I came across the book "Made to stick " by Chip Heath and Dan Heath . I typically do not pick such long non fiction book easily . But a work discussion lead to a requirement of keeping report simple and creating a story based report. While i have presented and given my messages in ways which were simple or compared some data with something drastic. But never have i heard about story based report. While i like the concept, its not something that comes easily. I felt story lining a compliance report will make it a fluffy attempt on a serious issue. I am converted, while i might not go ahead with story, i might take a few principles from this book. I am still midway through it. There are so many stories in it about advertising and other fields which makes it interesting otherwise it would have been easily forgettable.
It basically goes over the principle of success to make it sticky. Sticky ideas are easily understood and remembered. And they're able to affect people's opinions and behavior. They spell like SUCCESS:
- Simple
- Unexpected
- Concrete
- Credible
- Emotional
- Stories
Simple:
If you argue ten points, no one would remember any, even if they're good. To make you idea sticky, you should make it simple and strip it down to its core. Its gives example from military where main intent is to "break the enemy's will". It gives leaders and soldiers the ability to improvise tactics as needed, while adhering to the common intent.
Southwest Airlines is a very successful airline. One reason for that is having a core: We're the low-fare airline. It's a simple idea, and it helps guide employee actions. If you're an employee who is asked to decide whether to add a pricey chicken Caesar salad to the airline's menu because customers requested it, you'll reject the idea because it doesn't help being low-fare.
Unexpected:
Unexpected ideas stick to our minds because it surprises us and gets our attention. Basically break an expected pattern what people are expected in a boring story , when you do something very unexpected it sticks to people's mind. I can think of many controversial advertisement in India which follow this principle. I recall the neighbour's envy owners pride even today despite that brand becoming less popular.
Then once you the attention, the key is to keep that attention. Even in new articles or while teaching if we follow this principle then it gets easier to remember for readers or students. Sometimes letting the message unfold like a mystery works well. Instead of showing report numbers in my case on page one, i try to build a story around it on what exactly is it about. To be honest still trying to map it to "unexpected report" in my case. Then then is "Gap Theory" . To make your Gap Theory work even better, make people commit to a prediction! The simple act of committing makes people more engaged and curious about the outcome. To know if they're right or wrong!
Make it concrete:
If you want your ideas to be sticky, avoid being very generic! Language is often abstract and generic, but life is not! As an example there was story about Sony making transistor radios. One thing that made Sony successful is the pocketable radio idea. It was simple, unexpected (at the time, radios was like furniture), and concrete. It gave Sony engineers a clear and ambitious goal to achieve.
