Presenting new ideas

Robert Grudin offers the following strategies to present and protect new ideas. 1. Discuss new initiatives in terms of their positive potential rather than beginning with negative criticisms of the status quo. Adopt the rhetorical posture of one who gives, not of one who petitions, questions, or asserts. 2. Discuss your idea privately, as much as possible, with individual members of the group who must decide on it. Listen carefully to their suggestions; implements and acknowledge any that are helpful. 3. Of all components of rhetoric, none is more popular (or more frequently misused) than data be ready not only to use data in support of your thesis but in answer to data-supported criticisms by others. 4. Don't feel that you always have to respond substantively to negative criticism, negative thought has little independent sustaining structure and is soon forgotten. A brilliant rebuttal to criticism is often less effective than a courteous acknowledgement or an inspired silence. 5. New catchwords or phrases are often useful in the presentation of ideas, but only when they are firmly based in familiar structures of discourse. Most effective in this regard are variation on the nascent cliches that still convey a sense of newness to most listeners. Innovation sometimes disguises itself as elaboration. 6. True innovation is both novel and humane. Therefore you should be able to support some aspects of your proposal with the rhetoric of originality, others with the rhetoric of consensus. 7. Share or forgo the credit for your ideas as often as possible. They will go further than way, and faster. 8. Every subject, no matter how important, has a funny side. Don't ignore humour in presenting your idea or defending it, in dealing with rejection or success. 9. Defeated defeated proposals are soon forgotten and can soon be re-submitted, especially if they are couched in somewhat different terms. Ideas that meet with total apathy or disapproval at first can succeed brilliantly when re-proposed a few years down the line. You have to be tough enough to endure the first shot, patient enough to let things rest for while, and confident enough to take the risk a second or third time.