In every organization, updating processes, ideas, and projects drive the need for new initiatives. The adage “change is the only constant” holds true in both life and in our teams—including for our learners! While we all know change happens, sometimes letting go of long-held habits, ways of working, and methods of learning requires extra effort and creativity.

Promoting and building excitement for initiatives involves a mix of strategic communication, engaging the right people, and promoting involvement. How do you create buzz around your efforts and capture the attention of people in your organization?

Match the Messaging to the Audience

First, create messaging around the idea that’s clear and compelling. We all want to know the “why” behind new initiatives and change. You can create a strong promise of value by clearly answering three key questions:

• Why does it matter?
• What problem does it solve?
• What’s in it for me?

Keep your audience in mind and adapt messaging around a new initiative to their pain points and what will resonate for them. How the message aligns with your organization’s learning culture can either propel or derail new and exciting projects.

Any time people are asked to change, they are also being asked to give up a routine, a relationship, or something familiar. Great leaders understand that change also means grief and will allow colleagues the time and space to accept new initiatives in a way that honors the emotional impact of change.

Engage Opinion Leaders

We would all like to think peer pressure is reserved for middle schoolers, but adults are as susceptible to the power of social influence as teens. Get buy-in from well-liked people in your organization who have significant social capital and engage them as standard bearers to share the message.

Part of engaging those with social influence could extend to the use of social media (LinkedIn) or internal communication tools such as Teams or Slack channels to share just in time information to maintain momentum.

Make It Fun

New initiatives and ideas can be exhilarating, but they can also be unsettling. One way to help your audience accelerate through the grief curve is through sharing their own experiences in a safe environment. Create a path for them to develop their own shareable content around the new initiative. This builds a sense of ownership and involvement.

Additionally, using a countdown to launch is a fun way to create a sense of urgency and excitement.

Tell Stories

Build an emotional connection through storytelling. Share stories of real people and real impact, especially where you can draw direct connections to your initiative and audience. Self-avowed “sister-preneurs” Janine Kurnoff and Lee Lazarus, whose business The Presentation Company helps people become strategic communicators, explain, “We are far more likely to remember stories because they ignite our right brain. Our right brain lets us take in new information and then feel and imagine things. It ignites our creative processing where we leave the realm of the known and begin to envision possible futures—beyond what is in our mental filing cabinet.” (Kurnoff, 2021)

Remember and Remind

Don’t let your initiative get lost in the day to day. Keep your team engaged by sharing progress and even roadblocks. Engage people directly by letting them know what’s coming next and asking for their feedback on progress.

New initiatives—whether for learning and development purposes or business development—have the capacity to both energize and challenge. Though mindfulness, connecting to already held values, and respecting the need to gain buy-in, leaders can shape a dynamic future in their organizations.