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Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of IHeart Radio.

Good morning. This is Laura.

Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

Today's tip is to make friends for your ideas.

Most of the time, we are better off testing how other people connect to our ideas before we share them broadly.

It's usually not the best approach to develop an idea completely on our own and then make a grand reveal.

So people sometimes talk about socializing ideas, that is, informally talking with people

about an idea before presenting it formally. Socializing an idea lets you gauge people's response to it, so you can make

an informed decision about whether or not to pursue it. If nobody seems to connect with an idea,

you could, perhaps, drop it. But if an idea is well received, you can refine it based on feedback

you get when you tell people about it.

Socializing an idea may also help you garner support for an idea.

People are sometimes more likely to support an idea that feels familiar.

You could see how this could play out.

Maybe you are leading the committee that is scheduling the conference for your

professional association. You could socialize your idea for the conference theme. Do other people

understand what you mean by that catchy phrase you were thinking of using? Do other people connect with

the topic? If you ask around and people seem to get

the theme, you're more likely to build support for it, even before you propose it to the larger group.

If you are a non-profit leader, you could socialize the idea of a particular person becoming

chair of the board. When you chat with key leaders about the possibility,

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