MADE TO STICK - WHY SOME IDEAS SURVIVE AND OTHERS DIE

The author points out 3 characteristics of the idea that stick. They should be :

1. Understandable
2. Memorable
3. Effective in altering thoughts and behaviour

Here are the 6 principles of stickiness:

1. Simplicity

• This is the key to finding your core idea. Aiming for simplicity means going to the bottom of it to find the single most important thing.
• Simple ideas can be effective in changing behaviour. It is not about cutting things short but rather about prioritization.
• Simple ideas are a product of core and compact. 

2. Unexpected:

• Mess with people's expectations. Keep them interested for a longer period.

Ask 2 questions:

1. How to get people's attention
2. How to keep it

Getting Attention-

Our brains are designed to notice changes around us. So the easiest way to get someone's attention is to break a pattern by doing something new.

The steps are as follows:

• Determine the core message you want to communicate.
• Ask yourself: what is unusual about my message? what are the unexpected elements? 
• Communicate this message in a manner that breaks the expectations of the audience. Make use of the element of surprise.

Keeping Attention:

• Make use of mystery. What happens after? How will it happen? These thoughts keep the people interested.
• Create gaps in their knowledge. This will help create curiosity.

3. Concrete:

• Making an idea abstract makes it harder to understand and remember it. Moreover, abstract things can have multiple interpretations that can lead to confusion.
• Being able to examine something with your senses means it is concrete. Concreteness is specific people doing specific things.
• Concreteness makes it easier to communicate and understand new ideas and concepts.

4. Credible:

• We believe a message because our parents or peers believe that. Our experiences lead us to believe some things and reject others. Because we trust them as authorities.
• Trying to persuade a skeptical audience is not an easy task, but the best way to do it is to focus on the honesty and trustworthiness of or message and its sources.
• Make use of details and statistical data. This acts as a great way to establish expertise and trustworthiness in the mind of the audience.

5. Emotional:

• We don't need to create emotion in people out of thin air. In fact, many ideas produce emotions by associating their message with emotions that already exist. 
• The key is to create an association between something they don't care about now with something they already do care about.
• Another way is to appeal to their self-interests. 

6. Stories

• Stories are an effective teaching tool. They draw the illustration of things that people didn't realize earlier. 
• Simulating past events can be much more effective than simulating future scenarios.

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