Find the Red Thread at TamsenWebster.com.

What is the Change in thinking or behavior that you need someone to make? If we've already figured out our Goal of an irresistible outcome for the audience, the invisible Problem of perspective that's getting in the way, and the Idea that makes inaction impossible, the Change is what it all adds up to.

A lot of times, when you're working on your Red Thread, you actually want to start with the Change. However, a common pitfall is to focus on the actions you want people to take, rather than the Change you need them to make that drives all those actions. The difference is between plans and intent. Your audience needs to understand what the overall purpose of the Action is if you want them to follow through and be flexible if (for some reason) that action can't or won't work for them.

Resources

• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip and Dan Heath
• EP053: Focus on the GOAL: Why Your Audience Needs an "Irresistible Outcome"
• EP054: Focus on the PROBLEM – Why Your Audience Needs Both Context and Contrast
• EP055: Focus on the IDEA – The Difference Between "Understandable" and "Inevitable"
• The Red Thread Worksheet