Made to Stick — Teaching Placemat
Teaching Placemat · Communication

Made to Stick

Six traits that help an idea get understood, remembered, and acted on
Chip Heath & Dan Heath
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
Random House, 20071
The big idea

A sticky idea is understood, remembered, and changes something. Sticky ideas share six traits; the more you use, the better.2

The villain

The Curse of Knowledge

Once we know something, we can’t imagine not knowing it, so experts talk in abstractions listeners can’t follow.3

Tappers & listeners (E. Newton, Stanford, 1990): people tapped famous songs on a table for a listener to name.3

Actual2.5% 3 of 120 songs
The cure

Transform the idea

You can’t un-know what you know. Instead, reshape the message so it works for someone who doesn’t share your expertise. SUCCESs is the checklist for doing it.3

S

Simple

Find the core

Not dumbing down: prioritizing. Strip the idea to its essential point.2

  • State the core in one sentence
  • Commander’s Intent: the goal that survives a broken plan
  • Use an analogy or high-concept pitch

Example: Southwest will be “THE low-fare airline.”2

Ask: If they remember only one thing, what is it?

U

Unexpected

Get & hold attention

Surprise gets attention; curiosity keeps it.2

  • Violate a schema: break the expected pattern
  • Open a curiosity gap, then fill it
  • Tie the surprise back to the core

Example: the Nordstrom clerk who ironed a customer’s shirt.2

Ask: What will surprise them, and what will they want to know?

C

Concrete

Understand & remember

Use sensory language and specific images people can picture.2

  • Velcro theory of memory: more hooks, more recall
  • Name real people, actions, objects
  • Replace jargon with a picture

Example: JFK’s “man on the moon”; Aesop’s fables.2

Ask: Could a newcomer picture this?

C

Credible

Believe it

Give people a reason to believe beyond “trust me.”2

  • Outside: authorities, anti-authorities
  • Inside: vivid details, human-scale statistics
  • Testable credentials: “try before you buy”

Example: Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef?”2

Ask: How can they check this for themselves?