MADE to STICKSUCCESs Model

www.MADE to STICK.com

PRINCIPLE 1

SIMPLE

PRINCIPLE 2

UNEXPECTED

PRINCIPLE 3

CONCRETE

PRINCIPLE 4

CREDIBLE

PRINCIPLE 5

EMOTIONAL

PRINCIPLE 6

STORIES

© 2008 by Chip and Dan Heath. All rights reserved. Do not replicate without written permission.

S U C C E S s

A sticky idea is understood, it’s remembered, and it changes something. Sticky ideas of all kinds—ranging from the “kidney thieves” urban legend to JFK’s “Man on the Moon” speech—have six traits in common. If you make use of these traits in your communication, you’ll make your ideas stickier. (You don’t need all 6 to have a sticky idea, but it’s fair to say the more, the better!)

Simplicity isn’t about dumbing down, it’s about prioritizing. (Southwest will be THE low-fare airline.) What’s the core of your message? Can you communicate it with an analogy or high-concept pitch?

To get attention, violate a schema. (The Nordie who ironed a shirt…) To hold attention, use curiosity gaps. (What are Saturn’s rings made of?) Before your message can stick, your audience has to want it.

To be concrete, use sensory language. (Think Aesop’s fables.) Paint a mental picture. (“A man on the moon…”) Remember the Velcro theory of memory—try to hook into multiple types of memory.

Ideas can get credibility from outside (authorities or anti-authorities) or from within, using human-scale statistics or vivid details. Let people “try before they buy.” (Where’s the Beef?)

People care about people, not numbers. (Remember Rokia.) Don’t forget the WIIFY (What’s In It For You). But identity appeals can often trump self-interest. (“Don’t Mess With Texas” spoke to Bubba’s identity.)

Stories drive action through simulation (what to do) and inspiration (the motivation to do it). Think Jared. Spring-board stories (See Denning’s World Bank tale) help people see how an existing problem might change.

1. StorieS and exampleS are the building blockS of a preSentation

Ifyouuseonlyonetip,thisistheone.The#1mistakewe’veobservedinpresentations—andthereisnoclosesecond—isthatthemessageistooabstract.Thepresenteroffersconceptsandconclusionsbutnotevidence.Hetalksatahighlevelaboutthebigpicture,butgivesnoconcretedetailsthatmightmakethebigpictureunderstandableandplausible.Hemaysprinkleinafewstoriesorexamples,buttheyaretreatedlikegarnish.Mostpeoplecommunicatewith,say,3partsexpositionto1partexample.That’sexactlybackwards.Inacompellingpresentation,examplesaren’tgarnish,they’retheentrée.

Apresentationisasequenceofconcreteexamplesandstoriesthatsnaptogethertoformacompellingargument.Forinstance,thinkoftheexamplesthatAlGoreusedinhismovieAn Inconvenient Truth:ThebeforeandafterphotosofMt.Kilimanjaro,showingthevanishingsnowcaps.ThesimulatedsatelliteimagesofManhattanfloodedbyrisingsealevels.InMichaelMoore’sSicko,hedoesn’tmakeconceptualpointsaboutthehealthcaresystem—hemakeshiscasethroughthestoriesofindividuals,likethecarpenterwhoaccidentallycutoff2fingers,andthenhadtochoosewhichfingertoreattachsincehecouldn’taffordtodoboth!

AsocialenterprisecalledVisionSpringprovideseye-glassestothepoor.Therearehundredsofmillionsofpeopleinthedevelopingworldwhoneedglasses.ButwhenthefounderofVisionSpringmakesapresentationtopotentialdonors,heiscarefultotellthestoriesofindividuals.Forinstance,he’lltalkabouta35year-oldweaverinIndia—amastercraftsmanwith20yearsofexperience.Heearnsagoodlivingforhisfamilyandusessomeofhisincometosendhiskidstoschool.Then,ashiseyesightbeginstodegenerate(aseveryone’sdoesatthatage),hefindshim-selfincreasinglyunabletoaccomplishthe“up-close”workthat’stheheartofweaving.Hesimplycan’tseewellenough.

Hebeginstorelyonhischildrentohelp,whichmeanstheymissdaysatschool.Ashiseyesightdeterioratesfurther,hisincomesuffersandhebecomesincreasinglyreliantonhiswifeandkidstosupplementit.Here’samanwhoisattheheightofhisskillsbutcannolongerprovideforhisfamily—andthesolutionisassimpleasagenericpairofreadingglasses,thekindthatyouandIcouldbuyatadrugstorefor$5!Withoutunderstandingthatstory,youcan’tappreciatethefullvalueofwhatVisionSpringdoes.

Weknowmanyofyouhavetopresentdatainyourpre-sentations.Butbecausedataisprettyabstract,youshouldresistyourtemptationtoleadwiththedataortoletthedatastandalone.Whichismorecompelling?Sayingthatthereare“900,000pooradultswithdecliningeyesightinMumbai,andweneedyourhelptostartsolvingtheprob-lem.”Ortellingthestoryaboveaboutthe35-year-oldweaver,andthensaying,“Ourresearchsuggeststhatthereare900,000storieslikethis,inMumbaialone,andweneedyourhelptostartsolvingtheproblem.”Dataarejustsummariesofthousandsofstories—tellafewofthosestoriestohelpmakethedatameaningful.

For more on this point, we strongly recommend the story in Made to Stick about Gary Klein’s attempt to capture the takeaways of a conference. See pages 235-237. And consider how Stephen Denning used stories to change the attitude of his colleagues at the World Bank toward “knowl-edge management” on pages 231-235.

2. don’t preamble, parachute in

Thefirstmissionofapresentationistograbattention.Andthat’swhyit’sdisturbingthatmanypresentationsstum-bleoutofthegatewithapreamble—alaboriousoverviewofwhat’sgoingtobecovered.Thisproblemisunderstandable.Afterall,we’veallbeencoachedto“Tell‘emwhatyou’regonnatell‘em,thentell‘em,thentell‘emwhatyoutold‘em.”

Youcan’ttalkaboutstickyideaswithouttalkingaboutpresentations.Althoughmostofusdreadpresentations,pauseforamomentandthinkabouttheadvantagesyouhavewhenyou’remaking

apresentation.Unlikeajournalistwhoistryingtogetareadertoreadanarticle,oranadvertiserwho’stryingtostandoutinacrowdedmarket,oraparentwho’stryingtoshoutamessagetoateenwhoisrunningtoafriend’shouse,you’vegotitmade:You’vereceivedaninvitationtomakeanideastick.Youhaveadedicatedsliceoftimeandanaudiencewillingtositstill.That’sapreciousopportunity.Howdoyoumakethemostofit? Webelievethereareafewbasicrulesthatshouldgovernanykindofpresentation,whetheryou’resellingaproducttoacustomer,ortraininganewemployee,ordiscussingyourchurch’soutreachprogram,orexplainingtheSmoot-HawleyTariffAct.

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Butthatadviceisoverstructuredand,frankly,unnecessary.SteveJobsdoesn’tpresentthisway.RonaldReagandidn’tpresentthisway.

Tossoutthepreambleandparachuteintotheaction.RebeccaFullerwasgivingacriticalpresentationtoagroupofmuseumdirectors.FulleristhefounderofRAFModels,agroupthatcreatestactilemuseumexhibits,suchaslandscapesforhistorymuseumsthatguestscantouch.Hertactileexhibitsareparticularlygreatforvisuallyim-pairedguests.Fullerwantedtohelpthemuseumdirectorsseehowimportantitistopushbeyondvisual-onlyexhibits.Soshestartedthepresentationwithabang:Shehadacolleaguekillthelights,abruptly,leavingthepresentationroomindarkness.Fullersaid,Thisiswhatit’sliketobeablindpersoninmostmuseums.There’snothingtolearn,nothingtoexperience,becauseallthegoodstuffisinamediumthatisofflimitstoyou.Withinsecondsofstartingherpresentation,shehasfocusedheraudience’sattentionontheproblemshewantstosolve.

WhenScottCookwasleadingtheroadshowforhisfirmIntuit,heusedtostartbyaskinghisaudienceaques-tion:Howmanyofyoubalanceyourowncheckbooks?Lotsofhandswouldgoup.Thenhe’dask,OK,howmanyofyouenjoyit?Andallthehandswouldgodown.Inlessthanaminute,he’destablishedthecorevaluepropositionofQuicken,Intuit’stopproduct.

Clearlyneitherofthesepresentationswouldhavebeenimprovedwithawarm-up.“TodayI’mgoingtogiveyouanoverviewofthechallengesfacedbythevisuallyimpairedinvisitingmuseums.”“I’dliketobegintoday,byindulginginabriefsurveyofexistingtechniquesforfinancialplanning.”Ifyoubringusface-to-facewiththeproblem,wewon’tneedalotofupfronthand-holding.

For more on grabbing attention, see the Unexpected chapter of Made to Stick, and review the story of the high school journalism teacher whose first lesson was still vivid in his students’ minds two decades after graduation. Or see p. 120-123 for an unexpected pitch by an entrepreneur that lined up millions in venture capital.

3. let your main pointS hog the Spotlight

Ifyousay10things,yousaynothing.Youprobablyagreewiththatstatement,andyetit’sahardruletoliveby!You’veputatonofresearchintoyourpresentation—you’vedonetheresearch,you’veanalyzedthedata,you’vestruggledwiththeconclusions.Allofitseemsimportant.Cuttingthatthirdbulletpointonslide17feelslikeawound.

Butitshouldn’t.Thinkaboutyourselfasthedirectorofaplay,andyou’reallocatingspeakingpartsamongyourmainpoints.Youcancreateagreatmonologueoragreatdia-logue,butifyou’vegot22charactersspeaking,youhaven’tdevelopedanyofthemproperly.Sodon’tdwellonthepainofcuttingthebulletpointonslide17,thinkabouttheextraattentionyou’veallocatedtoyourmaincharacters.

Avice-presidentofalargedepartment-storechainwasleadinganefforttohelpfront-linestoremanagersreclaimtheirtimefromunnecessarytasksandprocedures.Hehadplentyofexamplestodiscuss,buthewiselydecidedtofocushispresentationbyhighlightingthesinglemostglaringexampleofwastedwork:Kickingoffhispresenta-tion,heslappeddownontheconferencetableanunrulystackofpaperwork(519pagesofit).Andthenheannounced,tothehorrorofhissuperiors,“Thisis2 weeks worthoftheauditdocumentationthat’srequiredofourstores.…You’veallheardthephrasethattheroadtohellispavedwithgoodintentions?Well,thisistheroadtohell.”

Areyougivingthespotlighttoyourmostimportantpoints?Herearetwoquicktests:Whatpercentageofyourspeakingtimeisgoingtothosepoints?Andwhatpercentageofyourslidesarededicatedtothem?Ifyou’renotspendingatleasthalfofyourtimeandyourvisualsonthecoreofyourmessage,you’reprobablytryingtoaccomplishtoomuch.

For more on prioritizing your main points, take a look at the Simple chapter of Made to Stick and think about how journalists learn to highlight the leads of their stories.

4. teaSe, don’t tell

Beforeyouraudiencewillvaluetheinformationyou’regiving,they’vegottowantit.Demandhastocomebeforesupply.

Mostpresenterstaketheaudience’sdesireforgranted,butthat’sabigmistake.Greatpresentationsaremysteries,notencyclopediaentries.Anonlinevideocalled“TheGirlEffect”startsbyrecountingalistofglobalproblems:AIDS.Hunger.Poverty.War.Then,itasks,Whatiftherewasanunexpectedsolutiontothismess?Wouldyouevenknowitifyousawit?Thesolutionisn’ttheInternet.It’snotscience.It’snotgovernment.Curious?See,itworks.(Gotogirleffect.orgfortheanswer.)

Curiositymustcomebeforecontent.ImagineiftheTVshowLosthadbegunwithanannouncement:“They’realldeadpeopleandtheislandisPurgatory.Overthenext4seasons,we’llunpackhowtheygotthere.Attheendwe’lltakequestions.”We’veallhadtheexperienceofbeinginthe

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audienceasapresenterclickstoaslidewith8bulletpoints.Ashestartsdiscussingthefirstbulletpoint,wequicklyreadall8.Nowwe’rebored.He’slostus.Butwhatiftherehadbeen8questionsinstead?We’dwanttostaytunedfortheanswers.

The“teases”don’tneedtobeparticularlydramatic.Forinstance,DavidFosterofSt.Timothy’sEpiscopalChurchinMountainView,CAwasaskedtomakeapresentationonthechurch’sfinances.Usually,notmanypeopleshowuptothemeetings.SoFostertriedsomethingdifferent.

Heputaquizinthechurchnewslettertheweekbeforethemeeting,inhopesofsparkingsomecuriosity.Heaskedquestionslikethese:

HowmuchdoesSt.Timothy’sspendtohostcoffee-hourafterservicesinayear?(a)$3,500;(b)$8,000;(c)$8,750;(d)$9,250

Ifincomeandexpensesareontrackwiththebudget,attheendoftheyear,wewillhave:(a)alargesurplus;(b)alargedeficit;(c)breakeven;(d)asmalldeficit.

Fostersaysattendancemorethandoubledthisyear,despiteitbeingayearwithnomajorfinancialnewstoreport(i.e.,abudgetcrisis).Alittleteasinggoesalongway.

Thebestpresentersdon’tstructuretheirpresentationsbythinking,“What’sthenextpointIshouldmake?”Instead,theydecide,“What’sthenextquestionIwantthemtowrestlewith?”

For more on sparking curiosity, see the discussion of “curiosity gaps” in the Unexpected chapter of Made to Stick.

5. bring reality in the room

Youmaybetemptedtostressoutaboutthelookandfeelofyourpresentation.Atsomepoint,allofushavesurfedthewebobsessivelylookingfortheperfectimagetoreinforceourpoint.Atmidnight,youcalloveryourspousetoweighin:“Honey,whichonebettersays‘innovation’?Thebunnycomingoutofthemagician’shatorthesmileyguywithalightbulboverhishead?”

Relax.Weneedtoendonceandforallthecultofclipart,aswellasthesplinterchurchofstockphotography.

“Show,don’ttell”doesn’tmeanthatyoutakeyourslideabout“thinkingglobally”andaddaclip-artworldmap.That’sdecoration,notcommunication.Agoodideadoesn’tneedvisualdrapes.WhenJamesCarvillesaid,“It’stheeconomy,stupid,”hedidn’tpausetosendhisdirectreportsoutlookingforpicturesofduncehats.(“Sorry,James,wecouldn’tfindaduncehat,butisakiddroolingonhisdesk

‘stupid’enough?”)

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“Show,don’ttell”canbeeasierthanitsounds.Justbringalittlerealityintotheroom.TomDuncan,thepresidentoftheU.S.divisionofPositecPowerToolGroup,hadasalescalllastyearwithakeyaccount.Atthelastminute,heabandonedhisPowerPointpresentation,filledwithapredictablehomagetothevirtuesofhistools.Instead,hesettwodrillsonthetable—hisandhiscompetitor’s.Hedisassembledthemside-by-sidetoshowthedurabilityofhiscompany’sdesign.Thecustomer’sreactiontothissurprisingdoseofreality(andabsenceofPowerPointslides)?“Helovedit,”Duncansays,andheclosedthedeal.

BrianLeinbach,theEVPSystemsDevelopmentforMacy’sSystemsandTechnology,wasarguingthatMacy’sneedtoimproveitsinventorytrackingsystems.HesaidthatwhenyougointoNordstrom,ifyoufindsomethingthatyoulikethattheydon’thaveinyoursize(sayapairofshoesorabelt),theyhaveaneasywayoffindingitontheirsystemsforyouandhavingithome-delivered.AtMacy’s,it’smorecomplicated.Thereare3differentinventory-trackingsystems:Oneforthestoreyou’rein,anotherforothernearbystores,andathirdforMacys.com.Tohelpacustomer,you’vegottolookinallthreeplaces.Andhere’sthecriticalpart:WhileLeinbachwastalking,heshowedscreenshotsofthethreedifferentinterfacestodemonstratetheineleganceofthisprocess.Hemadeitpossiblefortheaudiencetoempathizewiththesalesreponthefloor.That’spowerful.Leinbachbroughtrealityintheroom.

NeitherDuncannorLeinbachworriedaboutclipart.Clipartwillalwaysbeametaphorforreality(i.e.,thelight-bulbas“innovation”).Whynotgostraighttoreality?

For more on bringing reality in the room, see the Concrete chapter of Made to Stick. One example: Think about how James Grant convinced heads of state to change their country’s health policies by using a simple prop.

“Making Your Presentation Stick” is an article written by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, the authors of the book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, published by Random House in January 2007. Some of the material in this article comes from Made to Stick.

Chip Heath (chip@madetostick.com) and Dan Heath (dan@madetostick.com) are the authors of the book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. They blog at http://www.madetostick.com/blog.

Copyright © 2008 by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

“Making Your Presentation Stick” was published on October 20, 2008.

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