A productive morning webinar

Getting your ideas across sounds simple enough. But when you actually have to do it, most people struggle.

In our recent webinar with Elina Pärnä, Head of Development and Learning Designer at Faros & Com, we explored why even the best ideas so often fall flat, and what we can do differently to make them resonate and move forward.

Below are some of the key insights and practical tools Elina shared during this energizing morning session.

Common challenges from our participants 

Elina began her presentation by polling our webinar participants. She asked what attendees find most challenging about getting their ideas across. Lots of participants said they struggled most with keeping ideas clear and focused. Many also struggled to communicate their ideas effectively and to get others interested.

One participant asked, “How do you tune the message when you do not know what the other person values or what is on top of her list of attention?” Another said, “I struggle when others don't immediately get as excited as I do.”

Elina’s poll set the stage for her tools to follow, which gave ways to lessen or overcome these common challenges. 

Start where your audience is at

One of the strongest messages from the session was deceptively simple: When you are trying to get an idea across, start with your audience’s everyday reality.

Before structuring a message, presentation, or sales pitch, it’s worth slowing down to ask:

What challenges do my audience face in their day-to-day work?
Why do those challenges exist?
What actions would I actually like to influence or change?

Too often, we start from what we want to say rather than what the audience needs to hear. Shifting the focus to everyday life helps ground ideas in something relatable and, therefore, actionable.

Use data to identify a real need for change

Ideas gain power when they connect to something tangible. Elina encouraged participants to look for signals of need in:

Organizational data (for example, occupational well-being or customer satisfaction metrics)
Direct feedback from the audience themselves
Existing research on the topic

Data doesn’t replace your own human insight, but it helps validate your idea as more than a personal or emotional opinion. One concrete tip to help you solidify your thoughts and intertwine them with data is to design a 5-10 part blog series. Whether you publish the blog post or not doesn't matter. What matters is that your main arguments will be well-researched and adaptable to presentations or conversations. 

Awaken curiosity with questions

Rather than opening with answers, Elina emphasized the value of starting with questions.

A well-chosen question does two things at once:

— It gives you insight into your audience’s current mindset.
— It invites them to actively think about the topic instead of passively listening.

From there, you can paint a picture of a future where things work better. Questions help you create motivation before introducing solutions.

This approach came up repeatedly in the chat, as participants reflected on how differently messages land when curiosity is sparked first. One participant proposed a great example of an opening question that attracts buy-in and increases the chances of the audience hearing your idea in full:

“I have an idea. Do you want to hear about it?"

Make ideas stick in the middle of busy workdays

Sharing information is one thing, and changing behavior is another. To help ideas survive the “forgetting curve”, Elina emphasized repetition. Ideas stick better in the mind when they are repeated several times over a long period (longer than one presentation), and in different ways. 

Elina highlighted several practical approaches for delivering the same information in multiple ways:

Blended learning models, such as flipped classrooms or digital handbooks
Micro- and nanolearning formats like short blogs or videos
Authentic examples and concrete tips that work in real, everyday conditions
Thoughtful use of media, gamification, and even AI (when it suits the audience)

To find the most suitable modes of idea delivery, you must consider what happens after you present your idea and what will help your audience continue to think about it. 

End with reflection and commitment

Finally, Elina returned to something many of us skip: reflection.

Instead of ending with “any questions?”, Elina suggested inviting the receiver of your idea to reflect:

What can be put into practice right away?
When will the first action be taken?
Can something be added to the calendar now?

Small moments of reflection help transform inspiration into intention and intention into action.

A shared challenge, a shared learning

One of the most encouraging parts of the session was seeing how openly participants shared their thoughts in the chat. Especially in an early-morning session, the level of interaction showed just how universal it is to struggle getting your ideas across.

Participants voiced appreciation for Elina’s tips, with many finding the section on good questions particularly insightful.

Thank you to Elina Pärnä for an engaging and practical session, and to everyone who joined us and contributed to the discussion! We’re looking forward to continuing the conversation and to helping more good ideas move forward.

Thanks for reading! If you found something about this blog post particularly interesting, feel free to give your thoughts in the comment section below.