This document summarizes a university lecture on making ideas stick. It discusses why some ideas spread widely while others do not, and identifies six key principles for making ideas memorable: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions, and stories. Examples are provided for each principle. The takeaway is that understanding these concepts can help make an idea or message more likely to stick in people's minds.

1. Making it stick
Lecture 6.1
University of Alberta
ALES 204
Nancy Bray
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2. Housekeeping
1. Assignment #1 grades will be released on Wednesday
2. Labs this week are in Arts 1-18
3. Mid-term. 30 multiple choice. Approx. 1 question per each lecture,
1 question per each chapter/assigned reading
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3. Active and passive voice
Active Passive
The cats were not vaccinated (by
The owners did not vaccinate the cats
zombies)
The dogs ate the bottle caps The bottle caps were eaten (by zombies)
The recommendation (by zombies) was
We recommend you eat more spinach
to eat more spinach
The park will be closed at 11pm (by
We will close the park at 11 pm.
zombies).
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4. Lecture Outline
1. Why do some things stick?
2. The curse of knowledge
3. How to make things stick:
a. Simplicity
b. Unexpectedness
c. Concreteness
d. Credibility
e. Emotions
f. Stories
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5. 1. Why do some things stick?
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6. Examples:
Urban myths
The library at X university is
about to collapse because
engineers forgot to take into
account weight of books (false)
Don’t flush when sitting on an
airline toilet. It could
disembowel you. (false)
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7. Example: The
refugee myth
One ambiguous fact appeared
in the Toronto Star on March
11, 2004.
“A single person receives
$1,890 from the federal
government as start-up
allowance, along with $580
monthly social assistance,
depending on how soon the
person is able to find
employment."
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8. Letter to the editor
"I also found it interesting that the federal government provides a single
refugee with a monthly allowance of $1,890 and each can also get an
additional $580 in social assistance for a total of $2,470. This compares
very well to a single pensioner who ... can only receive a monthly
maximum of $1,012 in old age pension. Maybe our pensioners should
apply as refugees."
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9. The beginning
Letter was sent to reporter,
editor, and 100 other recipients
Report tried to correct mistake
by contacting writer, but e-mail
account had been erased
Toronto Star published the
article without checking the
facts
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10. The furor
Toronto Star bombarded with e-mails about the letter
They investigated and discovered their error
The Ombudsman wrote apology stating that refugees did not make
more than pensioners
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11. It was too late...
From 2004-2007, the letter appeared over 50 times in Canadian
newspapers
Sometimes twice or three times in the same newspaper
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12. One editor
wrote:
A friend sent me an e-mail the
other day that floored me. I
figured the e-mail had to be a
gag, a typical Canadian-style
exaggeration aimed at
separating one’s leg from one’s
body by tickling the funny-
bone. But then I read it again –
and realized it was simply too
ludicrous to be untrue. (Bob
Groeneveld, Langley Advance)
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13. No one checked
None of the newspapers checked with government sources to confirm the fact
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14. Government
issues fact
sheet
In 2006, the Canadian
government issues a fact sheet
Has no impact
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15. The myth goes
international
In 2007, the original e-mail was
altered to fit the American
context, but kept the Canadian
dollar figures
Began to circulate in the U.S.
In 2008, e-mail appeared in
Australia
In 2012, e-mail reappeared in
the U.K.
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16. Why is this idea so sticky?
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17. How can you make your ideas
stick?
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18. 2. The Curse of Knowledge
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19. The Curse
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20. 2. How to Make Things Stick
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21. Simple
Simple ideas stick
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22. Example #1
“No plan survives contact with the enemy”
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23. Commander’s Intent Form
If we do nothing else during tomorrow’s mission, we
must ________
The single, most important thing that we must do
tomorrow is _______.
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24. Example #2
It’s the economy, stupid
Clinton’s 1992 election Campaign
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25. Example #3 - Refugees
“Refugees get more money than pensioners”
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26. Remember
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27. Exercise
In one sentence, write down
the most important thing that
you hope your readers
remember from your fact sheet.
If the reader remembers one
thing from my fact sheet, it
should be _________________.
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28. Unexpected
Surprise gets our attention
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29. Example #1
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30. Example #2
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31. Example #3
Identify a gap in knowledge
and seek to fill it
Create curiosity by asking a
question and then answer the
question
Example: Which famous
restaurant was found to have
slime in the ice machine?
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32. Remember
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33. Concreteness
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34. Example #1
Correct portion size of meat = size of a deck of cards
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35. Example #2
Simulation of prejudice
Jane Elliott’s experiment
(Watch:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/syno
)
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36. Example #3 - Refugees
“a single pensioner receives a monthly maximum of $1,012 in old age pension”
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37. Remember
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38. Exercise
Look at your fact sheet. Are
there statistics which you could
make concrete?
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39. Credibility
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40. Example #1
Marshall and Warren discover the real causes of ulcers
No one believed them; then they won the Nobel Prize
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41. Remember
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42. Emotions
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43. Example #1
Don Draper (on Mad Men) pitches the carrousel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRDUFpsHus
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44. Example #2
Don’t mess with Texas
campaign
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhahJVkehUc
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45. Example #3
I am Canadian ad
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46. Example #4 - Refugees
“Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees”
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47. Remember
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48. Stories
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49. Example #1
Jared and Subway
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50. Remember
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51. SUCCES(S)
Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Credible
Emotion
Stories
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52. Why is Gangnam Style so sticky?
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53. Take away
Know the difference between
active and passive voice
Know what the curse of
knowledge is.
Know the six elements to make
it stick.
For further reading (not
required): Made to Stick by
Chip & Dan Heath
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54. Photo Credits
Conversation by search engine people blog
sticky pudding by JMC Photos
airline toilet by jshyun
Toronto Star front page
curse stone by Tiggrrr42
s by Leo Reynolds
army commander by USAG-Humphreys
economy-stupid by James Carville
apple core by roger.karlsson
simple by Ferran.
u by chrisinplymouth
minivan by redteam
southwest airlines by xplan303ex
newspaper headline by Semper Eadem MCMLXXXII
surprise by trinity
c by chrisinplymouth
meat as deck of cards by Unhindered by Talent
martin luther king jr by U.S. Embassy New Delhi
sharing by cheesy42
exercise by Sebastian Fritzon
c by cobalt123
Marshall and Warren win the Nobel prize
giving advice by WAstateDNR - Department of Natural Resources
e by chrisinplymouth
Jon Hamm (Don Draper) from AMC
Don’t mess with Texas campaign
You deserve a break today campaign
s by mag3737
Jared and Subway campaign
storytelling by Squiggle
glue by t. Murse
refugees by United Nations Photos
Gangnam Style Official Cover
Take away by Jim Moran
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