Book Review: How to Make Your Ideas Sticky

You've been there: you have to try to communicate something that you know is important. Maybe it's a presentation to a class or to a boss. Maybe you're trying to talk with your kids. Maybe you're trying to make a sale.

But you feel it, even as you're talking: no one's listening. Or maybe they're listening politely but no one's actually going to remember anything that you talked about five minutes after you've sat down.

When I'm invited to give someone feedback on a talk or sermon, the vast majority of the time I find that they have solid to exceptional content buried under poor presentation skills. And so people nod politely, but none of it stays with them.

And yet, some presentations DO stick--even (gasp!) sermons. They stay with us for a disproportionate amount of time. Why is that?

In their book "Made to Stick" Chip and Dan Heath tackle this issue: why some ideas stick and others don't.

The Heaths propose that sticky ideas all have a few key overlapping characteristics that (coincidentally) spell out SUCCESs. Sticky ideas are:

• Simple. Not simplistic, but boiled down to their core, their essence, without fluff.
• Unexpected. The facial expression of "surprise" reflects increased alertness and an eagerness to gather more information. Unexpected-ness engages our attention.
• Concrete. The more esoteric, the less memorable. Using sensory language helps here.
• Credible. There are authorities ("9 out of 10 doctors recommend Facebook over MySpace")or anti-authorities (think James Dean if you're my parents age, early-stage Eminem if you're my age, maybe Lady Gaga if you're in college?) that can lend credibility to your message.
• Emotional. People care about people, not numbers
• Stories. Stories take a concept and make it concrete, real, give it punch.
  

This book is a fantastic resource for anyone who finds themselves having to do lots of communicating--whether that be preachers, teachers, office space-types, or parents. You can buy "Made to Stick" at lots of fine retailers.

Or you can go to the HeathBrothers.com and get lots of free resources that will give you the basic gist for free!