Made to Stick

Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

By: Chip Heath, Dan Heath

Narrated by: Charles Kahlenberg

Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The instant classic about why some ideas thrive, why others die, and how to make your ideas stick.

“Anyone interested in influencing others—to buy, to vote, to learn, to diet, to give to charity or to start a revolution—can learn from this book.”—The Washington Post

Mark Twain once observed, “A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on.” His observation rings true: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus news stories circulate effortlessly. Meanwhile, people with important ideas—entrepreneurs, teachers, politicians, and journalists—struggle to make them “stick.”

In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan 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. Along the way, we discover that sticky messages of all kinds—from the infamous “kidney theft ring” hoax to a coach’s lessons on sportsmanship to a vision for a new product at Sony—draw their power from the same six traits.

Made to Stick will transform the way you communicate. It’s a fast-paced tour of success stories (and failures): the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who drank a glass of bacteria to prove a point about stomach ulcers; the charities who make use of the Mother Teresa Effect; 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.

Critic reviews

“Made to Stick summons plenty of brain science, social history, and behavioral psychology to explain what makes an idea winning and memorable—and the Heaths do the telling with beautiful clarity.”—The Christian Science Monitor

“Utterly compelling.”—Los Angeles Times

“Surprising and provocative.”—The New York Sun

Very good material!

The book is well written and gives a lot of insightful examples. I definately recommend this book to someone who wants to learn how to make an impact in your environment.

At first I hesitated to buy this book. After listening to it for about an hour, I began learning new stuff and seeing things differently.

It's a must buy if you want to learn new communication skills.

very well written

it's interesting and important for everyone to know how to communicate with others effectively and that's what this book tried to explain

Great content, you might want to buy the book too

I could feel myself getting smarter as I was listening to this book.

If you ever wondered why nobody cared about what you had to say even if your idea was brilliant, Chip and Dan will answer your question if you let them so you can get your message across in the future.

some great points and useful perspectives

I started this book on hardcopy. but wasn't getting it done so I switched to audible and was done in a few days.
didn’t like:
points deducted for introduction.
while they repeated the points several times the points themselves were not enough to stick as much as the stories they shared were (I mean who can forget, “Don’t Mess With Texas”). I wish the points had been as memorable as the stories. thankfully I have this book on hardcopy too, for my own reference.
liked:
Packed with great info, for those in business, or anyone with an idea they want to put into the marketplace. I have to keep stopping myself, to absorb what I've just read. This is the type of book you can't read enough times.

Well-written book with plenty of humor

Made to stick is an insightful book for people interested in Marketing and rhetoric. The authors provide great lessons and recommendations that will benefit the reader in every aspect of life. The fun real-life examples make it a joy to read.

Good one! Enjoyed the stories

The book itself is powerful for those who likes the practical things. The SUCCESS template could be used on the daily basis. The performance is great as well.

A Framework for Stickiness and better Thinking

I found this book to be a very fast read with immediate applicable techniques.

Made to Stick is the type of guide which literally applies its own principles. The content is well written and builds on itself in a sequential way. That helps you string together how to generate good/great ideas and more importantly, it teaches you how to generate the high level of engagement required to bring new ideas to life through a galvanized and emotionally invested group.

If you are in organizational transformation, I feel that Made to Stick is an imperative for your tools kit.

Whether you're already familiar with these techniques or a novice, this book helps either validate what you're already doing or it will provide you with a step by step Framework on how to generate good/great ideas and ensure that they stick.

Regards,
DG

I've read it thrice, still love it.

This is one of those few books that is not only paradigm shifting but has incredible utility. It's applicable to any creative, business, or educational venture. It offers concrete methods and checklists for improving how sticky ideas are.

Great book!

Unlike other business and communication titles, this book brings real information.

The tips in this book are very useful and those tips fall back on case studies and data, which seem to be missing on other titles out there.

Perhaps the only drawback would be the amount of common sense used on the second half of the book. You may have already heard about the ideas proposed.

But don't get me wrong: it doesn't even get to the point of being annoying.

Overall, the book is great!

Suddenly sticky marketing became much more clear!

What made the experience of listening to Made to Stick the most enjoyable?

Examples of why certain things, like urban myths, and advertising copy sticks in our minds. Writing sticky copy is a science and in this book the formula for making anything sticky is spelled out. This book is worth thousands if not millions of dollars in the right hands.

What other book might you compare Made to Stick to and why?

Pitch anything.

Have you listened to any of Charles Kahlenberg’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The performance is fantastic. Kahlenberg is a consistent performer and his voice, tone, and intonation really adds to the listeners enjoyment of the book

What insight do you think you’ll apply from Made to Stick?

I will use it for sales presentations, lectures, and when speaking to the media