How to sell radical ideas. A thread. Disclaimer: A lot of this is anecdotal, based on my personal experience, and isn't entirely factual.

Through my time as an ideator/creative/commissioner, I have had the opportunity to be on both sides of a pitch as a creative and as a commissioner. In that time I have pitched and heard out many, many wild ideas.

Truth is a hard pill to swallow and this one is particularly hard. Ready? Irrespective of how open-minded one claims to be, it is not entirely true. I have seen it in the most liberal of workspaces.

The more radical the idea, the harder it is for people to wrap their heads around it. There are multiple instances in my life where I have done the math in my head, I have articulated the idea well, I have even shown proof that it works but the idea still didn't sell.

What was I doing wrong? The answer is that I did too much. I built a very clear picture of something new. For a creative, this is new, for someone listening to the idea for the first time, this is *alien*. It is too overwhelming for people to hold on to.

Think about it, as a child if you were exposed to something new or taken to a new place, like school, most of you cried. It came out of the blue and was so alien to you that your brain's immediate response was to reject it.

Yes, making a "kickass" presentation works but only if the idea is already at the periphery of the buyer's imagination. In that case, go ahead & dress the idea up with beautifully designed slides with funny gifs sprinkled in. Project commissioned. Congrats. Let's go to Shankari.

Secondly, I was too passionate and excited about the idea. Yes, excitement and energy can be infectious but that is inversely proportionate to how radical the idea is.

Instead, I have found that there are two ways to effectively sell the idea bridge the gap between the buyer and the idea.

1) Nolan style. Don't sell them the idea, plant a seed of the idea into their head. If the stars align, it is super effective because the fleshed-out idea will end up coming from them. They will draw the conclusion "before you do" and be more excited about the idea than you.

Now that I've committed to this plant analogy, and if you know anything about planting, prepare yourself because this requires a lot of patience. Sometimes despite doing everything right, the plant - your metaphorical idea - will die.

Despite successfully executing this in both my personal and professional life, I have found it to be a bit manipulative and I have also failed at this which can be doubly frustrating because you are back where you started.

2) The Road Trip. Build the bridge between the buyer and the idea together. In fact, get them to help you build it. Bring people on the journey with you. Even if at the end of the day they don't buy the idea, you have a working relationship with them and that trust is currency.

This is how you truly "share an idea". You aren't just verbally telling someone about your idea, you are making them the part-owner.

I hope this helps and I'd love to hear the tips and tricks you use to sell your ideas.