Starting where they're at

When we're poised to spew some propaganda, we're in no mood to deal with wherever the audience is at. We're anxious to cover all the material before the time is up. It's not a problem if we take off without the passengers on board. We're functioning like an airline that gets to the destination on time without anyone enjoying a "moving experience".

To doctor this kind of indoctrination, we need to start where the audience is at, not where we're at. They'll get on board when it appears they can personally relate to what is being presented. The presentation will fly for them:

• if It looks like it's making sense to their frames of reference
• it speaks their language, lingo and buzzwords
• if It appears it can apply to their situation, troubled context or crisis
• if it offers pragmatic solutions to the problems they're facing

When we succeed at starting where they are at, where we're coming from becomes their destination. We offer a travel package that expedites their journey from their understanding to our own. We show them the way to get out of their state of mind into another state. We offer a path from their being part of a problem to becoming part of the solution. We guide their transition from a stuck place to a place of being effective, successful and respectable.

When we start where they're at, we're practicing empathy. We're speaking their minds, walking in their moccasins and seeing situations through their eyes. We've got their backs and stand behind what they're trying to accomplish. We coming from the place they're coming from to get started on a shared journey.

If we're successful at getting others on board, they will say they felt moved by the presentation. They will frame their experience as getting transported or taken to a better place. They will look back on where they started from with a new perspective. The propaganda will have been transformed into travel itineraries.