Sticky

I read an excerpt from the book Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath. It was a very interesting read and it drew me right in from the beginning. It started out with the urban legend of the kidney theft. It’s about a man who is bought a drink at bar by an attractive lady and the next then he knows is he is in a bathtub of ice with a tube protruding from his back. I’m sure many of you have heard some version of this story and like me, when I began to read it, I had a feeling I knew what was going to happen to that poor man. The question at hand is: What makes us remember this story? What makes us remember any urban legend or old wives tale? The book Made to Stick explores these questions and comes up with a solution for people to apply to every story or idea.

As a teacher it is important to get the material to “stick” with the students. As a boss it is important to get ideas to “stick” with employees. What can be done to make sure that any idea “stick” with the audience at hand? The Heath brothers have come up with a “formula” for this and it can be displayed in the acronym S.U.C.C.E.S.s…simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions, and stories. They believe if you apply all of these principles to any point you are trying to get across then, the idea will “stick”.

I agree with the Heath brothers and I was very enlightened after I read the small excerpt. They explained simplicity by using the golden rule. Everyone can remember that so, if we could sum our point in a simpler form, the more it will stay with our audience. To explain unexpectedness they then go in to say “we need to violate people’s expectations.” I think that means we need to do or create things that will surprise readers, and allow that idea or fact to remain in their memory because it was so unexpected. Our ideas have to be concrete; they have to be something that we can actually see or believe…which runs into the credibility of the idea. One of the most important principles, in my opinion, is to evoke emotion. Emotion is one of the strongest things that can connect someone to an idea and I truly believe it can leave a lasting impression. And lastly, stories are described as a “mental flight simulator, preparing us to respond more quickly and effectively.”

I think Made to Stick was a great read and it definitely made a lasting impression on me. I will also, without doubt, try the “formula” that Chip and Dan Heath have described in their book. I think it will be very successful and the ideas will “stick” with the audience.