The best topic for you is at the intersection of 4 things, and the concept of Ikigai can help. To figure this out for yourself, you can do an “Idea Ikigai” with four sheets of paper.

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We’re renaming a piece of the Red Thread because the truth is it isn’t working like it should. It can be easy to get mixed up between the idea behind your message or pitch and the Idea Statement that comprises a part of its Red Thread.

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The narrower your focus with your message, the broader your reach with your target audience. If that sounds counterintuitive to you, you’re not alone. However, this is often referred to as the universal paradox of messaging. The most effective messages feel like they were made just for you.

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There are 3 beliefs that your audience needs to have in order to make a change. First, that it’s possible to achieve the goal they want with the change you’re recommending. Second, that it’s possible for them. And third, they need to believe that it’s worth it.

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When you’re trying to clarify and simplify your big idea, the word “only” is extremely important. You need to make sure your audience gets only what they need in order to act. To do that, focus on the action that you’re looking for.

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To get an to audience make a change in a short presentation you need to know where they already are. Instead of focusing so much on the time slot, we need to focus on the amount of change that is possible in our audience, given the time slot.

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Making a great keynote presentation is about showmanship, but not quite in the way you might think. Yes, you need to engage the audience and be inspiring, but you also need to show them that you’ve answered three questions: Is this possible? Is this possible for me? And, is it worth it? The Red Thread gives you the tools to make that happen.

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Just because we understand something doesn’t mean that we’ll actually do it, which is a problem if we’re trying to get someone to make a change or take an action. That means we need to design our messages to accomplish a specific mental outcome: we need to be specific about what we mean by “understanding.” To help us, we can use the model of Bloom’s taxonomy.

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Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks have very different audiences but, as big brands, they have something in common: constancy. Their entire experience revolves around where their Red Thread and their audience’s Red Thread align. Both deliver coffee, but you’d never mistake one for the other because their customers have different Goals.

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Anytime you’re pitching your idea, there’s one clear hurdle you need to get over in order to succeed: someone else needs to find your idea irresistible. The thing they’re looking for when they listen to you is information, but it’s a certain kind of information that will actually win them over: they’re looking for a Curiosity Gap.

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