Description
Good ideas don’t succeed on their own. They succeed when other people take them up.
This course is about the moment when an idea leaves the mind of an individual and starts to become part of a wider system — a project, a team, an organisation, a group of customers. If you’ve ever had an idea that stalled because you couldn’t convince others, or if you think this reflex needs building, then this workshop is designed for you.
Drawing together and building on material from our Advanced Conceptual Design Course, How to Facilitate a Great Workshop Workshop and the Pattern Book for Regenerative Design, this day-long course focuses on the human side of persuasion that must complement our technical solutions: understanding your audience, tuning in to what really matters to them, and structuring persuasive arguments that people can trust.
Persuading others of our ideas is a performance that has its own design brief – one that requires empathy, clarity and energy.
Objectives
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Use a simple method for engaging with a client to explore their needs and build empathy
- Deepen their understanding of the client’s needs with the Elements of the Brief model
- Use a systems model to understand how ideas are taken up by a wider audience
- Use the Ethos Pathos Logos model to structure an argument.
- Use Daniel Pink’s ABC for Selling model to think about tone.
- Practice presenting an idea in a way that pulls together these ideas.
Target audience
This course is designed for built-environment professionals who need to persuade others as part of their work, including:
- Engineers, architects, designers and consultants pitching concepts within teams.
- Professionals presenting ideas to clients, stakeholders or review panels.
- Project leaders seeking buy-in for new approaches or innovations.
- Anyone whose ideas are technically strong but struggle to gain traction.
It complements our design-focused courses particularly well, and also pairs naturally with our training on facilitation and leadership.
Course content
Understanding the audience
- Tuning into client and stakeholder needs.
- Recognising what different audiences care about — and why.
- Building trust as the foundation of persuasion.
Working with the brief
- Using the Hidden Elements of the Brief model.
- Exploring the explicit, implicit, assumed, missing and unknown.
- Surfacing what a client may want but hasn’t yet articulated.
Structuring a persuasive pitch
- Ethos, Pathos and Logos — Aristotle’s three modes of persuasion.
- Daniel Pink’s ABC model and how it applies in technical contexts.
From idea to system
- Understanding why good ideas fail to spread.
- Designing pitches that allow ideas to be taken up by others.
- Recognising persuasion as part of systems change.
Practice and feedback
- Developing and delivering short pitches.
- Using space, voice and structure to improve clarity.
- Constructive peer feedback and reflection.
Teaching methodology
This workshop combines theoretical instruction with practical, hands-on activities. Participants will engage in interactive exercises, group discussions, and personal reflection to reinforce learning and develop practical skills.
About the trainer
This workshop is delivered by Oliver Broadbent, award-winning trainer in design thinking with ten years of experience delivering design training in the built environment for teams from board level to new graduates. Oliver leads the delivery of conceptual design training at the Institution of Structural Engineers. He is author of The Pattern Book for Regenerative Design and co-author of “The Conceptual Design of Buildings” and “The Regenerative Structural Engineer”.
How to book this course
To enquire about booking this course please drop us an email.
