We all know UPS, the courier company. So the easiest way to remember this tool is to think of UPS next time you, er, deliver a message.
To be maximumly persuasive it must have Urgency, Passion and Stakes.
Let's break it down:
1. I'm going to start with Passion, because everything worthwhile starts with passion. Make your audience (listeners, readers or viewers) feel your excitement for your idea. Let it ooze authentically from your pores. Use language such as "I'm excited about this, because ..." or "This is really important to me, because ..."
2. Stakes comes next. What's at stake here? What do YOU (your audience) stand to win or gain from this? Remember: if you don't clearly answer "What's In It For Me?" for your audience, you lost them. Stakes could be financial: "This will result in new revenue streams of $2m per year." Stakes could be strategic: "Implementing this idea could make us the market leader in this space." But stakes can also be personal: "Boss, if we go ahead with this great idea, our unit will rocket ahead and you'll be in line for that VP position you want."
Don't forget to press the 'FOMO' button, but nothing works like fear in getting attention (why do you think politicians use it as a go-to tactic?): "If we DON'T roll this out, our sales will be below projection this financial year." Or: "Failure to go ahead on this, means our platform is obsolete and we'll be out of business like Kodak."
3. Urgency. Make the 'When' very clear. otherwise it'll just be another thing on your audience's "someday" slush pile: "We must have your approval by Tuesday if we are to roll out within this quarter." Or: "Implementation needs to be within Q3 if we are to bank any revenues into this financial year."
Crisis times are great because often the 'when' is taken off the table for us - it's now or never. But make the timing and the why for the timing clear. Otherwise your audience is not primed for action.
So, please share or forward this, because I think UPS is a great 3-legged (s)tool, and your friends and colleagues will be less persuasive and effective communicators if they don't know this. I recommend doing it now otherwise you'll be overwhelmed by other stuff and not get around to it. Thanks in advance.