You want to have a greater impact, so how much time do you spend designing your sessions for impact?
In today's hectic world, we proportionally spend most of our time on outcomes. However, if you plan your session (presentation, meeting or important conversation) by only thinking of the desired outcomes, I dare say that you are skipping some steps that will prevent you from being as effective as possible. I would even go as far as saying that the ROI of your time investment is significantly higher if you focus on two things before jumping to the desired outcomes. The secret ingredients are stake and impact.
I've always been fascinated by the power of a well-crafted message. My journey with the SIO Stake-Impact-Outcome tool began with some of my remarkable colleagues. It's been an integral part of my weekly routine since ten years, not just in meetings but also in presentations. It's a cornerstone of the Story Profiling step, setting the stage for success so that you can discover what motivates your audience and the deep insight that drives their actions.
Understanding the Stake
In a world where attention spans are as brief as a social media reel or a one-liner email, engaging your audience swiftly and effectively is crucial, because you can't always add a cute puppy or kitten to your first slide.
The Stake in SIO is about answering the all-important question: What's in it for them? Why should they even bother listening to you? What's their stake in the matter?
In the first three minutes, it's vital to convey this, not just what you want them to know. To elevate this step, put yourself in your audience's shoes. Consider their struggles and how you can assist, what matters to them, and how you can enhance their impact.
Steps to Define the Stake:
1. Identify the audience's primary challenges or interests.
2. Align your message to address these challenges.
3. Clearly articulate the personal benefits they will gain.
Image by Siora Photography on Unsplash
The Heart of Impact
When I think of 'Impact', I visualize the heart of it all.
The Impact in SIO is all about how you want your audience to feel at the end of your session.
We don't plan to confuse or overwhelm, yet how intentional are we about the needs of our audience above and beyond our own needs? In a day filled with endless messages and tasks, making your session memorable in a world where we forget up to 80% of what we encountered 48 hours ago requires designing your content with explicit intention.
Steps to Ensure Impact:
1. Understand your audience's challenges and consider how you and your topic fit in their day.
2. Craft your content to address these challenges with clarity, empathy and storytelling. (See my blog on HOW to use storytelling)
3. Plan for a memorable, positive takeaway that resonates beyond the session.
Crafting a SIO Message
Let's take a difficult example; without using SIO, it could look like this:
"Welcome to today's yearly kickoff. The current market is tough. We will not be able to expand the team despite more work and increasing demands." Then, you dive into your quarterly planning meeting, reviewing your agenda points. It's straightforward and honest but hardly inspiring. Your team is now probably scrolling through online job postings as you continue to speak.
Now, let's rewrite that message using SIO - Stake - Impact - Outcome:
"Welcome to today's yearly kickoff. Your hard work last year was invaluable, and I thank you for that. Today's discussion is about navigating these waters together as we face a challenging market. We are in this as a team and will surmount these challenges together. As we dive into our plans, we'll focus on collaboration and finding innovative approaches as we prioritize our workload and support each other. The impact we aim for is not just to survive but even to thrive amidst these challenges. We've tackled these kinds of mountains before, and I believe we can do it again. I want to hear your concerns and ideas. Together, I believe our greatest outcome will be a stronger, more resilient team ready to face any obstacle. And we'll deliver results."
Using the SIO framework, we transform a factual and, in this case, demotivating message into one that acknowledges the challenges but focuses on collective strength, empathy, and a clear, achievable path forward while still being transparent and straightforward. This is the essence of SIO - it's about aligning our message with the hearts and minds of our audience, ensuring every communication is heard, felt, and remembered.
Join me next week as I dive deeper into the power of metaphors and how they can elevate your storytelling, making sure your messages are not only heard but vividly recognized so that you land in the 20% that is remembered.
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