How to Inspire People to Give You a YES: The WWHA Framework

Have you ever struggled to explain a concept to somebody? It could be an idea, a problem, a solution, or anything that you want to action. Whether it’s a trip you want to take, something you want to implement at work, or a new career path you’re considering, conveying an idea effectively can be tricky.

Chances are you do what I tend to do. Jump straight into ‘what’ you want and ‘how’ you want it done before covering the ‘why’. This is where you can run into trouble.

So often we assume that people understand why we want something without first explaining it to take action. We so clearly understand for ourselves why we want it, so it seems obvious and unnecessary to explain. The problem is that people can’t read minds.

They can’t see the thought processes that have led us to this idea. They may not even care about solving the problem we’re trying to address! This is why it’s so important to pitch your ideas and plans in an effective way.?

You need to give everyone involved the chance to fully understand your thought process and become as passionate about the subject as you are before you ask them to devote their time and energy to it.

This is where the WWHA Framework comes in handy.

WWHA: Why. What. How. Action

I swear by the WWHA framework. It has helped me time and time again to stay on track and make sure that I start with the ‘why’ of any project.

Why

Other people aren’t in our heads. They don’t know why we care about something, why the problems we see are even problems, why we want a solution, or why they should care. We need to give them those reasons.?

‘Why’ should always be your first step when communicating with another person. Take people on the journey of why they should care. That’s the key to getting people on board; give them a ‘why’ they can truly care about.?

Once you enable the other person to see what you see, the next steps become much easier to implement.

What

Once you have given people a ‘why’, a reason to care about your project, that’s when you can share the ‘what’. Go into depth about your vision. Clearly define the feature you want to implement, problem to solve or solution to action.

How

From there, we can move on to ‘how’. Now that the other person is keen to solve the problem and knows exactly what the mission is, we can give them the steps to make it happen. Share your strategy, but make sure you allow room for their input.?

When it comes to the ‘how’, it can be tempting to rattle off an exact plan with no room for flexibility. After all, you came up with the idea and likely have a plan to pull it off. This can be a mistake. It takes all opportunity for collaboration out of the project, turning it into nothing more than a chore for the other person.

Go easy on the ‘how’. Invite the other person to share their opinions and ideas. Unless they ask you for exact steps, give others the chance to co-create the process with you. This approach is much more likely to make them feel involved and develop their own passion for the project.

Action

The final step: Action. Align with your people on the next steps. At this point, they’re excited about the project and ready to go. They care about the ‘why’, know the ‘what’ and have co-created the ‘how’. It’s now up to you to harness that momentum and keep it moving forward.

This step is where so many plans fall apart. People can have amazing ideas with powerful motivations and detailed plans of execution, all for the project to fall flat, leaving everybody involved to wonder why. The reason is that the plan wasn’t actioned or sustained.?

How to avoid this? Don’t leave your people hanging! For your sanity and the sanity of your people, transform your ‘how’ into an actionable path forward. Set deadlines, assign tasks, build a team, come up with a timeline, and select easy to use tools and processes.?

Don’t just leave it up in the air. Even if you aren’t leading the project yourself, ensure that the leader has put actionable steps in place that don’t leave any room for confusion or blockages.?

The next time you have a big idea, don’t jump in at the ‘what’ or ‘how’ stage. Start with the why and make sure you follow each step so that your team are all on the same page and fired up about your vision.

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And if you or your teams need a bit of help implementing the WWHA Framework, why not reach out and see how we can support you to get more YES's!