`Author:` Chip & Dan Heath `Availability:` ## Why Some Ideas Survive: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die ![[Made to Stick.bookcover.jpg]] > [!info] > [Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Made-Stick-Ideas-Survive-Others/dp/1400064287) ## Key Takeaways ##### 1. **The SUCCESs Model for Sticky Ideas:** ###### • Simple: Strip an idea to its core, focusing on its most essential message. ###### • Unexpected: Capture attention by surprising your audience or breaking a pattern. ###### • Concrete: Use tangible, sensory details to make abstract ideas relatable. ###### • Credible: Back ideas with authority, statistics, or relatable anecdotes. ###### • Emotional: Appeal to emotions to make people care about your idea. ###### • Stories: Frame ideas within narratives to make them memorable and engaging. ##### 2. **Curiosity Gap:** • Tease information to create curiosity, motivating people to seek answers and stay engaged. ##### 3. **Analogies and Metaphors:** • Simplify complex concepts using familiar comparisons to help your audience connect with the idea. ##### 4. **Avoid the [[Curse of knowledge]]:** • Remember that your audience may not share your expertise. Present ideas in ways that are accessible and easy to grasp. ##### 5. **Emotion Over Logic:** • People resonate more with emotional appeals than pure facts. Craft messages that connect on a human level. ##### 6. **Power of Specificity:** • Avoid vagueness; instead, use clear examples or numbers to make your message resonate. ##### 7. **Use Stories to Persuade and Inspire Action:** • Stories are more impactful than raw data. They illustrate the stakes, draw empathy, and make the audience care. These principles help shape ideas into ones that not only resonate but are remembered and acted upon. ## Summary ## Quotes - ## Notes **Unpacking The Curse of Knowledge** The concept of the _[[Curse of knowledge]]_ was illustrated through **research by Elizabeth Newton**, who conducted experiments with a simple game: tapping out the tune of a well-known song for others to guess. In _Made to Stick_, the authors describe Newton’s experiment: “Newton assigned people to one of two roles: ‘tappers’ or ‘listeners.’ Tappers received a list of twenty-five well-known songs, such as ‘Happy Birthday to You’ and ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’ Each tapper was asked to pick a song and tap out the rhythm to a listener (by knocking on a table). The listener’s job was to guess the song, based on the rhythm being tapped.” At first glance, the task seems straightforward. But here’s what happened next, as detailed in _Made to Stick_: “The listener’s job in this game is quite difficult. Over the course of Newton’s experiment, 120 songs were tapped out. _Listeners guessed only 3 out of 120 songs (2.5%)._ But here’s what made the result worthy of a dissertation in psychology. Before the listeners guessed the name of the song, Newton asked the tappers to predict the odds that the listeners would guess correctly. _They predicted that the odds were 50 percent._ **The tappers got their message across 1 time in 40, but they thought they were getting their message across 1 time in 2.”** **The Gap in Perception** Why does this happen? How can a well-known tune seem so clear to the tapper but incomprehensible to the listener? Newton discovered the following dynamic, as explained in _Made to Stick_: “When a tapper taps, she is _hearing the song in her head._ Go ahead and try it for yourself—tap out ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’ It’s impossible to avoid hearing the tune in your head. Meanwhile, the listeners can’t hear that tune—_all they can hear is a bunch of disconnected taps, like a kind of bizarre Morse Code.”_ This disconnect often leads to frustration for the tapper, who wonders, _“How could you possibly not get this?”_ The issue lies in communication: the sender’s mental image is vivid and complete, but the receiver gets only fragmented information. This phenomenon underpins much of the miscommunication we experience daily. ### **What Can Be Done About It?** #### **When Others Don’t Understand You** Misunderstandings will happen—it’s inevitable. Accept that the message in your head isn’t as clear to others as it feels to you. When this happens: ##### 1. **Acknowledge the dynamic:** Remind yourself, _“I am not being as clear as I think I am.”_ ##### 2. **Communicate in multiple ways:** • Use metaphors, analogies, or illustrations. • Draw diagrams or pictures. • Tell stories to make the concept relatable. ##### 3. **Opt for face-to-face communication when possible:** Tone, body [[Language]], and other nuances are absent in written formats like emails or texts, increasing the risk of misunderstanding. ##### 4. **Be patient:** Communication is a process that takes time and effort to clarify and refine. ### **Shaping How You Communicate** Understanding the Curse of Knowledge can transform how you approach communication. It reminds us that: • Simplifying and diversifying your methods can help bridge gaps in understanding. • Clear communication often requires conscious effort and empathy. How might this insight change the way you send and receive messages? Share your thoughts! `Concepts:` [[Psychology]] `Knowledge Base:` [[Books index]]