Week 8 Post

Pages 25-62 of Made to Stick, by Heath and Heath, discuss the importance of simplicity when a person is presenting an idea. The authors make the point that simple does not mean “dumbing down.” To be simple means to find the core of an idea. For example, leads of news stories are meant to be simple. In the first sentence, readers should be informed of the following five things: “Who? What? Where? When? Why?” If readers are not informed of these things, they may put the story down without knowing what it was really about.

As the chapter continues, Heath and Heath talk about why various proverbs have been so successful over the course of many years. The reason is that proverbs are simple, but very profound. For example, the following proverb is extremely popular: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” While this sentence is very simple, it encompasses a lot of meaning. With this simple quotation, people can be reminded that it is important not to give up a sure thing for something that is speculative.

I found this chapter on simplicity very profound. As a budding entrepreneur, I find myself in many meetings in which I have to get my ideas across to various groups of people. This chapter reminded me how important it is to find the core concept of any idea. In future meetings, I need to make sure that I am fully aware of the “main idea.” Then I can add the appropriate details.

Pages 63-97 of Made to Stick discuss the significance of an idea including an element of surprise. In other words, something has to be unexpected by the audience. According to Heath and Heath, one of the most basic ways to get someone’s attention is to break a pattern. Beyond getting the audience’s attention, however, an individual has to be able to keep the audience’s attention. An audience’s attention can be kept with a mystery. By not revealing everything at once, an individual can keep an audience “coming back for more.”

After reading this chapter, I thought about Facebook. The major social networking site is able to keep people’s attention because it contains an element of surprise. While users begin by “completing” their profiles with the appropriate information (school, interests, pictures, etc.), there is always more to be added. Users come back constantly to see if others have uploaded new pictures, updated their statuses, or liked new groups. Because there is always more to see, users keep coming back.