Improve Your Performance by 10x When You're AIMED

Have you ever wondered why some plans, presentations, or marketing narratives compel people to act while others fall flat? A simple acronym—A-I-M-E-D—sums up the answer: people respond best to messaging that appeals to their feelings and their intellect.

A-I-M-E-D stands for Aspirational, Inspirational, Motivational, Educational, and Directional.

Incorporating each of these elements into your messages will help you engage others more easily at work, within social groups, and throughout life. Just make sure that know your “audience” at the start to make sure that you strike the right chord with people and groups.

How can A-I-M-E-D improve your communications, and therefore, your connections and outcomes with others? Read on.

A -Aspirational

Everyone has or has had aspirations, desires to be and/or do something meaningful and important by their own standards. When we aspire, we feel an internal urge that is the starting point for compelling us to action. When we communicate with others, there are at least two sides involved: the messenger and the receiver. Advertisers and marketers have long understood that in order to get your messaging accepted, you have to focus on the receiver’s aspirations and desires. Think back on past messaging that you attempted to convey to others? Did you speak, write, or otherwise communicate in a way that appealed to the aspirations of others, or was your narrative more focused on yourself, your initiatives, your products, etc.?

I-Inspirational

Once you’ve gotten your audience’s attention by appealing to what is important to them, how do you earn their buy in? That’s right, you must inspire them. Inspiration ignites at the intersection of their excitement (from their own aspirations) and the promises of your messaging. The latter means that (1) you have to earn and engage their trust in you and/or your offerings, and (2) show how you as a leader can lead others to where they want to go.

M-Motivational

Motivation is the third ingredient to moving others to action. Great plans, campaigns, and presentations contain components that motivate people to get up and do, finish, act, react, and pro-act. Do you know what motivates your target demographic? I’ve gone to presentations where the speaker was dry yet the content amazing. I could not wait to get to work. I recently worked with a woman who thought that firing people earned respect which in turn motivated staff to produce more, but in reality, her behavior demotivated her team and actually terrified some into states of paralysis. and yet she didn’t understand that a huge sign of troubles in an organization is when the highly motivated people are demotivated by leadership.

E-Educational

People are excited and more likely to act when they have the tools, skills, and knowledge—in one word, the “education”—to successfully achieve. Sometimes the educational aspect of messaging is a concept that elicits comments such as “I wish I‘d thought of that,” or “Wow, never thought of it that way.” Maybe you’ve taught a procedure or provided an insight that garners a reply of, “I’ve learned something that makes a lot of sense.” In the end, you should make people say, “I get it.,” like when prospective start-up investors learn what you’re about from the right amount of details in an excellent pitch deck.

D- Directional

Show people where to go and how to get there. No mysteries here, please! In the case of plans, when appropriate, do your plans give each individual involved the direction that informs them of their next moves? Do your directives strike the right balance between structure and flexibility, account for experience and knowledge gaps, or provide just the right amount of details to avoid constricting or confusing people? People appreciate direction when it is properly matched to their abilities and circumstances.

I’ve always said that if you want to see the real ability of a leader shine through, see how well they get things done through others when those “others” are not employees being held captive with a paycheck, like the way that volunteers in non-profits are often motivated. Typically, the leader is appealing to aspirations, is inspiring, motivates others, educates just enough, and provides the direction others need to produce results.

The next time you communicate your messaging to others, make sure it contains all elements of A-I-M-E-D so that it’s more likely to be accepted, acted upon, and carried out to your desired outcomes.

David Goldsmith is the award-winning author of the bestselling book, Paid to THINK: A Leader’s Toolkit for Redefining Your Future and the Co-founder of the Goldsmith Organization, a world leading provider of coaching and strategic advising, serving executive-level decision makers including many from Fortune 500 companies. He is the founder of the Project Moon Hut Foundation, a five-year effort with NASA to improve life on Earth through the accelerated development of an Earth-and-space based ecosystem. David is also Co-founder of Buzd, LLC, advisor to Moby, Inc. who's platform sends any size BIG files with the click of a button, JF Tobias Limited who's redefining the wine industry, and an adviser and stakeholder in several other cutting-edge startups from around the world.

David is the recipient of the Hollywood Producers’ first ever Global Visionary Disruptor Award for his work with the Project Moon Hut Foundation. During his twelve years of professoriate at New York University, he received the university’s Excellence in Teaching Award. He was also named by Meetings Magazine as one of its 26 Hottest Speakers. 

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