The Ultimate Way to Test ANY Idea

Your team is in the middle of a crucial presentation to senior management. Goal: You must leave with their sign-off on your project.

Then it’s that teammate’s turn to present. You know the type. Every team has at least one member like him. The one who can’t stop himself from geeking out and getting all caught up in the project’s in-the-weeds details.

Very quickly, an impatient senior exec interrupts: “Tell it to me like I’m a sixth grader.”

That does NOT mean “Dumb it down.” Tell it to me like I’m a sixth grader means:

• Keep it super brief. (Species Seniorius Executivus has a notoriously short — SQUIRREL! — attention span.)
• Make it easy for them to relate to the problem/solution, not just an intellectual understanding
• And make sure “Why should I care?” is answered within three minutes: the benefit or value to your audience must be immediately clear.

The ultimate way to test any idea goes one step further than just telling it to me like I’m a sixth grader. The ultimate approach... 

Actually test your idea with ten to fourteen year-olds.

Yes, complex business strategies. Yes, radically new ideas that no one’s ever heard of before. Yes, disruptive new technologies like advanced analytics and aritificial intelligence. Yes, extremely detailed task- or job-specific ideas. Yes, your pitch to angel investors.

By the three-minute mark, the kids get to interrupt you with their reactions and questions.

And you don’t get to push-back or re-explain. This test is Pass/Fail. Either you nailed it wonderfully, and the kids are excitingly responding to your idea, or you need to rethink how you explain it.

Also, ideally: The only way you get to use an explanation aid is if the idea you’re pitching is a pure-play tech-driven solution, totally dependent on user interactions. Otherwise, almost none or no explanation aids. Just you, talking. 

For major projects, I've practiced this approach for decades. First with my son’s friends, then neighborhood friends’ kids, then with friends of friends’ kids. It really works. Why? Because this age-range kids are the best unfiltered focus group you’ll ever find for testing any idea. Super sharp. Quick-witted. They let all tired and clichéd jargon sail right past them. And will not refrain from brutally honest feedback and questions.

This approach works because it's inspired by Einstein's elegant and simple stress-test for any idea. Adapting Herr Professor’s advice: If you can’t easily explain your idea to a ten to fourteen year-old, you still don’t understand it yourself. 

Pre-Work for this approach: Run your script or notes through the Flesch-Kincaid grade level tester. Your presentation text should score somewhere between 6th to 8th grade reading level. (Through the link above you can also try a half-dozen other comprehension testers.)

An Actual Fifth Grade Example 

I’m super excited about my next book, The Day Tomorrow Said No. It’s a leadership book and illustrated fable about the future of work, and our place in that future. (Go here for a free download of the mocked-up book.)

I’ve already tested it with 8th graders, and they loved it! (See video of their reactions here.) Then a friend and fellow leadership consultant, Rebecca Braitling, said she thought her son’s 5th grade class would get a lot from it, and wanted to send it to their teacher, Mrs. Scholz.

I was dubious. This book scores at an 8th to 9th grade reading level — (most best-selling business books score between 9th to 10th grade levels) — and it was written for business audiences. No way these 5th graders would get it! I thought that Mrs. Scholz would politely refuse our offer and that would be that.

But she made this leadership book, designed for people already in the workforce, a classroom assignment! And they, too, loved it! They were able to easily explain how they will play one of the three roles in the future of work: Believer, Breaker, and Builder. I was amazed! Fifth graders were excitedly debating ideas written at a ninth grade level, for business execs!

Rebecca and I recently visited Mrs. Scholz’s class to discuss the book and how they approached solving difficult problems. The video of our discussion will soon be a teaching aid for future grade school and middle school teachers. Woohoo!

If You CAN Explain It Simply, Others Will Get Engaged and Start Working Your Idea, Immediately!

That’s the point. There’s no shortage of ideas out there. The ideas that count are those that excite others, get them engaged, get them active in your cause, get people working on your idea. 

That’s why testing ALL your major ideas with ten to fourteen year-olds is a great idea. If they get it, your actual audience will too.

Jensen Site, Twitter, FB. Bill’s upcoming book, The Day Tomorrow Said No, is a powerful fable about the future of work. A fable specifically designed to revolutionize conversations about the future between leaders, the workforce, educators, and students. Go here to download a FREE copy of the final pre-press draft of the book.