If you want to read a book about how to create a message that sticks, one that people remember, then I strongly suggest you read the book Made to Stick, Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.

The authors, brothers Chip Heath & Dan Heath, present six principles that they have found are present in sticky ideas.

1. Simplicity: We must create ideas that are both simple and profound. This means identifying the core idea, and present it in its simplest of forms.
2. Unexpectedness: We need to be counterintuitive. [...] For our idea to endure, we must generate interest and curiosity. [...] We can engage people’s curiosity over a long period of time by systematically “opening gaps” in their knowledge -and then filling those gaps.
   
3. Concreteness: Speaking concretely is the only way to ensure that our idea will mena the same thig to everyone in our audience.
   
4. Credibility: Sticky ideas have t carry their own credentials. We need ways to help people test our ideas for themselves.
   
5. Emotions: How do we get people to care about our ideas? We make them feel something.
   
6. Stories: How do we get people to act on our ideas? We tell stories.

Conveniently (or maybe to make it more sticky), these six principles can be compacted in the acronym SUCCES: Simple Unexpected Concrete Credentialed Emotional Story.

If you don’t have time to read it all, I recommend you read the Introduction, pages 3 to 24. In my case, I was hooked after the introduction, so I kept reading until I finished it; I couldn’t put it down.

Summarized the way I did, the book does not seem like anything of real value. However, the authors present these principles in a great way -which I was expecting, as the book is about effective communications. Great examples and tools should help the readers to come up with ways to improve their communication style in their daily activities.

I’ve used some of the tools and examples presented in the book, and I can testify that they do work.

Strongly recommended.

Post from: Strategic IT Planning Blog, by Andres Vivas.

Book Review: Made to Stick

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