A reading club with a view to the future

037 Chip and Dan Heath: Made to Stick

Why some ideas are memorable, compelling, and enduring, while others are forgotten, dull, and forgettable.

Chip and Dan Heath: Made to Stick

Summary

Made to Stick explains why some ideas stick and others don't. The book presents the "SUCCES" model of communication, which is an acronym for six principles that make ideas stick: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions, and stories. The authors use real-world examples to illustrate how each of these principles can be applied to create ideas that resonate with people and are more likely to be remembered, believed, and acted upon.

About

Title: Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Authors: Chip Heath, Dan Heath

Publishing year: 2006

Publisher: Random House Audio

Length in hours: 8 hours and 37 minutes

5 main ideas

  1. The SUCCES model of communication: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions, and stories.
  2. The curse of knowledge: the difficulty of remembering what it was like not to know something once you know it.
  3. The importance of using concrete language and vivid imagery to make ideas more memorable and compelling, balancing detail and simplicity in communication.
  4. The role of emotions in making ideas stick and creating a connection with the audience.
  5. The power of stories to engage people and create a sense of shared experience and understanding.
Chip and Dan Heath: Made to Stick

5 funny quotes

  1. "Our job is to make the strange familiar, not the familiar strange."
  2. "It's not about dressing up the facts; it's about dressing up the ideas."
  3. "People who know nothing about advertising are often the best advertising copywriters. That's because they still have the Common Sense that the rest of us have lost."
  4. "The biggest mistake that people make is that they make it too complicated. Simplicity is the key."
  5. "If you’re a good doctor, you find a way to love your patients."

5 thought-provoking quotes​

  1. "If you say three things, you don’t say anything."
  2. "The most basic way to get someone’s attention is this: Break a pattern."
  3. "The curse of knowledge is the single best explanation of why good people write bad prose."
  4. "Facts are not inherently interesting, story is."
  5. "As counterintuitive as it may sound, to be concrete, you have to be abstract."

5 dilemmas

  1. How to communicate complex ideas simply
  2. How to make people care about your message
  3. Balancing simplicity and accuracy
  4. Making your message memorable
  5. Overcoming the curse of knowledge

5 examples

  1. Subway’s Jared Fogle and his weight loss story
  2. The “kidney heist” urban legend
  3. The “invisible gorilla” experiment
  4. The story of Roanoke colony
  5. “The Troops Need You” campaign by the U.S. Army

Referenced books

  1. "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell
  2. "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert Cialdini
  3. "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman

Share a quote

"The most basic way to get someone’s attention is this: Break a pattern."

Chip and Dan Heath: Made to Stick
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