Made to Stick summary

It’s tempting to try to explain an idea as thoroughly as possible. But, when it comes to stickiness, too much detail is counterproductive.

Instead, cut the idea down to just one simple statement; any more detail will be instantly forgotten, along with the key idea behind it all. A simple statement makes an idea easier to grasp and understand.

The brain likes to save energy by running on autopilot whenever possible. This means it allows information to just whizz past unremembered. It does this by subconsciously paying no attention to familiar or expected things.

When confronted with the unexpected, however, the brain jolts out of autopilot and into manual control; the unexpected receives our full attention.

The two main challenges in spreading an idea are getting people’s attention and holding it. Making use of curiosity gaps can help to overcome both these obstacles.

People allow themselves to go through everyday life on autopilot because they believe, to some extent, that they know pretty much everything they need to know to get them through the day.

People tend to express themselves in an abstract manner. The more we know about a subject, the more we couch explanations in abstract terms.

This is mainly because most people find it hard to put themselves in the listener’s shoes, or to ask themselves, “How does what I say sound to the other person?”

In general, ideas only spread if they are believed; otherwise they are immediately dismissed out of hand.

Credibility can be gained in several ways.

To get people to donate to aid appeals for starving African children, there are two possible approaches:

Either present facts and figures that powerfully demonstrate just how many millions of children are starving and how many die every day, or show a picture of just one child in need who could be saved by a donation.

Emotional appeals work because people are more interested in other people than in facts and figures.

But people are most interested in one person in particular: themselves.

A story is like a flight simulator for the brain. It allows us to get inside the action and anticipate how we might react in the same situation.

Often when trying to spread an idea, people make the crucial mistake of getting rid of the story behind it in favor of an empty slogan.