The Hidden Cost of a “Dental Paradise”
Let me paint a picture: my mouth is a dental goldmine. Not for me, but for every dentist and orthodontist who’s ever crossed its path. I’ve helped fund more dental degrees and home renovations than I care to admit. Why? Because I’m genetically missing six permanent teeth. Yes, six.
This dental anomaly gifted me with a unique mouth: two wisdom teeth instead of four (small win), but also three bridges, two permanent retainers, and a dental implant (big ouch). Oh, and one lone baby tooth, holding on for dear life three decades past its expiration date, now capped with a cosmetic “tooth hat.” Literal proof I’m clinging to my youth.
The Flossing Revelation That Changed Everything
For years, this dental chaos left me a reluctant participant in oral care. Sure, I brushed. But flossing? Always felt like one step too many. After all, hadn’t I suffered enough?
Appointment after appointment, my hygienist would remind me: “Floss more.” And I’d nod, promise to change, floss for a week, then… drift. The cycle of scraping and guilt continued—until one conversation flipped everything.
One day, my hygienist said something unexpectedly obvious:
“Floss first.”
I blinked. “Isn’t it floss after?”
“Not if you’re not flossing at all. Floss first is still flossing.”
She wasn’t wrong. Then she asked:
“Once you’ve flossed, could you really skip brushing?”
Of course not. Flossing first didn’t threaten my brushing habit—it strengthened it. The idea was shockingly simple, yet profoundly effective. That night, I flossed first. And I’ve never stopped. Ten years, zero cavities, zero lectures.
Why This Matters for Your Business Messaging
Now, what if your idea was like “flossing first”?
What if your message hit people with something unexpectedly obvious—so intuitive they couldn’t unsee it, and so surprising they couldn’t ignore it?
That’s the power of unexpectedly obvious ideas:
- They stand out because they challenge the “rules” people assume.
- They stick because they make immediate sense.
Case Study: From Technical to Transformational
One of my clients was stuck in technical jargon. Their message? “We use robotics to disassemble and reassemble electronics to make manufacturing more circular.”
Okay, but why does that matter?
We reframed it:
“We help companies eliminate e-waste by designing recyclability into products from the start.”
Or even better:
“We make the end of one product’s life the beginning of another—automatically.”
See the shift? Now, it’s an idea people can believe in—and buy into.
Crafting Your Unexpectedly Obvious Idea
- Surprise: Flip the script. What’s your audience expecting? Say something that challenges that.
- Sense: Back it with logic that clicks instantly. It should feel like something they’ve always known but never heard said.
For my client, it was:
- Unexpected: Start tackling e-waste at design, not disposal.
- Obvious: “You get the results you design for.”
And it worked. They closed a major deal with a top computer manufacturer before we even finalized the copy.
Your Turn
Your idea deserves more than polite nods and forgotten pitches. It deserves belief.
What’s your “floss first”? The thing that feels so right, people can’t help but act on it?
👉 Email me or drop a comment—I’d love to help you find it.