Step 07: Describe What Your Idea Helps People Do

Right. Time to articulate what this idea actually does - the outcome it creates. What does someone achieve, fix, or feel after engaging with your thing? Keep it practical and observable.

The shift now: from you to them. From what this idea is to what it does for someone else. Value is the shift they feel because your solution exists - a real movement from a 'before' state to an 'after' state. If you can't name that shift plainly, you're not ready to pitch it. Keep it concrete. Avoid abstractions like "empowered", "aligned", or "optimised". If it helps them finally sleep through the night, say that. If it helps them decide faster with less stress, say that.

Case in point: Apple didn't sell "5GB". They sold "1,000 songs in your pocket" - a feeling made practical.

This taps into something psychologists call emotional valence - people remember feelings more than facts. A felt outcome sticks; a feature list doesn't. You're not trying to sound impressive. You're trying to be accurate. If you can't yet name the problem this solves, that's not failure - it's a flag for what to clarify next. The Misfit Engine works by flagging uncertainty rather than faking confidence.

What To Do

What exactly are you offering? Describe it so someone unfamiliar with your idea would understand it in under 30 seconds. Why will your target audience choose this over other options?

What change does your idea create?

Think about the customer you want to help. Before they find your offer, what are they dealing with? After they've used it, what's changed?

Examples of Before/After:
  • Before: tired of looking at an overgrown, messy garden.
    After: enjoying a space they actually want to spend time in.
  • Before: scrambling to make a birthday special with no time to bake.
    After: picking up a beautifully made cake that gets all the compliments.
  • Before: stuck in their own head and spinning their wheels.
    After: clear on their next steps and finally moving forward.
  • Before: spending hours making their own graphics.
    After: launching with polished visuals they didn't have to DIY.
  • Before: unsure how to reach customers online.
    After: (write your after-state).

If you're not sure yet - guess. You can write: "I think my customer is struggling with..." and come back to refine it later. Don't force confidence - just get the first version down.

Your Turn: Tone Tag

Pick the tone you want your audience to feel when they meet this idea: straight-talking, reassuring, quietly ambitious, playful, no-nonsense, invitational (or write your own). Use this tone consistently in examples, emails, and your one-sentence description.

What's next

Don't worry about making it perfect - just make it real. The first version of your "after" state is a starting point, not a verdict.

This isn't your final sales pitch or UVP. It's your first clear articulation of the outcome your idea creates - what someone achieves, fixes, or feels after engaging with your thing. The shift: from features to results. Keep it practical and observable.

Customers buy outcomes, not features. Apple's "1,000 songs in your pocket" wasn't about technical specs. It was about a felt outcome: music always at hand, whenever you want it.

Most products fail to connect because they focus on what they are, not what they do for someone's life.

Key Lesson: If your offer doesn't create a "before/after" shift people can actually feel, it won't stick - no matter how clever the features.

Layman's unpack: When describing your offer, lead with the result someone will notice, not the clever thing you built. People want relief, progress, or joy - not specs.

Watch: Steve Jobs introduces the iPod (2001)

Emotional valence is the psychological principle that explains why you remember how something made you feel long after you've forgotten the details. Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio's research on somatic markers shows that emotional experiences create stronger neural pathways than purely factual ones - which is why a felt outcome (like "1,000 songs in your pocket") sticks better than a technical spec (like "5GB storage").

When you describe your offer, you're not just listing what it does - you're triggering an emotional response. The stronger that response, the more memorable your offer becomes. This is why features fade but feelings stick.

Example: A gardener doesn't sell "weekly lawn maintenance" (fact). They sell "a garden you're proud to show off" (feeling). The second version triggers valence - pride, relief, satisfaction - and that's what someone will remember when they're deciding whether to hire you.
Practical takeaway: When describing your offer, ask yourself: "What will they feel when this problem is solved?" Then lead with that feeling, not the mechanism that creates it.

Plain English: Facts tell, feelings sell. If you want your offer to stick, describe a feeling someone can imagine having - not just a thing they'll receive.

Watch: Antonio Damasio on Emotion and Decision Making

Use these prompts with your AI Buddy if you's stuck refining your offer or want sharper language.

  • Help me refine my core offer so it's clear, concise, and easy for someone new to understand.
  • Compare my offer to the top 3 alternatives or competitors - where do I stand out?
  • Suggest different ways I could phrase my offer so it feels sharper and more compelling without overcomplicating it.

Try these out if you want more clarity - or if you's stuck on how to say it so people "get it".

Misfit Insight: You're not selling coaching, a subscription, or a box of candles. You're selling relief, permission, insight, convenience, comfort, power, joy - something someone can actually feel. The deeper value is emotional, not just functional.

Plain English unpack: If you ignore what your product is, what feeling does it leave people with? That's your hook. That's what you need to surface and describe in your offer.