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Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA's Recent LinkedIn Posts
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
@tamsenwebster
Reasoning researcher, English-to-English translator, starry-eyed realist. Hyperfocused on accelerating the understanding and adoption of new ideas.
Posts
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Most ideas don’t fail because they’re wrong.
They fail because they never really land.
I wrote Say What They Can’t Unhear for anyone who’s watched a message make sense in the moment—and then disappear without changing anything.
If that frustration sounds familiar, this book might help you see why it happens.
https://zurl.co/UQqmO
#saywhattheycantunhear #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
23
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
A single word is easy to remember.
That’s the problem.
When things get stressful, your brain looks for justification—not transformation.
If a theme is broad enough to make almost anything fit,
you don’t have to change to stay “on theme.”
As Denise Hamilton put it:
“If you want to be a new person, you better have a plan to defend against the old one.”
Watch this if your resolution already feels negotiable.
#saywhattheycantunhear #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
20
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Join Tamsen for her monthly virtual "office hours" where you can bring your most pressing message design questions and challenges. Whether you're struggling with a specific piece of your Compact Case, need guidance on communicating a difficult change, or want advice on crafting a compelling core case—bring your questions and get personalized insights.
No preparation required (though having your Compact Case handy might help). Just come ready to ask, learn, and leave with actionable answers to move your message forward. Every question helps everyone learn, so even if you're just there to listen, you'll walk away with valuable insights you can apply immediately.
This collaborative learning environment mirrors Tamsen's conversational yet authoritative approach, ensuring you get the strategic simplicity and practical guidance you need to say what your audience can't unhear.
If you'd like to join us live on camera to have your message design question answered, email jenn@tamsenwebster.com.
9
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
One of the fastest ways to kill a good idea is to attach it to an outcome that doesn’t matter to the audience you want acting on it.
When that happens, the brain doesn’t debate your idea—it dismisses the idea as *irrelevant.*
So often we think the problem is with our persuasion, when it’s really about the perceived viability of our ideas.
When an idea for action makes more sense to someone than whatever they’re doing now, you don’t need to persuade other people at all—they’ll persuade themselves.
But that only happens if you (a) know what kind of idea you’re offering and (b) what standards of success it needs to meet to succeed.
#MessageDesign #DecisionMaking #BigIdeas
19
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Does anyone else have a folder in their photos for screenshots of Wordle solutions so that you’ve got a stock pile of second words to choose from? Just me? Okay. I’ll go back to my cave now.
15
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Good strategy isn’t about confidence.
It’s about coherence.
When someone proposes action, ask:
Why would that work?
That question forces the logic into the open —where ideas either strengthen
or collapse.
20
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
I used to think people were “𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚.”
For years, I believed the problem with my ideas was that people just didn’t see how important they were.
It wasn’t until I started studying belief-based persuasive communication that I realized the issue wasn’t importance. It was viability.
When you attach your idea to an outcome—“If we do this, we’ll get that”—you’ve made a hypothesis.
And no one will act on a hypothesis unless they can justify it to themselves.
Not because you convinced them.
Not because you flooded them with data.
But 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎, 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎．
That shift changed everything about how I approach change communication and buy-in.
If you’ve ever labeled your audience as “𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩,” consider this: What belief might they still need to see validated?
19
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
If your ideas are solid
but your messages don’t travel, stick, or convert—
That’s not a visibility problem.
It’s a message design problem.
At Social Media Marketing World 2026, I’ll be teaching how to design messages that increase the chances people understand, agree, and act—without manipulation or pressure.
Join me in Anaheim on April 28: https://lnkd.in/ezGzQkyM
#smmw26 #sme
55
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
A theme should constrain your choices—not decorate them.
If your “word of the year” can stretch to fit any behavior,
it won’t survive pressure.
A Prime Strategy does something different:
it creates guardrails your brain can actually use mid-decision.
Tag someone whose resolution is already being renegotiated by reality.
#saywhattheycantunhear #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
6 pages
18
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
2mo
Join Tamsen for her monthly virtual "office hours" where you can bring your most pressing message design questions and challenges. Whether you're struggling with a specific piece of your Compact Case, need guidance on communicating a difficult change, or want advice on crafting a compelling core case—bring your questions and get personalized insights.
No preparation required (though having your Compact Case handy might help). Just come ready to ask, learn, and leave with actionable answers to move your message forward. Every question helps everyone learn, so even if you're just there to listen, you'll walk away with valuable insights you can apply immediately.
This collaborative learning environment mirrors Tamsen's conversational yet authoritative approach, ensuring you get the strategic simplicity and practical guidance you need to say what your audience can't unhear.
If you'd like to join us live on camera to have your message design question answered, email jenn@tamsenwebster.com.
11
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Kurt Lewin famously said that behavior is a function of the person and their environment.
Storytelling is excellent at showing us the outside of that equation—what happened, who did what, how events unfolded.
What it often leaves implicit is the internal story: the interpretation, the meaning, the logic that explains why those actions made sense.
And in a world this complex, inference isn’t something we can afford to leave unchecked.
This is where message design starts to matter.
What internal “why” do you see getting lost most often?
#messagedesign #changemanagement #beliefbasedmessaging
16
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
6mo
Join Tamsen for her monthly virtual "office hours" where you can bring your most pressing message design questions and challenges. Whether you're struggling with a specific piece of your Compact Case, need guidance on communicating a difficult change, or want advice on crafting a compelling core case—bring your questions and get personalized insights.
No preparation required (though having your Compact Case handy might help). Just come ready to ask, learn, and leave with actionable answers to move your message forward. Every question helps everyone learn, so even if you're just there to listen, you'll walk away with valuable insights you can apply immediately.
This collaborative learning environment mirrors Tamsen's conversational yet authoritative approach, ensuring you get the strategic simplicity and practical guidance you need to say what your audience can't unhear.
7
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
One of the hardest parts of sharing an idea isn’t explaining it.
It’s knowing what the idea actually is.
I wrote Find Your Red Thread to help people identify the single throughline that connects what they do, why it matters, and how to explain it clearly—without oversimplifying.
If you’ve ever struggled to keep your message focused as it moves across decks, talks, pages, or conversations, this book was written for you.
https://zurl.co/suAQl
#redthread #messagedesign #leadershipcommunication
36
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
2mo
Here's something that humbled me a little when I first understood it: When someone hears your idea for the first time, you don't get the luxury of building your case. Their brain has already started evaluating — before you've finished talking.
The evaluation isn't "is this true?" It's "how likely is this?"
And people are NOT running a careful analysis. They're going off everything they already know and believe. Pattern recognition, past experience, gut feeling — all of it firing at once.
So if you're promising an outcome that requires six things to go right before it pays off, they're not going to wait for your evidence slide. They've already felt the gap.
This is why you can have all the data in the world and still lose someone in the first minute.
It's not that they don't believe you. It's that the connection between what you're offering and what you're promising didn't feel tight enough — immediately.
The question isn't "can I eventually prove this?" It's "does this feel likely right now, to someone hearing it cold?"
#MessageDesign #LeadershipCommunications #PersuasiveMessaging
17
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Every January, I watch smart, capable people decide they’ll be “different” this year—
and then quietly watch old habits sneak back in.
Here’s what I’ve learned (often the hard way):
Change doesn’t fail because motivation fades.
It fails because the strategy doesn’t defend against the old version of us.
That’s why I don’t use a “word of the year.”
I use a Prime Strategy—a modified noun that forces my decisions to pass two tests, not one.
If your resolution is already wobbling, that’s not a character flaw.
It’s a design problem.
10
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
I used to think persuasion meant convincing people. I was wrong.
For years, I assumed the only way to “sell” an idea was to push harder—to out-argue, to explain better, to overwhelm resistance with logic.
But the harder I pushed, the more resistance I got.
And what I eventually realized is this: people don’t change because you’ve convinced them. They change when they convince themselves.
Change happens when an idea feels more aligned with who someone already is than whatever they’re doing now. When it fits into a story they can tell themselves without friction.
When I started designing messages from that place—starting with why I believed in the change at all—buy-in stopped being a battle. Convincing gave way to conviction.
Where have you noticed the difference between “convincing” and genuine buy-in in your own work?
25
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
5mo
One of the things I listen for most carefully is whether the words sound like they’re actually being formed in the moment.
People are remarkably good at detecting when language is borrowed, over-polished, or pre-packaged—and it quietly erodes belief.
In this Office Hours moment with Jeanette Bronee, we talk about how real buy-in often comes from using words people recognize, just arranged in ways they haven’t heard before.
📅 Join the next Office Hours: https://zurl.co/qNP8N
📩 If you want to join me live, email info@tamsenwebster.com
#messagedesign #saywhattheycantunhear #beliefbasedmessaging
7
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
2mo
Most people try to improve their messaging by rewriting it.
That’s rarely the issue.
The real leverage point is this:
What is the internal argument that made this idea make sense to you in the first place?
Not the features.
Not the benefits.
Not the pitch.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜.
The sequence of beliefs that led you to say, “Yes. THIS.”
When you can see that clearly, two things happen:
① You stop over-explaining.
② It becomes much easier to help someone else follow the same path.
That’s a core focus of the free 𝙁𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙥 — uncovering the internal logic behind your idea so you can express it externally.
If that would be useful, you can join here: https://zurl.co/pydLr
#MessageDesign #BuildBuyIn
15
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
𝙰 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚐𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖．
The plan was solid. The research was strong. The logic was airtight.
But it never left the whiteboard.
Why? Because it was presented as a 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩-𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖—what it was, how it worked, why it was innovative.
What no one made clear was ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʟᴀɪᴍ:
🅸🅵 we do this, 🆃🅷🅴🅽 we’ll get that outcome.
And more importantly, why that cause-and-effect relationship made sense based on what everyone in the room already believed to be true.
Understanding is not the same as internal justification.
And without that justification, there is no action.
Next time an idea stalls, don’t ask, “Why don’t they get it?”
Ask, “Did we prove it could work?”
14
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Two words can beat the old you.
But only if they act as one.
Most people already picked two words.
They just connected them with “and.”
A Prime Strategy is a modified noun:
👉 one word sets direction,
👉 the other sets the standard.
Together, they create a single filter you can actually use.
Watch this before you add another word to your list.
#saywhattheycantunhear #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
14
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
When someone declares:
“This is just how things are.”
Ask:
What would make that true?
That question pushes past opinion and isolated data points.
It asks:
What principle do we share that would justify that claim?
If there isn’t one,
it’s not a truth.
It’s an opinion.
16
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Not everything should qualify as “integrity.”
or “focus.”
or “growth.”
That’s what guardrails are for.
A Prime Strategy combines two ideas into one—
keeping it cognitively easy and behaviorally strict.
If it doesn’t pass both words, it’s not the choice.
That’s how intentions turn into action.
💬 Comment if this reframed how you think about resolutions.
#saywhattheycantunhear #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
14
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Join Tamsen for her monthly virtual "office hours" where you can bring your most pressing message design questions and challenges. Whether you're struggling with a specific piece of your Compact Case, need guidance on communicating a difficult change, or want advice on crafting a compelling core case—bring your questions and get personalized insights.
No preparation required (though having your Compact Case handy might help). Just come ready to ask, learn, and leave with actionable answers to move your message forward. Every question helps everyone learn, so even if you're just there to listen, you'll walk away with valuable insights you can apply immediately.
This collaborative learning environment mirrors Tamsen's conversational yet authoritative approach, ensuring you get the strategic simplicity and practical guidance you need to say what your audience can't unhear.
If you'd like to join us live on camera to have your message design question answered, email jenn@tamsenwebster.com.
6
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Your message needs visible logic. The Red Thread Sprint can help. 🧶
If your message feels clear in your head but becomes unclear mid-explanation, your reasoning isn't visible yet—to you or to your audience.
Most experts try to fix unstable messaging with better slides, tighter copy, or stronger hooks. But those are expression tools. They can't stabilize an idea that hasn't been structurally clarified.
Before a message persuades, it has to make sense. And "making sense" requires building a belief-based argument that aligns with what your audience already knows to be true.
Defensible logic is what allows storytelling to work.
I'm running a 5-week Red Thread Sprint starting March 16 to help you build exactly that: visible, defensible logic that makes your idea stable. It's a small cohort, high-touch format with real deliverables you'll use immediately.
Details and registration here: https://zurl.co/Xmtag
12
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Most weak ideas survive because no one requires a clear articulation of cause and effect.
Weak ideas fail when questions expose gaps in logic or inconsistencies in meaning.
Two simple questions surface that logic immediately.
Ask those questions.
Not aggressively.
Not skeptically.
But curiously. (After all, personal judgment can be wrong, too.)
Use these questions in meetings.
Use these questions in strategy sessions.
Use these questions to examine personal assumptions.
If an idea cannot survive those questions, the idea is not structurally sound.
#MessageDesign #CriticalThinking #PersuasiveMessaging
13
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
A lot of people worry that if their idea isn’t completely new, it won’t matter.
What I’ve seen is the opposite.
Discovering that others have explored a similar question usually means you now have something solid to build on—and a much better chance of making your message land with clarity and credibility.
That came up in a really thoughtful Office Hours conversation with Kate Donovan, especially around how we talk about burnout without oversimplifying or assigning blame.
Office Hours are streamed live, free, and open to anyone.
📅 Join the next one: https://zurl.co/ZfOKz
📩 If you’d like to join me live to discuss your message, email info@tamsenwebster.com
#messagedesign #saywhattheycantunhear #leadershipcommunication
13
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
If I were just starting out as a new Thinking Leader, these are the 3 things I would make sure I was doing every week to create messages that 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣:
1️⃣ 𝙻𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚢 𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎’𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚊𝚐𝚎．Talk *is* data: The words people use reveal the questions they're already asking and the beliefs they already hold.
2️⃣ 𝙳𝚒𝚐 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍．Once you start looking, you’ll likely see that we humans agree on more beliefs than we don’t.
3️⃣ 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚊．The more you know, the more connections you can make. The more widely you read, the more unexpected and uncommon those connections.
These fundamentals have helped my clients transform lukewarm responses into enthusiastic buy-in across industries, from healthcare to tech to finance.
If you need more support crafting messages that stick, join us in the next free Fundamentals of Message Design Workshop: https://zurl.co/4oiVJ
14
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Take these two ideas:
(1) “Psychological safety is a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.” (Edmonson, 1999)
(2) “Teams need psychological safety to make better decisions.”
These two ideas sound similar, but they’re really quite different. Do you see it? The first one explains, the second makes a causal claim—this needs that.
The problem? We use the same word—”idea”—to describe them both.
If you want to be a leader of thinking, that’s a problem, because people’s brains don’t think about those two different kinds of ideas the same way.
This clip shows where that line gets crossed, and why so many ideas get stuck there.
#MessageDesign #DecisionMaking #BigIdeas
7
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
In Say What They Can’t Unhear, I explain how people decide whether to believe an idea.
The Compact Case shows you how to apply that thinking to your own case for change.
A Compact Case isn’t a pitch.
It’s a belief-based argument that answers one essential question: “Why does this make sense to me?”
When you can clearly articulate because X and Y, therefore Z, resistance drops — not because you pushed harder, but because the logic finally landed.
Download The Compact Case and start building buy-in before you ask for action: https://zurl.co/fYcrD
11
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
One of the most reliable rules I’ve seen in my work:
If your message contradicts someone’s experience,
their experience wins. Every time.
That doesn’t mean change is impossible.
It means your message has to start from what already feels true.
The Compact Case is designed to help you do exactly that — before you ever get to storytelling or campaigns.
👉 Download it here: https://zurl.co/1bZvz
#messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging #Persuasion
17
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
2mo
We talk a lot about ideas needing to "make sense." But there are actually two tests packed into that phrase, and most people only think about one of them.
The first is rational: Does the logic hold? Can I see a cause and an effect?
The second is intuitive: does it feel like it could work? Based on everything I already know, does this connection seem reasonable?
You need both. If something is logically sound but feels off, people may comply in the short term but they won't commit. And if it feels right but can't be justified rationally? Same thing.
This is why so many technically good (or great!) ideas still don't get traction. The logic is there, but the gut isn't buying it.
When you're presenting something new — a strategy, a product, a change — make sure you're not just checking the rational box. Ask: would someone hearing this for the first time feel like it could actually work?
#MessageDesign #PersuasiveMessaging #ChangeCommunication
15
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
If you can’t clearly articulate:
If we want ___
Then we need ___
Because ___ and ___
…your audience will default to their current logic.
The Compact Case™ worksheet is a simple framework to test whether your strategy actually makes sense — before you try to sell it, pitch it, or roll it out.
It forces you to clarify:
• The real outcome
• The singular strategy
• The two inarguable principles that support it
If you want a structured way to pressure-test your reasoning, you can download it here: https://zurl.co/vol7y
#MessageDesign #BuildBuyIn
10
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
A strong message isn’t just something you can explain.
It’s something other people can explain to themselves.
The Red Thread Course is about building the core story people carry with them about your Core Case and Claim—so your idea stays intact as it travels.
If you’ve done the work to clarify what you believe, this course helps you shape how people understand and remember it.
👉 Learn more / purchase here: https://zurl.co/2eXdn
#redthread #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
11
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Why "because" matters more than proof.
Proof creates buy-in when the reasoning behind it is already in place. And most experts skip the reasoning.
When you present an idea, you usually move from claim to evidence. But evidence only works if someone already believes the principle that makes your claim make sense.
"Because" forces you to articulate that principle—the belief-based logic that makes your evidence feel relevant instead of intrusive. But with visible reasoning, proof feels inevitable.
Building that "because" is exactly what we do in the Red Thread Sprint. Starting March 16, you'll construct the defensible rationale that makes your idea hold under pressure.
I ran this for the first time in January, and one participant called it "a phenomenally powerful way to uplevel your positioning." The peer learning format was both efficient and effective.
Full details here: https://zurl.co/rPSlL
13
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
When a message isn’t working, most people assume they need better words.
More often, what’s missing is a clear explanation for why this change makes sense at all.
That’s why I created the Compact Case — a simple worksheet that helps you articulate:
what outcome someone wants
what change you’re proposing
and the beliefs that make that change reasonable
If you’re stuck on a message right now, this is where I’d begin.
👉 Download the Compact Case:
https://zurl.co/y2fvY
#messagedesign #saywhattheycantunhear #beliefbasedmessaging
Message Design Institute (@messagedesigninstitute) | Stan
10
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
I'm opening the Red Thread Sprint for a second time—a 5-week intensive starting March 16 for speakers, consultants, and thought leaders preparing for high-stakes moments. The focus is pressure-testing reasoning.
This is for experts who already have strong ideas and want those ideas to hold under pressure.
You'll build a stable Core Claim (If–Then), a defensible rationale (Because–And), and one applied deliverable grounded in real logic.
It's more lab than lecture—a small cohort working through five focused weeks of message design that produces real positioning shifts. The January cohort said the peer learning format was "efficient (of time and cost) and hugely effective."
Given my doctoral studies, I'm not sure when I'll run this again. If you're preparing for a major keynote, launch, or repositioning moment, here's what we'll cover: https://zurl.co/3r5Fh
16
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Ever pitched an idea you KNEW was good — and watched someone's eyes glaze over in the first ten seconds?
It probably wasn't your delivery. It was the distance between what you promised and what they could immediately believe.
Here's what I mean: when someone hears a new idea, their brain doesn't wait for you to finish making your case. It runs an instant calculation. It asks, "How likely is it that THIS thing will actually lead to THAT outcome?"
Not "is it possible?" — that's a low (if necessary) bar. But "is it LIKELY?"
And if there are too many other things that would have to go exactly right for your promise to land? The answer their brain gives them is, ”Probably not”...and that’s before you've even said another word.
The good news: it's fixable. And you don't need more evidence to fix it. You need a tighter connection between what you do and the outcome you're promising.
14
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
When your message needs buy-in—from customers, teams, or decision-makers—clarity isn’t optional.
A Message Foundation Session is a full-day, 1:1, in-person session designed to identify and strengthen the foundation of your message.
Over one day, we'll work together to craft a Message Foundation Deck that clearly defines:
💡 Your Core Claim — what you’re really saying, in one sentence
💼 Your Core Case — the simplest argument for why it makes sense
BONUS: The session includes a one-hour follow-up call to review the work once you’ve had a chance to apply it.
Check availability here → https://zurl.co/YnJbi
9
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
One of the most common mistakes I see with smart ideas is that they’re 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 to the job they’re trying to do.
The problems start when we use the word 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 to describe BOTH:
⇢ explanations of how something works
⇢ arguments for what we should do
But people don’t think about those two kinds of ideas in the same way.
That’s why I wrote this post to explain the difference and why treating them as the same is one of the fastest ways for an idea to fail.
#MessageDesign #DecisionMaking #BigIdeas
5
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
One of the most common mistakes I see is speaking to only one brain.
We either overwhelm people with data or try to inspire them emotionally—and then wonder why buy-in doesn’t stick.
Genuine belief only happens when both brains agree at the same time.
That’s a big focus in the Fundamentals of Message Design workshop, and this clip explains why.
Join us if buy-in matters in your work: https://lnkd.in/eaRuBMdi
#BeliefBasedMessaging #ChangeManagement #LeadershipCommunication
17
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
You know the moment.
You're explaining your idea—and suddenly you're over-explaining it. You add more detail. Then more examples. Then more justification.
On a sales call, it sounds like talking too long. On a keynote stage, it feels like subtle panic. During repositioning, it turns into rewriting your homepage for the fifth time.
The issue is structural, and it happens when your internal logic isn't fully articulated. You compensate with more words, but volume can't fix instability the way clarity can.
The Red Thread Sprint starting March 16 is designed to fix exactly that. Over five focused weeks, we build your Core Claim, rationale, and one applied deliverable together. I ran the first cohort in January, and participants said it "crystallized messages so they drive the impact you're looking for."
With my doctoral studies ramping up, I'm not sure when I'll run this again, so this may be your last chance to join for several months. Don't miss out: https://zurl.co/HDVp8
12
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Every decision ends in an argument–usually an unspoken one.
When someone proposes an idea, they’re also offering a chain of reasoning.
The problem? Most of the time, the chain is implied — not explained.
So here are two questions that can help pull that thinking to the surface:
1️⃣ 𝚆𝚑𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔？
2️⃣ 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎？
You don’t need expertise to evaluate an idea, but you DO need to hear the reasoning behind it. (Fun fact: according to Mercier and Sperber, 2011 you’re already expert at picking apart other people’s arguments!)
The lesson applies if you’re the one sharing the idea, as well: if you can’t articulate the idea—and the rationale behind it—clearly, you’re risking the very buy-in you need for the idea to succeed.
#MessageDesign #CriticalThinking #PersuasiveMessaging
6
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Before you ask why people aren’t acting on your idea, ask this:
What kind of idea is it, really?
Some ideas are meant to explain what exists.
Others are meant to drive what do.
Those require different kinds of reasoning—and different standards of support.
This post shows how to tell the difference, and what each kind of idea needs next.
👉 Full article: https://lnkd.in/eu7WZ8he
#MessageDesign #DecisionMaking #BigIdeas
15
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
I recently joined Rabbi Yonason Goldson’s ethics podcast, Grappling with the Gray, for a conversation that starts with a viral story—and ends somewhere much more uncomfortable.
Not “Was it justified?”
But “When did it start to feel justified?”
If you’re interested in how people reason their way into (and out of) decisions, you can listen here:
https://zurl.co/TPIqC
10
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Where some of my hope comes from — the science of change.
8
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
I love storytelling.
But storytelling alone doesn’t persuade.
Every story makes an argument...
whether we intend it to or not.
That’s why I always start with the underlying rationale before narrative, framing, or creative execution.
In the Fundamentals of Message Design workshop, we work on designing that argument so your stories actually make things easier to understand.
▶️ This clip explains the idea
🎓 The workshop teaches how to apply it. Join me: https://zurl.co/TEXok
#messagedesign #strategiccommunication #Persuasion
7
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
We love these stories because they feel like moral math: someone violates a norm, someone else restores balance. Case closed.
But what’s actually doing the work here isn’t the Porsche driver’s arrogance. It’s how quickly we turn offense into permission. The moment “they started it” becomes a reason, not just a description, the line has already moved.
That’s why this conversation matters. Not because it tells us what’s right—but because it forces us to notice when and how we decide something suddenly makes sense.
6
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
2mo
If you want buy-in for change, you can’t start with what you want to say.
You have to start with what already makes sense.
I had a great conversation with Howie Chan on the Influence Anyone podcast about exactly that — and why so many smart ideas fall flat.
Because they don’t connect to the beliefs people already hold.
Inside the episode, we unpack:
• Why it’s so hard to explain the idea in your head
• The five elements that make an idea “minimum viable” and memorable
• The three beliefs required for real buy-in
• Why ethical persuasion starts with permission, not pressure
• How to make change make more sense than the status quo
If you want influencing behavior to be a capability — not a hope — this is the work. Because people don’t change because of what you tell them. They change because of what they already believe.
Listen here: https://zurl.co/Uy8l9
And if you do, I’d love to know — what part challenged how you think about persuasion?
12
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
One of the simplest ways to test your message:
Can you complete this sentence?
“𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 ___, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 ___．”
Most people can.
Few can defend it.
Because the real strength of any message lives in the principles underneath it.
The Because.
The And.
If you can’t articulate those clearly, your audience will default to their current approach — because it already makes sense to them.
17
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Most ideas don’t fail because they’re wrong.
They fail because they never really land.
I wrote Say What They Can’t Unhear for anyone who’s watched a message make sense in the moment—and then disappear without changing anything.
If that frustration sounds familiar, this book might help you see why it happens.
https://zurl.co/UQqmO
#saywhattheycantunhear #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
23
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Join Tamsen for her monthly virtual "office hours" where you can bring your most pressing message design questions and challenges. Whether you're struggling with a specific piece of your Compact Case, need guidance on communicating a difficult change, or want advice on crafting a compelling core case—bring your questions and get personalized insights.
No preparation required (though having your Compact Case handy might help). Just come ready to ask, learn, and leave with actionable answers to move your message forward. Every question helps everyone learn, so even if you're just there to listen, you'll walk away with valuable insights you can apply immediately.
This collaborative learning environment mirrors Tamsen's conversational yet authoritative approach, ensuring you get the strategic simplicity and practical guidance you need to say what your audience can't unhear.
If you'd like to join us live on camera to have your message design question answered, email jenn@tamsenwebster.com.
9
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Does anyone else have a folder in their photos for screenshots of Wordle solutions so that you’ve got a stock pile of second words to choose from? Just me? Okay. I’ll go back to my cave now.
15
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
I used to think people were “𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚.”
For years, I believed the problem with my ideas was that people just didn’t see how important they were.
It wasn’t until I started studying belief-based persuasive communication that I realized the issue wasn’t importance. It was viability.
When you attach your idea to an outcome—“If we do this, we’ll get that”—you’ve made a hypothesis.
And no one will act on a hypothesis unless they can justify it to themselves.
Not because you convinced them.
Not because you flooded them with data.
But 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎, 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎．
That shift changed everything about how I approach change communication and buy-in.
If you’ve ever labeled your audience as “𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩,” consider this: What belief might they still need to see validated?
19
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
A theme should constrain your choices—not decorate them.
If your “word of the year” can stretch to fit any behavior,
it won’t survive pressure.
A Prime Strategy does something different:
it creates guardrails your brain can actually use mid-decision.
Tag someone whose resolution is already being renegotiated by reality.
#saywhattheycantunhear #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
6 pages
18
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Kurt Lewin famously said that behavior is a function of the person and their environment.
Storytelling is excellent at showing us the outside of that equation—what happened, who did what, how events unfolded.
What it often leaves implicit is the internal story: the interpretation, the meaning, the logic that explains why those actions made sense.
And in a world this complex, inference isn’t something we can afford to leave unchecked.
This is where message design starts to matter.
What internal “why” do you see getting lost most often?
#messagedesign #changemanagement #beliefbasedmessaging
16
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
One of the hardest parts of sharing an idea isn’t explaining it.
It’s knowing what the idea actually is.
I wrote Find Your Red Thread to help people identify the single throughline that connects what they do, why it matters, and how to explain it clearly—without oversimplifying.
If you’ve ever struggled to keep your message focused as it moves across decks, talks, pages, or conversations, this book was written for you.
https://zurl.co/suAQl
#redthread #messagedesign #leadershipcommunication
36
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Every January, I watch smart, capable people decide they’ll be “different” this year—
and then quietly watch old habits sneak back in.
Here’s what I’ve learned (often the hard way):
Change doesn’t fail because motivation fades.
It fails because the strategy doesn’t defend against the old version of us.
That’s why I don’t use a “word of the year.”
I use a Prime Strategy—a modified noun that forces my decisions to pass two tests, not one.
If your resolution is already wobbling, that’s not a character flaw.
It’s a design problem.
10
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
5mo
One of the things I listen for most carefully is whether the words sound like they’re actually being formed in the moment.
People are remarkably good at detecting when language is borrowed, over-polished, or pre-packaged—and it quietly erodes belief.
In this Office Hours moment with Jeanette Bronee, we talk about how real buy-in often comes from using words people recognize, just arranged in ways they haven’t heard before.
📅 Join the next Office Hours: https://zurl.co/qNP8N
📩 If you want to join me live, email info@tamsenwebster.com
#messagedesign #saywhattheycantunhear #beliefbasedmessaging
7
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
𝙰 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚐𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖．
The plan was solid. The research was strong. The logic was airtight.
But it never left the whiteboard.
Why? Because it was presented as a 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩-𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖—what it was, how it worked, why it was innovative.
What no one made clear was ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʟᴀɪᴍ:
🅸🅵 we do this, 🆃🅷🅴🅽 we’ll get that outcome.
And more importantly, why that cause-and-effect relationship made sense based on what everyone in the room already believed to be true.
Understanding is not the same as internal justification.
And without that justification, there is no action.
Next time an idea stalls, don’t ask, “Why don’t they get it?”
Ask, “Did we prove it could work?”
14
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
When someone declares:
“This is just how things are.”
Ask:
What would make that true?
That question pushes past opinion and isolated data points.
It asks:
What principle do we share that would justify that claim?
If there isn’t one,
it’s not a truth.
It’s an opinion.
16
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Join Tamsen for her monthly virtual "office hours" where you can bring your most pressing message design questions and challenges. Whether you're struggling with a specific piece of your Compact Case, need guidance on communicating a difficult change, or want advice on crafting a compelling core case—bring your questions and get personalized insights.
No preparation required (though having your Compact Case handy might help). Just come ready to ask, learn, and leave with actionable answers to move your message forward. Every question helps everyone learn, so even if you're just there to listen, you'll walk away with valuable insights you can apply immediately.
This collaborative learning environment mirrors Tamsen's conversational yet authoritative approach, ensuring you get the strategic simplicity and practical guidance you need to say what your audience can't unhear.
If you'd like to join us live on camera to have your message design question answered, email jenn@tamsenwebster.com.
6
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Most weak ideas survive because no one requires a clear articulation of cause and effect.
Weak ideas fail when questions expose gaps in logic or inconsistencies in meaning.
Two simple questions surface that logic immediately.
Ask those questions.
Not aggressively.
Not skeptically.
But curiously. (After all, personal judgment can be wrong, too.)
Use these questions in meetings.
Use these questions in strategy sessions.
Use these questions to examine personal assumptions.
If an idea cannot survive those questions, the idea is not structurally sound.
#MessageDesign #CriticalThinking #PersuasiveMessaging
13
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
If I were just starting out as a new Thinking Leader, these are the 3 things I would make sure I was doing every week to create messages that 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣:
1️⃣ 𝙻𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚢 𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎’𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚊𝚐𝚎．Talk *is* data: The words people use reveal the questions they're already asking and the beliefs they already hold.
2️⃣ 𝙳𝚒𝚐 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍．Once you start looking, you’ll likely see that we humans agree on more beliefs than we don’t.
3️⃣ 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚊．The more you know, the more connections you can make. The more widely you read, the more unexpected and uncommon those connections.
These fundamentals have helped my clients transform lukewarm responses into enthusiastic buy-in across industries, from healthcare to tech to finance.
If you need more support crafting messages that stick, join us in the next free Fundamentals of Message Design Workshop: https://zurl.co/4oiVJ
14
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
In Say What They Can’t Unhear, I explain how people decide whether to believe an idea.
The Compact Case shows you how to apply that thinking to your own case for change.
A Compact Case isn’t a pitch.
It’s a belief-based argument that answers one essential question: “Why does this make sense to me?”
When you can clearly articulate because X and Y, therefore Z, resistance drops — not because you pushed harder, but because the logic finally landed.
Download The Compact Case and start building buy-in before you ask for action: https://zurl.co/fYcrD
11
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
2mo
We talk a lot about ideas needing to "make sense." But there are actually two tests packed into that phrase, and most people only think about one of them.
The first is rational: Does the logic hold? Can I see a cause and an effect?
The second is intuitive: does it feel like it could work? Based on everything I already know, does this connection seem reasonable?
You need both. If something is logically sound but feels off, people may comply in the short term but they won't commit. And if it feels right but can't be justified rationally? Same thing.
This is why so many technically good (or great!) ideas still don't get traction. The logic is there, but the gut isn't buying it.
When you're presenting something new — a strategy, a product, a change — make sure you're not just checking the rational box. Ask: would someone hearing this for the first time feel like it could actually work?
#MessageDesign #PersuasiveMessaging #ChangeCommunication
15
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
A strong message isn’t just something you can explain.
It’s something other people can explain to themselves.
The Red Thread Course is about building the core story people carry with them about your Core Case and Claim—so your idea stays intact as it travels.
If you’ve done the work to clarify what you believe, this course helps you shape how people understand and remember it.
👉 Learn more / purchase here: https://zurl.co/2eXdn
#redthread #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
11
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
When a message isn’t working, most people assume they need better words.
More often, what’s missing is a clear explanation for why this change makes sense at all.
That’s why I created the Compact Case — a simple worksheet that helps you articulate:
what outcome someone wants
what change you’re proposing
and the beliefs that make that change reasonable
If you’re stuck on a message right now, this is where I’d begin.
👉 Download the Compact Case:
https://zurl.co/y2fvY
#messagedesign #saywhattheycantunhear #beliefbasedmessaging
Message Design Institute (@messagedesigninstitute) | Stan
10
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Ever pitched an idea you KNEW was good — and watched someone's eyes glaze over in the first ten seconds?
It probably wasn't your delivery. It was the distance between what you promised and what they could immediately believe.
Here's what I mean: when someone hears a new idea, their brain doesn't wait for you to finish making your case. It runs an instant calculation. It asks, "How likely is it that THIS thing will actually lead to THAT outcome?"
Not "is it possible?" — that's a low (if necessary) bar. But "is it LIKELY?"
And if there are too many other things that would have to go exactly right for your promise to land? The answer their brain gives them is, ”Probably not”...and that’s before you've even said another word.
The good news: it's fixable. And you don't need more evidence to fix it. You need a tighter connection between what you do and the outcome you're promising.
14
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
One of the most common mistakes I see with smart ideas is that they’re 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 to the job they’re trying to do.
The problems start when we use the word 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 to describe BOTH:
⇢ explanations of how something works
⇢ arguments for what we should do
But people don’t think about those two kinds of ideas in the same way.
That’s why I wrote this post to explain the difference and why treating them as the same is one of the fastest ways for an idea to fail.
#MessageDesign #DecisionMaking #BigIdeas
5
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
You know the moment.
You're explaining your idea—and suddenly you're over-explaining it. You add more detail. Then more examples. Then more justification.
On a sales call, it sounds like talking too long. On a keynote stage, it feels like subtle panic. During repositioning, it turns into rewriting your homepage for the fifth time.
The issue is structural, and it happens when your internal logic isn't fully articulated. You compensate with more words, but volume can't fix instability the way clarity can.
The Red Thread Sprint starting March 16 is designed to fix exactly that. Over five focused weeks, we build your Core Claim, rationale, and one applied deliverable together. I ran the first cohort in January, and participants said it "crystallized messages so they drive the impact you're looking for."
With my doctoral studies ramping up, I'm not sure when I'll run this again, so this may be your last chance to join for several months. Don't miss out: https://zurl.co/HDVp8
12
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Before you ask why people aren’t acting on your idea, ask this:
What kind of idea is it, really?
Some ideas are meant to explain what exists.
Others are meant to drive what do.
Those require different kinds of reasoning—and different standards of support.
This post shows how to tell the difference, and what each kind of idea needs next.
👉 Full article: https://lnkd.in/eu7WZ8he
#MessageDesign #DecisionMaking #BigIdeas
15
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Where some of my hope comes from — the science of change.
8
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
We love these stories because they feel like moral math: someone violates a norm, someone else restores balance. Case closed.
But what’s actually doing the work here isn’t the Porsche driver’s arrogance. It’s how quickly we turn offense into permission. The moment “they started it” becomes a reason, not just a description, the line has already moved.
That’s why this conversation matters. Not because it tells us what’s right—but because it forces us to notice when and how we decide something suddenly makes sense.
6
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
One of the simplest ways to test your message:
Can you complete this sentence?
“𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 ___, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 ___．”
Most people can.
Few can defend it.
Because the real strength of any message lives in the principles underneath it.
The Because.
The And.
If you can’t articulate those clearly, your audience will default to their current approach — because it already makes sense to them.
17
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
A single word is easy to remember.
That’s the problem.
When things get stressful, your brain looks for justification—not transformation.
If a theme is broad enough to make almost anything fit,
you don’t have to change to stay “on theme.”
As Denise Hamilton put it:
“If you want to be a new person, you better have a plan to defend against the old one.”
Watch this if your resolution already feels negotiable.
#saywhattheycantunhear #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
20
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
One of the fastest ways to kill a good idea is to attach it to an outcome that doesn’t matter to the audience you want acting on it.
When that happens, the brain doesn’t debate your idea—it dismisses the idea as *irrelevant.*
So often we think the problem is with our persuasion, when it’s really about the perceived viability of our ideas.
When an idea for action makes more sense to someone than whatever they’re doing now, you don’t need to persuade other people at all—they’ll persuade themselves.
But that only happens if you (a) know what kind of idea you’re offering and (b) what standards of success it needs to meet to succeed.
#MessageDesign #DecisionMaking #BigIdeas
19
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Good strategy isn’t about confidence.
It’s about coherence.
When someone proposes action, ask:
Why would that work?
That question forces the logic into the open —where ideas either strengthen
or collapse.
20
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
If your ideas are solid
but your messages don’t travel, stick, or convert—
That’s not a visibility problem.
It’s a message design problem.
At Social Media Marketing World 2026, I’ll be teaching how to design messages that increase the chances people understand, agree, and act—without manipulation or pressure.
Join me in Anaheim on April 28: https://lnkd.in/ezGzQkyM
#smmw26 #sme
55
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
2mo
Join Tamsen for her monthly virtual "office hours" where you can bring your most pressing message design questions and challenges. Whether you're struggling with a specific piece of your Compact Case, need guidance on communicating a difficult change, or want advice on crafting a compelling core case—bring your questions and get personalized insights.
No preparation required (though having your Compact Case handy might help). Just come ready to ask, learn, and leave with actionable answers to move your message forward. Every question helps everyone learn, so even if you're just there to listen, you'll walk away with valuable insights you can apply immediately.
This collaborative learning environment mirrors Tamsen's conversational yet authoritative approach, ensuring you get the strategic simplicity and practical guidance you need to say what your audience can't unhear.
If you'd like to join us live on camera to have your message design question answered, email jenn@tamsenwebster.com.
11
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
6mo
Join Tamsen for her monthly virtual "office hours" where you can bring your most pressing message design questions and challenges. Whether you're struggling with a specific piece of your Compact Case, need guidance on communicating a difficult change, or want advice on crafting a compelling core case—bring your questions and get personalized insights.
No preparation required (though having your Compact Case handy might help). Just come ready to ask, learn, and leave with actionable answers to move your message forward. Every question helps everyone learn, so even if you're just there to listen, you'll walk away with valuable insights you can apply immediately.
This collaborative learning environment mirrors Tamsen's conversational yet authoritative approach, ensuring you get the strategic simplicity and practical guidance you need to say what your audience can't unhear.
7
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
2mo
Here's something that humbled me a little when I first understood it: When someone hears your idea for the first time, you don't get the luxury of building your case. Their brain has already started evaluating — before you've finished talking.
The evaluation isn't "is this true?" It's "how likely is this?"
And people are NOT running a careful analysis. They're going off everything they already know and believe. Pattern recognition, past experience, gut feeling — all of it firing at once.
So if you're promising an outcome that requires six things to go right before it pays off, they're not going to wait for your evidence slide. They've already felt the gap.
This is why you can have all the data in the world and still lose someone in the first minute.
It's not that they don't believe you. It's that the connection between what you're offering and what you're promising didn't feel tight enough — immediately.
The question isn't "can I eventually prove this?" It's "does this feel likely right now, to someone hearing it cold?"
#MessageDesign #LeadershipCommunications #PersuasiveMessaging
17
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
I used to think persuasion meant convincing people. I was wrong.
For years, I assumed the only way to “sell” an idea was to push harder—to out-argue, to explain better, to overwhelm resistance with logic.
But the harder I pushed, the more resistance I got.
And what I eventually realized is this: people don’t change because you’ve convinced them. They change when they convince themselves.
Change happens when an idea feels more aligned with who someone already is than whatever they’re doing now. When it fits into a story they can tell themselves without friction.
When I started designing messages from that place—starting with why I believed in the change at all—buy-in stopped being a battle. Convincing gave way to conviction.
Where have you noticed the difference between “convincing” and genuine buy-in in your own work?
25
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
2mo
Most people try to improve their messaging by rewriting it.
That’s rarely the issue.
The real leverage point is this:
What is the internal argument that made this idea make sense to you in the first place?
Not the features.
Not the benefits.
Not the pitch.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜.
The sequence of beliefs that led you to say, “Yes. THIS.”
When you can see that clearly, two things happen:
① You stop over-explaining.
② It becomes much easier to help someone else follow the same path.
That’s a core focus of the free 𝙁𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙥 — uncovering the internal logic behind your idea so you can express it externally.
If that would be useful, you can join here: https://zurl.co/pydLr
#MessageDesign #BuildBuyIn
15
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Two words can beat the old you.
But only if they act as one.
Most people already picked two words.
They just connected them with “and.”
A Prime Strategy is a modified noun:
👉 one word sets direction,
👉 the other sets the standard.
Together, they create a single filter you can actually use.
Watch this before you add another word to your list.
#saywhattheycantunhear #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
14
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Not everything should qualify as “integrity.”
or “focus.”
or “growth.”
That’s what guardrails are for.
A Prime Strategy combines two ideas into one—
keeping it cognitively easy and behaviorally strict.
If it doesn’t pass both words, it’s not the choice.
That’s how intentions turn into action.
💬 Comment if this reframed how you think about resolutions.
#saywhattheycantunhear #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
14
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Your message needs visible logic. The Red Thread Sprint can help. 🧶
If your message feels clear in your head but becomes unclear mid-explanation, your reasoning isn't visible yet—to you or to your audience.
Most experts try to fix unstable messaging with better slides, tighter copy, or stronger hooks. But those are expression tools. They can't stabilize an idea that hasn't been structurally clarified.
Before a message persuades, it has to make sense. And "making sense" requires building a belief-based argument that aligns with what your audience already knows to be true.
Defensible logic is what allows storytelling to work.
I'm running a 5-week Red Thread Sprint starting March 16 to help you build exactly that: visible, defensible logic that makes your idea stable. It's a small cohort, high-touch format with real deliverables you'll use immediately.
Details and registration here: https://zurl.co/Xmtag
12
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
A lot of people worry that if their idea isn’t completely new, it won’t matter.
What I’ve seen is the opposite.
Discovering that others have explored a similar question usually means you now have something solid to build on—and a much better chance of making your message land with clarity and credibility.
That came up in a really thoughtful Office Hours conversation with Kate Donovan, especially around how we talk about burnout without oversimplifying or assigning blame.
Office Hours are streamed live, free, and open to anyone.
📅 Join the next one: https://zurl.co/ZfOKz
📩 If you’d like to join me live to discuss your message, email info@tamsenwebster.com
#messagedesign #saywhattheycantunhear #leadershipcommunication
13
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Take these two ideas:
(1) “Psychological safety is a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.” (Edmonson, 1999)
(2) “Teams need psychological safety to make better decisions.”
These two ideas sound similar, but they’re really quite different. Do you see it? The first one explains, the second makes a causal claim—this needs that.
The problem? We use the same word—”idea”—to describe them both.
If you want to be a leader of thinking, that’s a problem, because people’s brains don’t think about those two different kinds of ideas the same way.
This clip shows where that line gets crossed, and why so many ideas get stuck there.
#MessageDesign #DecisionMaking #BigIdeas
7
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
One of the most reliable rules I’ve seen in my work:
If your message contradicts someone’s experience,
their experience wins. Every time.
That doesn’t mean change is impossible.
It means your message has to start from what already feels true.
The Compact Case is designed to help you do exactly that — before you ever get to storytelling or campaigns.
👉 Download it here: https://zurl.co/1bZvz
#messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging #Persuasion
17
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
If you can’t clearly articulate:
If we want ___
Then we need ___
Because ___ and ___
…your audience will default to their current logic.
The Compact Case™ worksheet is a simple framework to test whether your strategy actually makes sense — before you try to sell it, pitch it, or roll it out.
It forces you to clarify:
• The real outcome
• The singular strategy
• The two inarguable principles that support it
If you want a structured way to pressure-test your reasoning, you can download it here: https://zurl.co/vol7y
#MessageDesign #BuildBuyIn
10
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Why "because" matters more than proof.
Proof creates buy-in when the reasoning behind it is already in place. And most experts skip the reasoning.
When you present an idea, you usually move from claim to evidence. But evidence only works if someone already believes the principle that makes your claim make sense.
"Because" forces you to articulate that principle—the belief-based logic that makes your evidence feel relevant instead of intrusive. But with visible reasoning, proof feels inevitable.
Building that "because" is exactly what we do in the Red Thread Sprint. Starting March 16, you'll construct the defensible rationale that makes your idea hold under pressure.
I ran this for the first time in January, and one participant called it "a phenomenally powerful way to uplevel your positioning." The peer learning format was both efficient and effective.
Full details here: https://zurl.co/rPSlL
13
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
I'm opening the Red Thread Sprint for a second time—a 5-week intensive starting March 16 for speakers, consultants, and thought leaders preparing for high-stakes moments. The focus is pressure-testing reasoning.
This is for experts who already have strong ideas and want those ideas to hold under pressure.
You'll build a stable Core Claim (If–Then), a defensible rationale (Because–And), and one applied deliverable grounded in real logic.
It's more lab than lecture—a small cohort working through five focused weeks of message design that produces real positioning shifts. The January cohort said the peer learning format was "efficient (of time and cost) and hugely effective."
Given my doctoral studies, I'm not sure when I'll run this again. If you're preparing for a major keynote, launch, or repositioning moment, here's what we'll cover: https://zurl.co/3r5Fh
16
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
When your message needs buy-in—from customers, teams, or decision-makers—clarity isn’t optional.
A Message Foundation Session is a full-day, 1:1, in-person session designed to identify and strengthen the foundation of your message.
Over one day, we'll work together to craft a Message Foundation Deck that clearly defines:
💡 Your Core Claim — what you’re really saying, in one sentence
💼 Your Core Case — the simplest argument for why it makes sense
BONUS: The session includes a one-hour follow-up call to review the work once you’ve had a chance to apply it.
Check availability here → https://zurl.co/YnJbi
9
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
One of the most common mistakes I see is speaking to only one brain.
We either overwhelm people with data or try to inspire them emotionally—and then wonder why buy-in doesn’t stick.
Genuine belief only happens when both brains agree at the same time.
That’s a big focus in the Fundamentals of Message Design workshop, and this clip explains why.
Join us if buy-in matters in your work: https://lnkd.in/eaRuBMdi
#BeliefBasedMessaging #ChangeManagement #LeadershipCommunication
17
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Every decision ends in an argument–usually an unspoken one.
When someone proposes an idea, they’re also offering a chain of reasoning.
The problem? Most of the time, the chain is implied — not explained.
So here are two questions that can help pull that thinking to the surface:
1️⃣ 𝚆𝚑𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔？
2️⃣ 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎？
You don’t need expertise to evaluate an idea, but you DO need to hear the reasoning behind it. (Fun fact: according to Mercier and Sperber, 2011 you’re already expert at picking apart other people’s arguments!)
The lesson applies if you’re the one sharing the idea, as well: if you can’t articulate the idea—and the rationale behind it—clearly, you’re risking the very buy-in you need for the idea to succeed.
#MessageDesign #CriticalThinking #PersuasiveMessaging
6
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
I recently joined Rabbi Yonason Goldson’s ethics podcast, Grappling with the Gray, for a conversation that starts with a viral story—and ends somewhere much more uncomfortable.
Not “Was it justified?”
But “When did it start to feel justified?”
If you’re interested in how people reason their way into (and out of) decisions, you can listen here:
https://zurl.co/TPIqC
10
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
I love storytelling.
But storytelling alone doesn’t persuade.
Every story makes an argument...
whether we intend it to or not.
That’s why I always start with the underlying rationale before narrative, framing, or creative execution.
In the Fundamentals of Message Design workshop, we work on designing that argument so your stories actually make things easier to understand.
▶️ This clip explains the idea
🎓 The workshop teaches how to apply it. Join me: https://zurl.co/TEXok
#messagedesign #strategiccommunication #Persuasion
7
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
2mo
If you want buy-in for change, you can’t start with what you want to say.
You have to start with what already makes sense.
I had a great conversation with Howie Chan on the Influence Anyone podcast about exactly that — and why so many smart ideas fall flat.
Because they don’t connect to the beliefs people already hold.
Inside the episode, we unpack:
• Why it’s so hard to explain the idea in your head
• The five elements that make an idea “minimum viable” and memorable
• The three beliefs required for real buy-in
• Why ethical persuasion starts with permission, not pressure
• How to make change make more sense than the status quo
If you want influencing behavior to be a capability — not a hope — this is the work. Because people don’t change because of what you tell them. They change because of what they already believe.
Listen here: https://zurl.co/Uy8l9
And if you do, I’d love to know — what part challenged how you think about persuasion?
12
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Most ideas don’t fail because they’re wrong.
They fail because they never really land.
I wrote Say What They Can’t Unhear for anyone who’s watched a message make sense in the moment—and then disappear without changing anything.
If that frustration sounds familiar, this book might help you see why it happens.
https://zurl.co/UQqmO
#saywhattheycantunhear #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
23
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
One of the fastest ways to kill a good idea is to attach it to an outcome that doesn’t matter to the audience you want acting on it.
When that happens, the brain doesn’t debate your idea—it dismisses the idea as *irrelevant.*
So often we think the problem is with our persuasion, when it’s really about the perceived viability of our ideas.
When an idea for action makes more sense to someone than whatever they’re doing now, you don’t need to persuade other people at all—they’ll persuade themselves.
But that only happens if you (a) know what kind of idea you’re offering and (b) what standards of success it needs to meet to succeed.
#MessageDesign #DecisionMaking #BigIdeas
19
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
I used to think people were “𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚.”
For years, I believed the problem with my ideas was that people just didn’t see how important they were.
It wasn’t until I started studying belief-based persuasive communication that I realized the issue wasn’t importance. It was viability.
When you attach your idea to an outcome—“If we do this, we’ll get that”—you’ve made a hypothesis.
And no one will act on a hypothesis unless they can justify it to themselves.
Not because you convinced them.
Not because you flooded them with data.
But 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎, 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎．
That shift changed everything about how I approach change communication and buy-in.
If you’ve ever labeled your audience as “𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩,” consider this: What belief might they still need to see validated?
19
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
2mo
Join Tamsen for her monthly virtual "office hours" where you can bring your most pressing message design questions and challenges. Whether you're struggling with a specific piece of your Compact Case, need guidance on communicating a difficult change, or want advice on crafting a compelling core case—bring your questions and get personalized insights.
No preparation required (though having your Compact Case handy might help). Just come ready to ask, learn, and leave with actionable answers to move your message forward. Every question helps everyone learn, so even if you're just there to listen, you'll walk away with valuable insights you can apply immediately.
This collaborative learning environment mirrors Tamsen's conversational yet authoritative approach, ensuring you get the strategic simplicity and practical guidance you need to say what your audience can't unhear.
If you'd like to join us live on camera to have your message design question answered, email jenn@tamsenwebster.com.
11
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
One of the hardest parts of sharing an idea isn’t explaining it.
It’s knowing what the idea actually is.
I wrote Find Your Red Thread to help people identify the single throughline that connects what they do, why it matters, and how to explain it clearly—without oversimplifying.
If you’ve ever struggled to keep your message focused as it moves across decks, talks, pages, or conversations, this book was written for you.
https://zurl.co/suAQl
#redthread #messagedesign #leadershipcommunication
36
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
I used to think persuasion meant convincing people. I was wrong.
For years, I assumed the only way to “sell” an idea was to push harder—to out-argue, to explain better, to overwhelm resistance with logic.
But the harder I pushed, the more resistance I got.
And what I eventually realized is this: people don’t change because you’ve convinced them. They change when they convince themselves.
Change happens when an idea feels more aligned with who someone already is than whatever they’re doing now. When it fits into a story they can tell themselves without friction.
When I started designing messages from that place—starting with why I believed in the change at all—buy-in stopped being a battle. Convincing gave way to conviction.
Where have you noticed the difference between “convincing” and genuine buy-in in your own work?
25
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
𝙰 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚐𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖．
The plan was solid. The research was strong. The logic was airtight.
But it never left the whiteboard.
Why? Because it was presented as a 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩-𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙖—what it was, how it worked, why it was innovative.
What no one made clear was ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʟᴀɪᴍ:
🅸🅵 we do this, 🆃🅷🅴🅽 we’ll get that outcome.
And more importantly, why that cause-and-effect relationship made sense based on what everyone in the room already believed to be true.
Understanding is not the same as internal justification.
And without that justification, there is no action.
Next time an idea stalls, don’t ask, “Why don’t they get it?”
Ask, “Did we prove it could work?”
14
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Not everything should qualify as “integrity.”
or “focus.”
or “growth.”
That’s what guardrails are for.
A Prime Strategy combines two ideas into one—
keeping it cognitively easy and behaviorally strict.
If it doesn’t pass both words, it’s not the choice.
That’s how intentions turn into action.
💬 Comment if this reframed how you think about resolutions.
#saywhattheycantunhear #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
14
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Most weak ideas survive because no one requires a clear articulation of cause and effect.
Weak ideas fail when questions expose gaps in logic or inconsistencies in meaning.
Two simple questions surface that logic immediately.
Ask those questions.
Not aggressively.
Not skeptically.
But curiously. (After all, personal judgment can be wrong, too.)
Use these questions in meetings.
Use these questions in strategy sessions.
Use these questions to examine personal assumptions.
If an idea cannot survive those questions, the idea is not structurally sound.
#MessageDesign #CriticalThinking #PersuasiveMessaging
13
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Take these two ideas:
(1) “Psychological safety is a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.” (Edmonson, 1999)
(2) “Teams need psychological safety to make better decisions.”
These two ideas sound similar, but they’re really quite different. Do you see it? The first one explains, the second makes a causal claim—this needs that.
The problem? We use the same word—”idea”—to describe them both.
If you want to be a leader of thinking, that’s a problem, because people’s brains don’t think about those two different kinds of ideas the same way.
This clip shows where that line gets crossed, and why so many ideas get stuck there.
#MessageDesign #DecisionMaking #BigIdeas
7
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
2mo
We talk a lot about ideas needing to "make sense." But there are actually two tests packed into that phrase, and most people only think about one of them.
The first is rational: Does the logic hold? Can I see a cause and an effect?
The second is intuitive: does it feel like it could work? Based on everything I already know, does this connection seem reasonable?
You need both. If something is logically sound but feels off, people may comply in the short term but they won't commit. And if it feels right but can't be justified rationally? Same thing.
This is why so many technically good (or great!) ideas still don't get traction. The logic is there, but the gut isn't buying it.
When you're presenting something new — a strategy, a product, a change — make sure you're not just checking the rational box. Ask: would someone hearing this for the first time feel like it could actually work?
#MessageDesign #PersuasiveMessaging #ChangeCommunication
15
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Why "because" matters more than proof.
Proof creates buy-in when the reasoning behind it is already in place. And most experts skip the reasoning.
When you present an idea, you usually move from claim to evidence. But evidence only works if someone already believes the principle that makes your claim make sense.
"Because" forces you to articulate that principle—the belief-based logic that makes your evidence feel relevant instead of intrusive. But with visible reasoning, proof feels inevitable.
Building that "because" is exactly what we do in the Red Thread Sprint. Starting March 16, you'll construct the defensible rationale that makes your idea hold under pressure.
I ran this for the first time in January, and one participant called it "a phenomenally powerful way to uplevel your positioning." The peer learning format was both efficient and effective.
Full details here: https://zurl.co/rPSlL
13
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Ever pitched an idea you KNEW was good — and watched someone's eyes glaze over in the first ten seconds?
It probably wasn't your delivery. It was the distance between what you promised and what they could immediately believe.
Here's what I mean: when someone hears a new idea, their brain doesn't wait for you to finish making your case. It runs an instant calculation. It asks, "How likely is it that THIS thing will actually lead to THAT outcome?"
Not "is it possible?" — that's a low (if necessary) bar. But "is it LIKELY?"
And if there are too many other things that would have to go exactly right for your promise to land? The answer their brain gives them is, ”Probably not”...and that’s before you've even said another word.
The good news: it's fixable. And you don't need more evidence to fix it. You need a tighter connection between what you do and the outcome you're promising.
14
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
One of the most common mistakes I see is speaking to only one brain.
We either overwhelm people with data or try to inspire them emotionally—and then wonder why buy-in doesn’t stick.
Genuine belief only happens when both brains agree at the same time.
That’s a big focus in the Fundamentals of Message Design workshop, and this clip explains why.
Join us if buy-in matters in your work: https://lnkd.in/eaRuBMdi
#BeliefBasedMessaging #ChangeManagement #LeadershipCommunication
17
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Before you ask why people aren’t acting on your idea, ask this:
What kind of idea is it, really?
Some ideas are meant to explain what exists.
Others are meant to drive what do.
Those require different kinds of reasoning—and different standards of support.
This post shows how to tell the difference, and what each kind of idea needs next.
👉 Full article: https://lnkd.in/eu7WZ8he
#MessageDesign #DecisionMaking #BigIdeas
15
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
I love storytelling.
But storytelling alone doesn’t persuade.
Every story makes an argument...
whether we intend it to or not.
That’s why I always start with the underlying rationale before narrative, framing, or creative execution.
In the Fundamentals of Message Design workshop, we work on designing that argument so your stories actually make things easier to understand.
▶️ This clip explains the idea
🎓 The workshop teaches how to apply it. Join me: https://zurl.co/TEXok
#messagedesign #strategiccommunication #Persuasion
7
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
One of the simplest ways to test your message:
Can you complete this sentence?
“𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 ___, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 ___．”
Most people can.
Few can defend it.
Because the real strength of any message lives in the principles underneath it.
The Because.
The And.
If you can’t articulate those clearly, your audience will default to their current approach — because it already makes sense to them.
17
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
A single word is easy to remember.
That’s the problem.
When things get stressful, your brain looks for justification—not transformation.
If a theme is broad enough to make almost anything fit,
you don’t have to change to stay “on theme.”
As Denise Hamilton put it:
“If you want to be a new person, you better have a plan to defend against the old one.”
Watch this if your resolution already feels negotiable.
#saywhattheycantunhear #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
20
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Does anyone else have a folder in their photos for screenshots of Wordle solutions so that you’ve got a stock pile of second words to choose from? Just me? Okay. I’ll go back to my cave now.
15
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
If your ideas are solid
but your messages don’t travel, stick, or convert—
That’s not a visibility problem.
It’s a message design problem.
At Social Media Marketing World 2026, I’ll be teaching how to design messages that increase the chances people understand, agree, and act—without manipulation or pressure.
Join me in Anaheim on April 28: https://lnkd.in/ezGzQkyM
#smmw26 #sme
55
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Kurt Lewin famously said that behavior is a function of the person and their environment.
Storytelling is excellent at showing us the outside of that equation—what happened, who did what, how events unfolded.
What it often leaves implicit is the internal story: the interpretation, the meaning, the logic that explains why those actions made sense.
And in a world this complex, inference isn’t something we can afford to leave unchecked.
This is where message design starts to matter.
What internal “why” do you see getting lost most often?
#messagedesign #changemanagement #beliefbasedmessaging
16
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
2mo
Here's something that humbled me a little when I first understood it: When someone hears your idea for the first time, you don't get the luxury of building your case. Their brain has already started evaluating — before you've finished talking.
The evaluation isn't "is this true?" It's "how likely is this?"
And people are NOT running a careful analysis. They're going off everything they already know and believe. Pattern recognition, past experience, gut feeling — all of it firing at once.
So if you're promising an outcome that requires six things to go right before it pays off, they're not going to wait for your evidence slide. They've already felt the gap.
This is why you can have all the data in the world and still lose someone in the first minute.
It's not that they don't believe you. It's that the connection between what you're offering and what you're promising didn't feel tight enough — immediately.
The question isn't "can I eventually prove this?" It's "does this feel likely right now, to someone hearing it cold?"
#MessageDesign #LeadershipCommunications #PersuasiveMessaging
17
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
5mo
One of the things I listen for most carefully is whether the words sound like they’re actually being formed in the moment.
People are remarkably good at detecting when language is borrowed, over-polished, or pre-packaged—and it quietly erodes belief.
In this Office Hours moment with Jeanette Bronee, we talk about how real buy-in often comes from using words people recognize, just arranged in ways they haven’t heard before.
📅 Join the next Office Hours: https://zurl.co/qNP8N
📩 If you want to join me live, email info@tamsenwebster.com
#messagedesign #saywhattheycantunhear #beliefbasedmessaging
7
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Two words can beat the old you.
But only if they act as one.
Most people already picked two words.
They just connected them with “and.”
A Prime Strategy is a modified noun:
👉 one word sets direction,
👉 the other sets the standard.
Together, they create a single filter you can actually use.
Watch this before you add another word to your list.
#saywhattheycantunhear #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
14
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Join Tamsen for her monthly virtual "office hours" where you can bring your most pressing message design questions and challenges. Whether you're struggling with a specific piece of your Compact Case, need guidance on communicating a difficult change, or want advice on crafting a compelling core case—bring your questions and get personalized insights.
No preparation required (though having your Compact Case handy might help). Just come ready to ask, learn, and leave with actionable answers to move your message forward. Every question helps everyone learn, so even if you're just there to listen, you'll walk away with valuable insights you can apply immediately.
This collaborative learning environment mirrors Tamsen's conversational yet authoritative approach, ensuring you get the strategic simplicity and practical guidance you need to say what your audience can't unhear.
If you'd like to join us live on camera to have your message design question answered, email jenn@tamsenwebster.com.
6
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
A lot of people worry that if their idea isn’t completely new, it won’t matter.
What I’ve seen is the opposite.
Discovering that others have explored a similar question usually means you now have something solid to build on—and a much better chance of making your message land with clarity and credibility.
That came up in a really thoughtful Office Hours conversation with Kate Donovan, especially around how we talk about burnout without oversimplifying or assigning blame.
Office Hours are streamed live, free, and open to anyone.
📅 Join the next one: https://zurl.co/ZfOKz
📩 If you’d like to join me live to discuss your message, email info@tamsenwebster.com
#messagedesign #saywhattheycantunhear #leadershipcommunication
13
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
In Say What They Can’t Unhear, I explain how people decide whether to believe an idea.
The Compact Case shows you how to apply that thinking to your own case for change.
A Compact Case isn’t a pitch.
It’s a belief-based argument that answers one essential question: “Why does this make sense to me?”
When you can clearly articulate because X and Y, therefore Z, resistance drops — not because you pushed harder, but because the logic finally landed.
Download The Compact Case and start building buy-in before you ask for action: https://zurl.co/fYcrD
11
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
If you can’t clearly articulate:
If we want ___
Then we need ___
Because ___ and ___
…your audience will default to their current logic.
The Compact Case™ worksheet is a simple framework to test whether your strategy actually makes sense — before you try to sell it, pitch it, or roll it out.
It forces you to clarify:
• The real outcome
• The singular strategy
• The two inarguable principles that support it
If you want a structured way to pressure-test your reasoning, you can download it here: https://zurl.co/vol7y
#MessageDesign #BuildBuyIn
10
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
When a message isn’t working, most people assume they need better words.
More often, what’s missing is a clear explanation for why this change makes sense at all.
That’s why I created the Compact Case — a simple worksheet that helps you articulate:
what outcome someone wants
what change you’re proposing
and the beliefs that make that change reasonable
If you’re stuck on a message right now, this is where I’d begin.
👉 Download the Compact Case:
https://zurl.co/y2fvY
#messagedesign #saywhattheycantunhear #beliefbasedmessaging
Message Design Institute (@messagedesigninstitute) | Stan
10
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
When your message needs buy-in—from customers, teams, or decision-makers—clarity isn’t optional.
A Message Foundation Session is a full-day, 1:1, in-person session designed to identify and strengthen the foundation of your message.
Over one day, we'll work together to craft a Message Foundation Deck that clearly defines:
💡 Your Core Claim — what you’re really saying, in one sentence
💼 Your Core Case — the simplest argument for why it makes sense
BONUS: The session includes a one-hour follow-up call to review the work once you’ve had a chance to apply it.
Check availability here → https://zurl.co/YnJbi
9
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
You know the moment.
You're explaining your idea—and suddenly you're over-explaining it. You add more detail. Then more examples. Then more justification.
On a sales call, it sounds like talking too long. On a keynote stage, it feels like subtle panic. During repositioning, it turns into rewriting your homepage for the fifth time.
The issue is structural, and it happens when your internal logic isn't fully articulated. You compensate with more words, but volume can't fix instability the way clarity can.
The Red Thread Sprint starting March 16 is designed to fix exactly that. Over five focused weeks, we build your Core Claim, rationale, and one applied deliverable together. I ran the first cohort in January, and participants said it "crystallized messages so they drive the impact you're looking for."
With my doctoral studies ramping up, I'm not sure when I'll run this again, so this may be your last chance to join for several months. Don't miss out: https://zurl.co/HDVp8
12
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
I recently joined Rabbi Yonason Goldson’s ethics podcast, Grappling with the Gray, for a conversation that starts with a viral story—and ends somewhere much more uncomfortable.
Not “Was it justified?”
But “When did it start to feel justified?”
If you’re interested in how people reason their way into (and out of) decisions, you can listen here:
https://zurl.co/TPIqC
10
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
We love these stories because they feel like moral math: someone violates a norm, someone else restores balance. Case closed.
But what’s actually doing the work here isn’t the Porsche driver’s arrogance. It’s how quickly we turn offense into permission. The moment “they started it” becomes a reason, not just a description, the line has already moved.
That’s why this conversation matters. Not because it tells us what’s right—but because it forces us to notice when and how we decide something suddenly makes sense.
6
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Join Tamsen for her monthly virtual "office hours" where you can bring your most pressing message design questions and challenges. Whether you're struggling with a specific piece of your Compact Case, need guidance on communicating a difficult change, or want advice on crafting a compelling core case—bring your questions and get personalized insights.
No preparation required (though having your Compact Case handy might help). Just come ready to ask, learn, and leave with actionable answers to move your message forward. Every question helps everyone learn, so even if you're just there to listen, you'll walk away with valuable insights you can apply immediately.
This collaborative learning environment mirrors Tamsen's conversational yet authoritative approach, ensuring you get the strategic simplicity and practical guidance you need to say what your audience can't unhear.
If you'd like to join us live on camera to have your message design question answered, email jenn@tamsenwebster.com.
9
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Good strategy isn’t about confidence.
It’s about coherence.
When someone proposes action, ask:
Why would that work?
That question forces the logic into the open —where ideas either strengthen
or collapse.
20
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
A theme should constrain your choices—not decorate them.
If your “word of the year” can stretch to fit any behavior,
it won’t survive pressure.
A Prime Strategy does something different:
it creates guardrails your brain can actually use mid-decision.
Tag someone whose resolution is already being renegotiated by reality.
#saywhattheycantunhear #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
6 pages
18
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
6mo
Join Tamsen for her monthly virtual "office hours" where you can bring your most pressing message design questions and challenges. Whether you're struggling with a specific piece of your Compact Case, need guidance on communicating a difficult change, or want advice on crafting a compelling core case—bring your questions and get personalized insights.
No preparation required (though having your Compact Case handy might help). Just come ready to ask, learn, and leave with actionable answers to move your message forward. Every question helps everyone learn, so even if you're just there to listen, you'll walk away with valuable insights you can apply immediately.
This collaborative learning environment mirrors Tamsen's conversational yet authoritative approach, ensuring you get the strategic simplicity and practical guidance you need to say what your audience can't unhear.
7
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Every January, I watch smart, capable people decide they’ll be “different” this year—
and then quietly watch old habits sneak back in.
Here’s what I’ve learned (often the hard way):
Change doesn’t fail because motivation fades.
It fails because the strategy doesn’t defend against the old version of us.
That’s why I don’t use a “word of the year.”
I use a Prime Strategy—a modified noun that forces my decisions to pass two tests, not one.
If your resolution is already wobbling, that’s not a character flaw.
It’s a design problem.
10
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
2mo
Most people try to improve their messaging by rewriting it.
That’s rarely the issue.
The real leverage point is this:
What is the internal argument that made this idea make sense to you in the first place?
Not the features.
Not the benefits.
Not the pitch.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜.
The sequence of beliefs that led you to say, “Yes. THIS.”
When you can see that clearly, two things happen:
① You stop over-explaining.
② It becomes much easier to help someone else follow the same path.
That’s a core focus of the free 𝙁𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙥 — uncovering the internal logic behind your idea so you can express it externally.
If that would be useful, you can join here: https://zurl.co/pydLr
#MessageDesign #BuildBuyIn
15
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
When someone declares:
“This is just how things are.”
Ask:
What would make that true?
That question pushes past opinion and isolated data points.
It asks:
What principle do we share that would justify that claim?
If there isn’t one,
it’s not a truth.
It’s an opinion.
16
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Your message needs visible logic. The Red Thread Sprint can help. 🧶
If your message feels clear in your head but becomes unclear mid-explanation, your reasoning isn't visible yet—to you or to your audience.
Most experts try to fix unstable messaging with better slides, tighter copy, or stronger hooks. But those are expression tools. They can't stabilize an idea that hasn't been structurally clarified.
Before a message persuades, it has to make sense. And "making sense" requires building a belief-based argument that aligns with what your audience already knows to be true.
Defensible logic is what allows storytelling to work.
I'm running a 5-week Red Thread Sprint starting March 16 to help you build exactly that: visible, defensible logic that makes your idea stable. It's a small cohort, high-touch format with real deliverables you'll use immediately.
Details and registration here: https://zurl.co/Xmtag
12
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
If I were just starting out as a new Thinking Leader, these are the 3 things I would make sure I was doing every week to create messages that 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣:
1️⃣ 𝙻𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚢 𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎’𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚊𝚐𝚎．Talk *is* data: The words people use reveal the questions they're already asking and the beliefs they already hold.
2️⃣ 𝙳𝚒𝚐 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍．Once you start looking, you’ll likely see that we humans agree on more beliefs than we don’t.
3️⃣ 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚊．The more you know, the more connections you can make. The more widely you read, the more unexpected and uncommon those connections.
These fundamentals have helped my clients transform lukewarm responses into enthusiastic buy-in across industries, from healthcare to tech to finance.
If you need more support crafting messages that stick, join us in the next free Fundamentals of Message Design Workshop: https://zurl.co/4oiVJ
14
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
One of the most reliable rules I’ve seen in my work:
If your message contradicts someone’s experience,
their experience wins. Every time.
That doesn’t mean change is impossible.
It means your message has to start from what already feels true.
The Compact Case is designed to help you do exactly that — before you ever get to storytelling or campaigns.
👉 Download it here: https://zurl.co/1bZvz
#messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging #Persuasion
17
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
A strong message isn’t just something you can explain.
It’s something other people can explain to themselves.
The Red Thread Course is about building the core story people carry with them about your Core Case and Claim—so your idea stays intact as it travels.
If you’ve done the work to clarify what you believe, this course helps you shape how people understand and remember it.
👉 Learn more / purchase here: https://zurl.co/2eXdn
#redthread #messagedesign #beliefbasedmessaging
11
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
I'm opening the Red Thread Sprint for a second time—a 5-week intensive starting March 16 for speakers, consultants, and thought leaders preparing for high-stakes moments. The focus is pressure-testing reasoning.
This is for experts who already have strong ideas and want those ideas to hold under pressure.
You'll build a stable Core Claim (If–Then), a defensible rationale (Because–And), and one applied deliverable grounded in real logic.
It's more lab than lecture—a small cohort working through five focused weeks of message design that produces real positioning shifts. The January cohort said the peer learning format was "efficient (of time and cost) and hugely effective."
Given my doctoral studies, I'm not sure when I'll run this again. If you're preparing for a major keynote, launch, or repositioning moment, here's what we'll cover: https://zurl.co/3r5Fh
16
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
One of the most common mistakes I see with smart ideas is that they’re 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 to the job they’re trying to do.
The problems start when we use the word 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 to describe BOTH:
⇢ explanations of how something works
⇢ arguments for what we should do
But people don’t think about those two kinds of ideas in the same way.
That’s why I wrote this post to explain the difference and why treating them as the same is one of the fastest ways for an idea to fail.
#MessageDesign #DecisionMaking #BigIdeas
5
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
3mo
Every decision ends in an argument–usually an unspoken one.
When someone proposes an idea, they’re also offering a chain of reasoning.
The problem? Most of the time, the chain is implied — not explained.
So here are two questions that can help pull that thinking to the surface:
1️⃣ 𝚆𝚑𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔？
2️⃣ 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎？
You don’t need expertise to evaluate an idea, but you DO need to hear the reasoning behind it. (Fun fact: according to Mercier and Sperber, 2011 you’re already expert at picking apart other people’s arguments!)
The lesson applies if you’re the one sharing the idea, as well: if you can’t articulate the idea—and the rationale behind it—clearly, you’re risking the very buy-in you need for the idea to succeed.
#MessageDesign #CriticalThinking #PersuasiveMessaging
6
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
4mo
Where some of my hope comes from — the science of change.
8
Tamsen Webster, MA, MBA
Sales & Marketing
2mo
If you want buy-in for change, you can’t start with what you want to say.
You have to start with what already makes sense.
I had a great conversation with Howie Chan on the Influence Anyone podcast about exactly that — and why so many smart ideas fall flat.
Because they don’t connect to the beliefs people already hold.
Inside the episode, we unpack:
• Why it’s so hard to explain the idea in your head
• The five elements that make an idea “minimum viable” and memorable
• The three beliefs required for real buy-in
• Why ethical persuasion starts with permission, not pressure
• How to make change make more sense than the status quo
If you want influencing behavior to be a capability — not a hope — this is the work. Because people don’t change because of what you tell them. They change because of what they already believe.
Listen here: https://zurl.co/Uy8l9
And if you do, I’d love to know — what part challenged how you think about persuasion?
12