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You’ve probably felt the blissful feeling of coming up with a good idea and presenting it to the world. Your good idea may have resulted in a physical change in the world around you, or in the betterment of the relationships you find yourself in. Your good idea may have improved you as an individual and increased others’ respect for your thoughts. Good ideas are addictive. The people we find ourselves surrounded by want to be credited with good ideas. They will speak up and express their thoughts on the various aspects of life. Their good ideas will be adopted and listened to. Some good ideas will be mistakenly ignored, while some bad ideas will inexcusably be attended to.
What makes an idea spread? Does your presentation of it matter? You’ll come across people who are over enthusiastic about ideas of theirs which are rather mediocre, and others who will show a lack of enthusiasm while presenting their well thought out, valuable thoughts. This article serves to caution you against becoming too enthusiastic about the ideas you present into the world. The overall goal to be kept in mind, is the spreading rate of a good idea. In order to propel your idea into the minds of others in an efficient way, showing exuberant enthusiasm may hurt your cause more than help it.
Enthusiasm Exhibits Bias
Presenting your own good ideas with self-impressed enthusiasm will encourage others to label those ideas as biased. Self-serving bias is difficult to escape, but you should try to keep it under wraps as best you can. Enthusiasm surrounding your own ideas doesn’t communicate the notion that you’ve thoroughly tested its every nook and cranny. It doesn’t communicate the fact that people are often wrong, and their ideas should be handled with care rather than blatant over-confidence.
Your enthusiasm about your own good ideas may be interpreted as an attempt to oversell them. The closer an idea comes to an understood definition of truth, the better it will sell itself. Good ideas do not need salesmen. The perception of you trying to sell your, perhaps good, idea as an excellent one will turn people off. It will make them think twice about why you’re so enthusiastic surrounding your own contribution, and they’ll be motivated to find holes in your ideas in order to curb that enthusiasm.
An Inexperienced Thinker and Enthusiasm
Picture a wise old man; a man who has followed truth into the depths of the cognitive realm. He’s been there and done that when it comes to thinking about complicated concepts. He has listened to many people present their good ideas. Imagine him advising you on a problem you have in life. Do you picture him bouncing up and down with the notion of how great his own ideas are? More likely, he’d present his ideas carefully, picking every next word with caution. A wise old man has been tested, and has tested himself many times. He understands just how wrong he could be. Reality is a complicated domain. Reality is easy to misinterpret. The wisest of men are the most careful with what they label as truth. This wise old man would likely preface his opinions as just that, and his advice as merely his own personal thoughts rather than absolute truth.
Enthusiasm therefore, is an inexperienced thinker’s habit. As enthusiasm meets experience, it evolves into cautious confidence, and then into silent attentiveness. Present your good ideas in a clear and concise manner, then be silently attentive. Witness how others react to your ideas, and how you can improve your delivery without seeming too confident in what you preach. Perhaps your good idea was not received well because you used language which is too complex. Perhaps you should have led with an example, prior to expressing your theory. There are many aspects to the spreading of a good idea, most of which depend on you being alert and able to read your audience correctly. Do not allow enthusiasm to blind you to their cues, and blind them to your good ideas at the same time.
Next in line:
How to Provide Input When Many Good Opinions Are Being Shared