Describe a shared proposal through its contributors before naming yourself.
WhenBefore a group pitch
“The objections and reluctances I met with in soliciting the subscriptions, made me soon feel the impropriety of presenting one's self as the proposer of any useful project, that might be suppos'd to raise one's reputation in the smallest degree above that of one's neighbours, when one has need of their assistance to accomplish that project. I therefore put myself as much as I could out of sight, and stated it as a scheme of a number of friends, who had requested me to go about and propose it to such as they thought lovers of reading.”
Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography, chapter VIII, in Frank Woodworth Pine ed. (1916); events 1731 onward; retrospective manuscript written 1771–1790. Read the source ↗
Why it works
Franklin said presenting a project as a scheme of friends reduced resistance. The modern version avoids inventing a group to borrow its authority.
Start tiny
Replace one “my idea” with an accurate contributor's role (30 seconds).
What you’ll notice
Notice who can see their own part in the proposal.
When it slips
Do not erase responsibility. Credit others and state what you will do.
Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography, chapter VIII, in Frank Woodworth Pine ed. (1916); events 1731 onward; retrospective manuscript written 1771–1790. Read the source ↗
Foundation: Small recurring actions with little setup. Choose anchors that fit your day.
