DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION Mary Lynn Manns, PhD

In this presentation…  Prochaska Stages of Change  Health Belief Model  *Rogers Diffusion of Innovation  *Lessons to be learned

Prochaska Stages of Change A spiral model…  Precontemplation  Contemplation  Preparation  Action  Maintenance

Doppelt’s Model of Change  Disinterest  Deliberation  Design  Doing  Defending

Health Belief Model People will take a health-related action if that person…  feels the negative health condition can be avoided  has a positive expectation that the recommended action avoids the negative health condition  believes he can successfully take the recommended health action

True or False…. If I have a good idea that adds value, it will be easy to convince others to accept it.

Diffusion of Innovation E.M. Rogers  Knowledge  Persuasion  Decision  Implementation  Confirmation

Two things to remember… #1 Change is not an event; it is a process knowledge – persuasion – decision – implementation – confirmation (E.M.Rogers) #2 Change is motivated by:  a tension between current state and desired state  a belief in the ability to change

People do not move through the change process at the same rate Do you know these people?  New stuff is cool!  Innovators  Interesting idea, but I want to hear more.  Early Adopters  What do other people think?  Early Majority  If I have to…  Late Majority  We’ve always done it this way…  Laggards

More about the innovation decision process… knowledge – persuasion – decision – implementation – confirmation The mental activity at… … knowledge is cognitive (knowing) … persuasion is affective (feeling)

Knowledge: present the relevant facts Goal: Audience will believe you and be willing to be persuaded  Stress a simple, concrete message  Make it relevant to that person or organization  Capture attention  Show credibility  Show a relative advantage  Concentrate on the possibilities  Keep it visible and frequent  Make it memorable  Include the next steps People will forget what you said, forget what you did, but not forget how you made them feel. (Maya Angelou)

Persuasion: transform information into action Goal: Audience will form the intended viewpoint and be willing to act on it  Ask yourself: What will cause my audience to feel something?  Set the stage - relationships  Match problem to individual concerns  Tell meaningful stories  Use images  Do food  Appeal to a sense of urgency  Stir up some anger  Make it fun  Build a support system  Show that you are emotionally attached  Show that you understand the fear and the challenges and their loss  Create a sense of ownership for the problem and the solution  Ask for help  Be appreciative

Two things to remember… #1 Change is not an event; it is a process knowledge – persuasion – decision – implementation – confirmation (E.M.Rogers) #2 Change is motivated by:  a tension between current state and desired state  a belief in the ability to change

Preventive Innovation….  Facts  Fear  Force  “I’ll save you” Versus  A sense of hope with accompanying support

Summary….  Change is not an event; it is a process  It is useful to understand how different types of people move through this process (Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, Laggards)  Techniques for knowledge are different than those for persuasion  You must: (1) create a tension between the current state and the desired state, and (2) a belief in the ability to change  Hope and support work better than facts, fear, force, and “saving”