3 ways to get participation, EVERY TIME

Do you ever struggle with getting people to participate?

Maybe you ask for too much, and they can’t do it? Or maybe you don’t ask for enough, and they get bored?

Here are three ways to get participation that should be just right:

1. Easy: Buttons

A button is when you make a request and someone can either do it or not. Just like a button: you push it, or you don’t.

When someone on stage says “raise your hands if…”, that’s a button. So is a call to action saying “click here.”

Buttons are good for getting the first bit of action. The rule: make them very clear, so there’s no need to ask for clarity. I try to make every communication have a button at the end.

2. Medium: Dots

Dots are a series of buttons joined together — generally between 3 and 7 steps. Like signing up for a class online, or following a recipe. There needs to be a clear outcome that the dots lead to.

3. Advanced: Containers

Containers are to be filled. When you want someone to pour their creativity into something, provide the container — the boundaries — that give shape to their work.

Any creative knows that boundaries are liberation. They give you focus. Make the boundaries strict, but everything else fluid.

Containers are for when the outcome is NOT prescribed.

The issue I observe is that people often give containers when they should give buttons. They go too generic, too wide, before they’ve built a participatory relationship.

Most people like the comfort of at least dots, because they give certainty and direction.