Future • #1 Strategic Message • Evidence to support • #2 Strategic Message • Evidence to support • #3 Strategic Message • Evidence to support Call to Action 19

An Example “Morning in America” • Prevail Over Soviet Union • Reduce the Size of Government • Reduce Taxes Vote For Reagan 20

Another Example “Successful Naval Leader” • Leadership is about Buy-In • Success depends on ability to motivate • Credibility doesn’t come with job Engage & Learn 21

Helpful Hints • Use Stories • We’ve all been trained to think in “story” • Having a good story automatically improves your ability to tell it. • You feel better about it • Your audience gets wrapped up in the story, and are less critical of your “story-telling” Audience Receptiveness Performance 22 Confidence

Other Helpful Hints • Make your time count! • We live in the age of sound bites • Nobody has extra time or “attention time. ” • You need to be able to sell your story quickly • Anticipate questions • What is the upside/downside? • What do the “nay-sayers” say? Why? • What if we do nothing? 23

Action Learning • • Scenario: The key decision-maker(s) for the issue identified in your point paper will be available for a short period on Monday. Develop a 2 minute presentation using the format presented here. Rehearse! Practice doing it in two minutes. Each of you will give your presentation Monday • You will receive direct feedback from five of your peers • You will provide feedback to five others • You will be able to observe 18 others, and learn from them 24

Process for Presentations • • Class split into four groups of six Presentations will “rotate” through each group. Two minute time limit. Group members provide feedback to each other • Written • During breakout after all presentations 25

Peer Feedback Groups • Group A • Arata Dunlap Jordan Reed Schaefer Stancy • Group C Brittain Hekman Malone Rice Smith Stone Group B • Baumann Hays Kinnunen Reimer Sityar Stein Group D Burnham Hymas Novak Rose Spawton Urbon 26

Each Person will… • Provide a short “scene setting” explaining • Who the target audience is • What the buy-in objective is • • . . . before beginning the presentation. You have 2 minutes from the point you begin your presentation. Next person begins immediately 27

One More Example “Better ED’s, Better Recruiters” • New ED’s are important to us • Community values healthy lifestyle • We “walk the talk” Yes to Organized PT 28

If you are not the presenter… • Keep track of who is in your group. For each of these people • Fill out one of the feedback forms • Plan to give verbal feedback (and the form) to this person during the breakout session following the presentations • It will be best to: • Write immediately after the presentation • Save the form for after the verbal feedback • Feedback w/ CAPT Camelio at the end. 29

Timeline for Next Week • • Presentations: Breaks (2): Breakout Sessions: Feedback w/ CO: 30 100 minutes 20 minutes 40 minutes 20 minutes

Questions? 31

Peer Feedback Groups • Group A • Arata Dunlap Jordan Reed Schaefer Stancy • Group C Brittain Hekman Malone Rice Smith Stone Group B • Baumann Hays Kinnunen Reimer Sityar Stein Group D Burnham Hymas Novak Rose Spawton Urbon 32

Recommended Reading You Are the Message – Roger Ailes Talking to the Top – Anthony Ray The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking – Dale Carnegie You’ve Got to be Believed to be Heard – Bert Decker Leading Out Loud – Terry Pearce The Articulate Executive – Granville Toogood Getting to Yes – William Ury Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion – Robert Cialdini 33

Process for Today • • • LCDR Crake will track order of presentations Two minute time limit! Each person comes to lectern • Describe buy-in objective: Who? What? When? • About 30 seconds…. • • • Go to middle of room – make us “buy in” Group members write feedback immediately Presentations continue 34

Peer Feedback Groups • Group A • Arata Dunlap Jordan Reed Schaefer Stancy • Group C Brittain Hekman Malone Rice Smith Stone Group B • Baumann Hays Kinnunen Reimer Sityar Stein Group D Burnham Hymas Novak Rose Spawton Urbon 35