Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of worthy ideas? In Made to Stick, accomplished educators and idea collectors Chip and Dan Heath tackle head-on these vexing questions. Inside, the brothers Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain ways to make ideas stickier, such as applying the "human scale principle", using the "Velcro Theory of Memory", and creating "curiosity gaps".

In this indispensable guide, we discover that sticky messages of all kinds (from the infamous "kidney theft ring" hoax to a coach's lessons on sportsmanship, to a new-product vision at Sony) draw their power from the same six traits.

Made to Stick is a book that will transform the way you communicate ideas. It includes a fast-paced tour of success stories (and failures), such as the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who drank a glass full of bacteria to prove a point about stomach ulcers, the charities who make use of "the Mother Teresa Effect", and the elementary school teacher whose simulation actually prevented racial prejudice. Provocative, eye-opening, and often surprisingly funny, Made to Stick shows us the vital principles of winning ideas and tells us how we can apply these rules to making our own messages stick.

©2006 Chip Heath and Dan Heath; (P)2007 Random House, Inc.
What the Critics Say

"An entertaining, practical guide to effective communication. Fun...and solidly researched." (Publishers Weekly)
From AudioFile

In an age in which politicians and CEOs sell bad ideas every day, it's fascinating to learn what makes certain ideas attractive, or ""sticky."" Memorable ideas have simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotionality, and a gripping story line. With fascinating examples and compact writing, this audio is partly a technical manual on how to evaluate other people's ideas, partly a lesson on how not to let complexity and abstractness obscure communication. Charles Kahlenberg's comfortable pacing and grasp of the topic make his performance seamless--and so tuned-in to his listeners. He's energetic but not juiced, involved but not too intense. © AudioFile 2007