Credibility makes people believe in your ideas. When trying to establish credibility for your idea, we often rely on recognized authorities who have shared similar views. If the surgeon general endorses a plant-based diet, then who is to argue the point?
Other times, we try to establish credibility by making use of statistics. When you must use statistics, you should try to use the “human-scale principle” to make your data more easily understood by the layperson. For example, as I write this blog, the national debt is approaching 19 trillion dollars. That number is just too hard for many to comprehend until you say that this amounts to over $160,000 per taxpayer.
However, there are lots of other ways to make your ideas credible such as outsourcing your idea’s credibility to the audience using a “testable credential.” Take, for instance, Ronald Reagan’s famous question from the 1980 presidential debates. Instead of using statistics, Ronald Reagan asked, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”
How can you make your idea sticky by making it more credible?
