The Power Of “I Don’t Get It”

I did all the work, ran all the numbers, made the presentation look pretty, got dressed up, and… they didn’t even want to look at it. The whole conversation went somewhere else. I called the audible, focused in on what I should have been focused on in the first place, and got it done. Been there?

I remembered to ask:

Who’s it for?What’s it for?

I forgot to ask:

Why do they care/want this/value it?How will it make them feel?What’s the best way to create the feeling they need to feel to get to the result I want?

“You’ve got to find the feelings man, and then focus, focus, focus.” – Me (as said to myself, way too many times)

They nailed this idea in the movie Big (clip below). The character Paul knows exactly how to position his pitch for the room full of executives. Josh, the kid trapped in an adult’s body, calls BS. “I don’t get it.”

He knows exactly how to think of it from the perspective of the end-user (you know, kids!).

There’s a million robots that turn into something. This is a building that turns into a robot. What’s fun about playing with a building?

Channel your Josh. Don’t forget to ask the questions I forgot to ask. Make it matter – find the feelings and focus, focus, focus.

h/t John for sending this clip in a few weeks ago and inspiring this post!