Four Steps To Communicate Your Vision
I may not know you, but I think I know something about you. If I had to guess, I’d say that right now you have a vision for something big you’d like to accomplish or you’re working with others to see a vision come to reality. Almost every church, non-profit organization, entrepreneur, business or cause has a vision they are trying to accomplish.
So why aren’t we seeing more people accomplish their vision? What’s holding you back most likely is not your vision. For many of us, the problem is communicating that vision to move people to act.
The biggest mistake of communicating vision is focusing solely on communicating the information to people. The information is important, but that alone will rarely inspire your audience to make the vision a reality.
Here are four steps to help you effectively communicate your vision:
The Problem
What’s the problem you’re trying to solve and why does it matter to your audience?
What’s holding many people back from partnering with you to accomplish your vision is that they don’t know or understand why it matters to them. When communicating your vision, help your audience feel the weight of the problem you’re trying to solve. Share the conflict and help them understand why current reality isn’t good enough.
The Solution
How are you going to solve the problem?
Now that your audience understands the problem, share your solution. Don’t get bogged down with communicating every little detail. Clearly communicate what you’re doing, what you will do, and what it will take to accomplish the vision.
Story
What’s a story you can tell that gives people a glimpse of your vision?
When communicating vision, you need to inform people with content, but you also need to balance that by inspiring them with story. Make it personal and share a story of how the problem is impacting people or holding them back. Tell a story your audience can see themselves in. Share stories that show people why current reality isn’t good enough. Give people a glimpse of what could happen if this vision became a reality.
Call To Action
What am I asking people to do?
Behind every vision is a call to action. A call to ask people to give, sign up, attend, etc. Make it abundantly simple and clear what you’re asking the audience to do. Remove barriers for people taking their next step. If the call to action is complicated or confusing, don’t be surprised if your disappointed with the results.
Case Study – Engage Burkina
I get the awesome privilege of working with an amazing non-profit called Engage Burkina. In Burkina Faso Africa, 1 in 3.4 children die before the age of 10. And if you were like me 5 years ago, you probably had no idea where Burkina Faso is on the map or that this is one of the poorest nations in the world. We recently put together a video sharing the vision for Engage Burkina using these four communication steps.
