What's the difference between a big idea and a small idea? None! Only the implications of ideas are either big or small. Therefore ideas have to be acted upon.
And if you don't act on your idea someone else might! But if you have a great idea, why let someone else take the credit! So you have to act convincing others that your idea is worthwhile, and has big implications.
But what makes your idea gain approval or acceptance?
A strong argument! Yes, ideas have to be argued. But ideas expressed verbally are emotionally charged, particularly when they have big implications challenging conventional wisdom or traditional ways of doing things.
Getting the emotional balance right when 'selling' the idea, then, suggests the idea should be expressed in a multitude of ways.
That is, by using verbal, gestural and visual language, from metaphor and story boards to sound and physical modelling, chances improve for getting the idea accross to others.
Indeed, ideas need to be argued with the help of the fullest possible range of conceptual tools (VISTA: Video, Image, Sound, Text, Animation).
Successful ideation, then, suggests not only ingenuity and persuasiveness but also ideation skills.
