I remember when I was a kid my Mom brought home a stuffed animal from work, I think it was a fox, and I remember it was holding a sign that said “I’ve got great ideas!” I asked my Mom where she had gotten it from and she said that her company gave it to her because she had submitted an idea, and they ended up using it, and one of the ways they showed appreciation for their employees ideas was giving them stuffed animals (and maybe a raise?)

It always stuck with me that in a company of over 5,000 (just in her branch) my Mom’s company took notice of their employees, of any title, when they had good ideas to improve the company. In the best-selling book “Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas-Survive and Others Die,” the co-author Dan Heath says “Even the most brilliant idea won’t make a difference if a manager can’t sell it, can’t get people to embrace it, remember it, and act on it.”

In an environment of economic and job uncertainty, one of the best ways to make sure you are remembered within your company is by your ideas. Your ideas show that you are passionate about what you do, are interested in the company’s success, and that you have promotion possibility. Here are six tips to let you know if your idea is a good one:

1. Keep it simple. Strip your idea down to the basics, without making it sound like a sales pitch. Make sure that a 5-year old could understand it.
2. Make it unexpected and exciting so that you keep your audiences attention.
3. Make sure it’s easy to remember and concrete.
4. Make it believable.
5. Make it emotional, more people will be persuaded to care about your idea if it tugs at their heartstrings.
6. Tell it in a story, and make sure it has a call to action. You want people to act immediately on your idea.

Your ideas make you invaluable to your company. For more tips on career and how to improve your job, if you have questions and need advice, or if you are looking to switch careers all together; click here to Ask The Career Coach.