In the book “Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die” is a book by brothers Chip and Dan Heath, first published in 2007. The book is focused into the qualities that make an idea memorable and gives insights into how to make messages stick with an audience, or with conversations one-on-one. You can use these principles in business, in your personal relationships, or at home to communicate your ideas and aspirations better with your family. It offers real-world examples and practical tips for creating ideas that resonate with any audience or person.

Chip and Dan explore the anatomy of ideas that have a lasting impact, drawing from a diverse range of success stories from various fields, including urban legends, business, history, and social myths. The book is grounded in principles from sociology, psychology, and other social sciences. By reading their stories and examples in the book help to remember and implement the very valuable and lifechanging principles in “Made To Stick“.

What is a Sticky Idea?

A “sticky” idea as one that people remember and act on. It also tends to get passed around, both face-to-face and via social media sites like Pinterest and Facebook. We remember a sticky idea, and we can retell the idea to other people.

What is a sticky message? A message that stands out and is remembered because it is simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional and often tells a story.

What is An Example of a Sticky Message?

It is a one-sentence statement so profound that a person could spend a life-time remembering and following it. A Proverbs like “a bird in hand is worth two in the bush” is a perfect example of a message that is so profoundly simple, it has stuck for thousands of years.

The Heaths introduce the “SUCCESs” model, which is an acronym for the six key principles that make an idea sticky:

1. Simplicity: Finding the core of the idea and stripping it down to its most fundamental parts.
2. Unexpectedness: Capturing people’s attention by surprising them and holding their interest by creating curiosity.
3. Concreteness: Making ideas clear with concrete language and sensory information, avoiding abstract language that can lead to misunderstandings.
4. Credibility: Giving an idea believability through credible sources, statistics, and details that can be checked.
5. Emotions: Making people feel something about the idea, which can be a powerful driver of memory and action.
6. Stories: Telling stories to provide an easy path for people to understand complex ideas and to inspire and motivate them to act.

Throughout the book, the authors use these principles to dissect why certain ideas stick and why others are quickly forgotten. They provide a variety of examples and case studies to illustrate their points, and they offer practical advice on how to apply these principles to one’s own communication efforts.

How To Make Your Idea Sticky

To make your idea sticky, focus either on what people already really care about – usually themselves (self-interest) – or create an association between your idea and something they care about (again, usually themselves).

Here Is Another Synopsis of SUCCESs:

Simplicity:

• Strip an idea to its core essence.
• Focus on sharing the most important message.

Unexpectedness:

• Use surprise to grab attention.
• Generate interest and curiosity to maintain it.

Concreteness:

• Use specific facts and figures.
• Employ vivid imagery to make ideas clear and memorable.

Credibility:

• Utilize authorities or anti-authorities for believability.
• Apply details and statistics to support the message.

Emotions:

• Connect with people’s emotions to make them care. Within great stories is created the emotion of empathy for the antagonist. Empathy is chemically manufactured in our body by the neurotransmitter oxytocin.
• Appeal to self-interest and identity to motivate action.

Stories:

• Narrate stories to make a point come alive. Humans are wired for story as Lisa Cron writes in her book.
• Use stories to simulate action (provide knowledge about how to act) and inspiration (motivation to act). By supplying simulation and inspiration, you greatly increase the likelihood that people will act.
• The real difficulty is to be sure they are simple enough.

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Conclusion

The book “Made to Stick” is a valuable resource for educators, leaders, marketers, and anyone interested in making their ideas resonate with others. By following the SUCCESs model, individuals can craft messages that are more likely to be remembered and have a lasting impact. The Heaths’ engaging writing style and the practical nature of their advice make the book accessible to a wide audience, ensuring that its own ideas are indeed “sticky.”