Communicating an idea is difficult, but communicating an idea to a modern sensory-overloaded audience is…nearly impossible. Citing inspiration from Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point, Chip and Dan Heath offer a recipe for constructing memorable ideas in their book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. The Heath Brothers organize their book based around six principles of effective communication that make ideas resonate.
How “sticky” the idea is, they suggest, depends upon six distinct characteristics. Its simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotional appeal, and anecdotal framework, are necessary elements of effective communication. Though they may seem like common sense at first, the startling examples and real life case studies in Made to Stick show how these elements are over looked and under applied.
The author’s low key and often humorous tone make for an easy read with far reaching applications for the business owner, marketer, or anyone who wants to be heard.
An extended discussion of the book’s principles can be found at the author’s blog: http://www.madetostick.com/