Tamsen Webster breaks down TraPIT, a four-part structure for keeping audiences engaged: Transition, Point, Illustration, Takeaway. Use it to guide listeners through a new idea without losing them.
Let's say you needed to go someplace new, but you didn't have any directions to get there. How likely is it that you would actually arrive? Not very likely, right? So we need to think through that same thing when we're trying to get people to follow directions or find their way to our new idea. We need to give them where to go, when, and some markers to show that they've made the right turn. Otherwise, it may never get there. And aren't our ideas too big, too important for that to happen? I think so. And that's why we're talking about a way to solve for that this week on Find the Red Thread. And I'm your host, Tamsen Webster of TamsenWebster.com. I know you are not leaving out all of the information between where somebody starts with your new idea and where you want them to end up. Of course, you have, you have all sorts of important points and illustrations, just like you would have important landmarks between somebody's house and yours if you're trying to give directions. But are you telling your audience, your reader, your customer how those landmarks string together, how they go from where they are to the first, to the second, to the third, to your house? If you're not, then you are running a high risk that people won't follow you to your new idea because they can only follow where you lead, and they're only gonna follow something that makes sense to them. So what does this mean? It means that we need to do a couple things. We need to make sure that we are not only giving people information, but that we are attaching that information in a path. That we are giving them a red thread, if you will, to follow from where they are now to where you want them to go. And we need to make sure that they're getting enough information to understand why they're there, what's important about that, and how to get to the next point that you're talking about, how to follow you logically to the next point. Now, that's actually pretty simple. So there's a process that I use with some of my clients and that I've developed over the years working with TEDx speakers to help writers, as you're putting your messages together, come up with at least a draft way to make sure that those turn-by-turn directions, those transitions between points, are actually there. And I call it the TRAAPIT method. Big T, little r, little a, p-i-t. Now, what's that all for? Well, the T-R-A is for the transition. It is for the actual words that you're gonna use to move from one point to another. Now, what are those words? Well, I just used one, and that was the question that was probably in your mind. That was the dialogic question from a previous episode that raised up in your head. Remember, even if we aren't actually talking, you're talking back to me in your head. And so whenever you give a piece of information out, think about how somebody would react to it. What question are they going to ask? What What's the next piece of information they're gonna want? Not next information you want, a piece of information you want to tell. What's the next piece of information they want? Use that as the transition. Sometimes it's gonna be a question, "So what are those words?" Sometimes it's gonna be a statement, "So here are the words that are gonna help you do that." Either way, you put that transition first. Now, I said it was TRAAP-IT. So what's the P? Well, the P after the transition is the point that you're trying to make. Think of that as the landmark, as the place that you know you need to get them to before they will go with you any further. That thing that they have to understand and agree with before they'll move to the next point with you. What's the I? Well, the I is the illustration of that point. That can help you make sure that you aren't just giving people a whole bunch of information, but you are also giving them opportunities to see that information at work. Think of it back to our metaphor as describing what the landmark actually looks like in addition to telling them where it sits at what intersection. Illustrations can be, as we've talked about in previous episodes, everything from quotes to stories to data and research to thoughts, exercises, application, live coaching if you're doing it on stage. All of these things are ways to illustrate the point. So we have transition, point, illustration, and then the last T is takeaway. What's the whole conclusion that they need to take from that particular point? You've moved them into the point, you've illustrated the point, what's the takeaway from that point? What's the new piece of information? Now the good news here is that once you give them that new conclusion, well, here's— this is what this means. Now they're going to say, great, I've reached this particular landmark, I understand why I'm here, I recognize it, I see why it's important. There's going to be a new question in their heads. Back to that dialogic piece. What's that next question? What's that next thing that they're going to need to answer? So, your message, your piece of content even is just a series really of these little TRAAP-IT blocks. Transition, point, illustration, takeaway. Transition, point, illustration, takeaway. You follow that and no one will ever get lost on the path to your new idea. I hope you enjoyed this week's episode of Find the Red Thread. If you did, please leave us a review on iTunes or think about subscribing on YouTube. I'm Tamsen Webster of TamsenWebster.com, and I look forward to seeing you again or hearing you again or knowing that you're listening next week.
