You live in an HOA. You have a great idea. But you’re not on the Board, and elections are months away. What do you do next?

Two words: present it.

Presenting a good idea, whether to a Board, a boss or to anyone else in the position to approve it, isn’t about them. Or you. It’s about the idea itself.

A good idea has inherent merit, but it needs a spokesperson. And if you’ve come up with the idea, that spokesperson is you. If you can imagine the concept and how it will benefit your Community, paint that picture in your presentation. Or, if you can count the ways it will profit your Community, tally it up and explain how the numbers will help.

And before you present your idea at the next Board meeting (in the agenda as “Other” or “Discussion” or “Comments,”), contact the Board Secretary and ask if your idea can be featured as a main topic of the meeting.

On the day, you might be nervous. Understandably so—who wouldn’t be? That’s why advice about picturing audiences in their underwear exists. But better than that, picture your idea. In full regalia.

Give your idea wings and a voice, and it can fly!