Made to Stick

 

The book "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die" by Chip and Dan Heath explains how to effectively express your ideas so that they stick in people's minds and shape their behavior. 

The basic thesis of the book is that ideas are stickiest when they are simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and based on stories.

These principles can be remembered by the acronym SUCCESs. The authors use many examples and stories to illustrate these principles and how to apply them in different situations.

Simplicity

Simplicity means finding the core of your idea and expressing it in a clear and concise way. Avoid using jargon and extraneous details that could confuse or dull your audience. To make your topic more remembered and accessible, you should also employ metaphors, proverbs, and analogies. 

To describe what a pomelo is, for instance, the writers say that it is "essentially a super-sized grapefruit."

Unexpectedness

Unexpectedness means grabbing your audience's attention by breaking their expectations or creating curiosity gaps. You ought to astonish them with something odd or unexpected or pose a query they'd like to have answered. 

To peak readers' curiosity, the authors, for instance, employ the headline "How a Few Sick Cows Spent a Billion Dollars."

Concreteness

Concreteness means making your idea more vivid and tangible by using sensory details, examples, or statistics. Avoid using terminology that can be understood differently by different persons, such as abstract or imprecise terms. 

Use specific symbols or visuals that can aid your audience in picturing or remembering your ideas. For instance, the authors depict the amount of popcorn Americans consume per year as a kidney-shaped pool of popcorn.

Credibility

Credibility means making your idea more believable and trustworthy by using sources, facts, or testimonials. You should refrain from making assertions that lack supporting data or seem too nice to be true. Use specifics, figures, or illustrations to bolster your argument and give it more reality. 

To convince its readers to stop smoking, the authors, for instance, offer the testimony of a former smoker who quit after viewing an image of a sick lung.

Emotions

Emotions mean making your idea more appealing and motivating by connecting it to your audience's feelings, values, or aspirations. Avoid being overly analytical or dispassionate while expressing your concept. Moreover, you ought to employ moving language, tales, or visuals to compel your audience to care about and act upon your proposition. 

In order to encourage their readers to make healthier food choices, the authors, for instance, present the account of Jared Fogle, who shed 245 pounds by eating Subway sandwiches.

Stories

Stories mean making your idea more engaging and memorable by telling a story that illustrates your idea or shows its impact. While expressing your concept, avoid being overly somber or factual. Also, you should employ narratives with a defined theme, characters, and plot so that your audience can connect with it and take something away from it. 

As an illustration, the writers utilize the success of Southwest Airlines, which emphasized becoming "the low-fare airline," to teach their readers about strategy.

You may make your thoughts stickier and more powerful by adhering to these six SUCCESs principles. These guidelines can be used as a checklist to assess your own ideas as well as those of others. 

The "Made to Stick" book offers a wealth of further advice and resources on how to put these ideas into practice in a variety of settings, including business, marketing, journalism, education, and social change.

FAQ

The main premise of "Made to Stick" is to explain why some ideas survive and others die. The book explores the concept of "stickiness" and seeks to understand what makes an idea or concept memorable or interesting.

In the context of business and finance, "Made to Stick" provides valuable insights on how to make business ideas or concepts "stick" and become memorable. This can be particularly useful in areas such as marketing, where creating memorable advertisements or campaigns is crucial.

One example from the book is the infamous "kidney theft ring" hoax. Despite being a false story, it became widely circulated and believed because it was a 'sticky' idea.

The book suggests several strategies for making ideas 'stickier', such as applying the human scale principle, using the Velcro Theory of Memory, and creating curiosity gaps.

"Made to Stick" can be beneficial for anyone interested in understanding how to make their ideas more memorable and impactful. This includes entrepreneurs, teachers, politicians, journalists, and anyone else who needs to communicate ideas effectively.

You can purchase this book through the link below: