Made to stick — Chip Heath & Dan Heath
Principles for sticky ideas:
SUCCESs
Simplicity, Unexpected, Concrete, Credentialed, Emotional, Stories
Proof that idea is not reaching consumers:
Experiment about Tappers & Listeners. Tappers were given a list of very famous songs/rhymes, which they need to play by tapping on a wooden desk. Listeners had to predict which song is it. Tappers thought 1 in 2 listeners will predict the song correctly. Reality just 1 in 40. Tappers had the tune of their song in mind and hence they thought it is easy for listeners to predict it. Even with our ideas, we have the whole story worked out in our mind, making us believe that our message will reach the consumers. In reality, only few consumers understand the message if not communicated properly.
Simple:
How do I communicate my message ?
Find Commander’s Intent in your idea. No plan survives its enemy. In highly chaotic military operations, plan tends to fail, hence having a simple statement as intent helps soldiers take actions in case something unpredictable happens. Similarly, no ideas survives it’s consumer. To make it sticky, first step is to search for the core of the idea. Strip away other ideas which are important but not the most important.
Avoid burying the lead. Don’t start with something interesting but irrelevant in hopes of entertaining the audience. Instead, work to make the core message itself more interesting.
Simple = Core + Compact
Identify the core of your message & communicate in compact manner.
Compactness doesn’t necessarily mean shortening. It means using the existing memory train of the audience. As example, Use words which are pointers to experiences in audience’s memory. Example: JFK is compact than John f Kennedy. But JFK is harder to remember because full name John f Kennedy is associated with far.more stories that people know. These memory associations are called schema. Schema helps people understand new concepts using the existing concepts in their minds.
People are tempted to tell you everything, with perfect accuracy,
right up front, when they should be giving you just enough info to be
useful, then a little more, then a little more. This is the Curse of Knowledge.
Unexpected:
“How do I get people’s attention and how do I keep it ?”
The basic way to get someone’s attentions is this: Break a pattern, as humans adapt incredibly to existing patterns. Use surprise to break the pattern that has creeped around the message you wish to deliver. To get attention, your idea should evoke surprise.
Surprise breaks schema people have attached themselves to. If you wish to come up with product idea, see how you can surprise your target users by breaking schema of existing products.
If you can create mystery, you can keep attention. Mystery creates knowledge gap and people stick around to fill that gap.
Concrete:
If you can examine something with your senses, it is concrete.
Don’t deal in abstract concepts. Concrete examples or concrete call of action tells people clearly what they need to understand nor do. So your idea should have concrete message rather than abstract concepts.
One of the ways to define concrete ideas is to know the needs of your target audience.
Credibility:
One of the ways to get credibility is to have real people sharing their experiences that aligns with your idea. Think genuine reviews of a product.
To add credibility, add vivid details while explaining the idea. It could be the location or description of the scene. The detail should be such that they paint a picture in audience’s mind.
Statistics can make your idea credible. But it won’t get you attention if you just use numbers
Use statistics in terms of human relatable comparison rather than plainly stating numbers. As an example, Jupiter can fit 11 Earths. This is more helpful in understanding the size of Jupiter than stating the size in plain numbers.
Sinatra test: If you can make it there you can make it anywhere. That is one example alone is enough to establish credibility in given domain. Try to get example that passes Sintara test.
Most powerful source of credibility is testable credentials. Giving audience a measure that they can verify themselves easily. Something that audience can experience for themselves. Like “try before you buy” thing.
Emotional:
Simple, Unexpected, Concrete & Credential can make people believe in an idea, but for people to take action, they have to care. When people are thinking analytically, their ability to feel hinders. Emotions are needed to make people care about the idea.
Appeal to people’s self interest. Don’t tell them the features of your ideas. Tell them what people can benefit from those features. People do not by quarter inch drill bit, they buy quarter inch holes so that they can hang their children’s pictures on it.
Refer to the audience directly instead of talking in third person. Example: Saying “You can spend more time with your family by saving time using this product” is better than saying “People can spend more time with family by saving time using this product”. Appeal to audience to imagine the scene. Example : “Take a moment and Imagine how this product will provide you with services on doorstep, and you will be able to spend the saved time with your on people that matter to you”. Communicate what people will benefit in a way that they can imagine themselves enjoying it.
Appeal to people emotions in following ways:
1. Show how the idea is associated with things people already care about.
2. Appeal to audience’s self-interest
Stories:
Audience experiencing a story are not passive. They are experiencing the whole story in their minds as of they are there. Experiencing an event in mind is not as good as being there but it is the next big thing. Stories put the idea into a framework which is more lifelike, which prepares the audience to act in alignment with the idea.
Different types of story plots:
1. Challenge plot
The story where protagonist overcomes challenges to achieve a goal. It highlights their courage and perseverance.
2. Connection plot
The story which establishes connection across racial, demographic boundaries. Or establishes connection between 2 groups with a conflict.
3. Creativity plot
The story which emphasis on creativity or innovation to achieve a goal
Use challenge plot of you wish to inspire audience overcome a challenge. Use connection plot if you wish to establish a relationship with the audience. Use creativity plot if you wish to reinforce a new culture among the audience.
Conclusion:
For an idea to stick, it’s got to make the audience:
1. Pay Attention > UNEXPECTED
2. Understand & remember it > SIMPLE & CONCRETE
3. Agree/Believe > CREDIBLE
4. Care > EMOTIONAL
5. Be able to act on it > STORY
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I have 10 years of industry experience in Google, Adobe & Goldman Sachs. I took 100+ interviews at Google to hire for the role of Software Engineer. I am a former Tech lead at Google Pay & Google Ads team. I am helping everyone build a successful career in Software industry.
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