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The SUCCESs. Not the word that counts its literal meaning, but that invisible, intangible theory where we are able to express, deliver, and stick ideas to others. In this revealing book, you will be introduced to the six ingredients designed specifically to make ideas sticky, and let me deliver what I caught from this eye-opening book.
Others may experience over time they develop habits that slowly erode their mind's sensitivity. The inevitable pain and disappointment of moments such as delivering your ideas at a business meeting or a conference have caused you to set up walls around your mind. Much of this is understandable. But, there's no way around the truth: your mind is out of tune with confidence it was created to maintain. As we live in community, communication is the way for us to feel the unity. The book is even greater because the authors, Chip and Dan Heath, apply their SUCCESs theory onto practical situation to help readers understand more clearly. Without the SUCCESs rule, some kinds of communications might ease our conscience temporarily but would do nothing to expose the deeper secrets we carry and deliver. And, it might be the secrets that keep our minds in turmoil. Worse, this kind of communication could actually fuel destructive behavior rather than curb it. The rules the authors explain in this book might seem the things you would feel that you already know. But, these are the things you could easily ignore. The book is a great reference to keep you on succeeding the efficient deliverability of your ideas.
Chapter summary
Chapter1: Simple
When you needed to deliver your message in a brief and compact way, how would you prepare to deliver it to your audiences or readers? Simplicity is the key and first step to make a message sticky to others. Making it simple does not mean that you need to bring out your most important idea. It is critical to find the core. According to the authors, "finding the core isn't synonymous with communicating the core." But, that simplicity must come with its value. Like the metaphor of a company for the employees to be encouraged, your message needs to be simple and important to make your message remain not just in your mind but others as well.
Chapter2: Unexpected
"We can't demand attention. We must attract it" says the authors in the book. In order to grab people's attention, your message may be attractive with unexpectedness. Breaking a pattern could be one way. For example, the old emergency siren was too monotonic to stimulate our sensory systems and therefore failing to attract our attention. As the siren gets systematically and audibly improved, people hear much brighter and more stimulating sound and therefore being aware of some situation. In order to catch people's attention, you need to break the ordinary patterns. According to the book, "Our brain is designed to keenly aware of changes." The more you learn knowledge, the greater the knowledge gap you would get. Because we sometimes tend to perceive that we know everything, it's hard to glue the gap. However, curiosity comes from the knowledge gaps, so these knowledge gaps can be interesting.
Chapter3: Concrete
Humans can hallucinate and imagine what we've experienced in visual, audible, or any other sensory pathways. When we use all our sensory systems to visualize ideas or messages, then the ideas get much more concrete. As an example the authors provide in this chapter, "a bathtub full of ice" in the Kidney Theft legend is an example of abstract moral truths that makes it concrete.
Chapter4: Credible
When you are a scientist, you believe more in the things that are scientifically proven or that are referred to many other studies or to the words or the theories that the well-known scientist has established. That much, credibility makes or deceives people believe your ideas. Both authorities and antiauthorities work. We present results, charts, statistics, pictures and other data to make people believe. "But concrete details don't just lend credibility to the authorities who provide them; they lend credibility to the idea itself."
Chapter5: Emotional
What's in it for you? It is a good example of the power of association. Sometimes, we need to grab people's emotion. It does not mean tear jerking, dramatic, or romantic. It means that your idea must pull out people's care and attachment to it. However, we don't always have to create this emotional attachment. "In fact, many ideas use a sort of piggybacking strategy, associating themselves with emotions that already exist (Made to Stick)." People can make decisions based on two models: the consequence model and the identity model. The consequence model can be rational self-interest, while the identity model is that people identify such situations like what type of situation is this?
Chapter6: Stories
Have you seen and heard the story of the college student from the Subway campaign? He's the guy who lost hundreds of pounds eating Subway sandwiches. The story inspires people and even connects to people's real life. Like the book, Made to Stick, also presents a lot of stories to deliver and to help readers understand in each chapter, stories allow people to understand how your idea can affect or change their mind.
Close the book and think for a moment before you start reading. How are things with your mind? Chances are, you've never stopped to consider your mind. Why should you? There are interviews to prepare for, meetings to blow others' mind with your amazing ideas, and moments you need to bring up emotional attachment with your family or your friends. If you are all caught up with these things and ask yourself this, "how are things?" "How have I dealt with those situations?" Before you go reading, you first need to dispel a commonly held myth about communication. You need to understand your old habits would die hard. And, like any habit that goes unchecked, over time they come to keep disturbing you to make your ideas sticky. Try to use the clinic part in each chapter. It will enhance your understandings, and you will improve your skills to make your ideas survive. If you really want to understand much deeper, as you read the book, look up some informative articles about the anatomy and physiology of the brain. It will help you. According to the book, your ideas must simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and stories. Try to apply these rules into your next presentation. I was not a good organized speaker. When I adjusted my mind with these rules to prepare my presentation recently, an amazing thing happened. I am the leader of the young adult ministry of a small local church. At almost every meeting, I needed to make the members understand what and why we need to awaken ourselves and other people; they barely paid attention to what I was saying. Even they seemed understanding, but once they returned to their home or to their life, they forgot what I emphasized. However, with the rules I learned from the book, the members started showing their interests in what I say and paying good attention to it. It works!
Part of our confusion in delivering ideas stems from a misapplication of the rules we think we already know for persuasions. The notion that all confusions can be reduced down to a single underlying problem may strike you as a case of oversimplification. However, with the book, Made to Stick, you will track and be ready for your next presentation. When I was looking for a neuroscience book, Made to Stick was one of the recommended books related to neuroscience. The book is easy to follow, and it is really made to stick! If you are looking for a scientifically texted neuroscience book, this is not the book for you. However, this book will stir up your curiosity about neuroscience as a fundamental connector to higher neural knowledge. Simply, highly I recommend.
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Customers say
Customers find this book to be a must-read that teaches useful skills and is filled with good insights supported by research. The book is easy to understand and read quickly, with engaging writing that helps improve communication and make ideas more memorable. They appreciate its storytelling approach, with one customer highlighting the importance of storytelling in creating stickiness.
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468 customers mention content, 452 positive, 16 negative
A great book. This book is very informative and inspiring. Very easy to read and apply. I recommend it to anyone seeking to make their ideas stick.Read more
...I recommend this book without qualifications. Great read. I have the Amazon Audible and Kindle versions of the book....Read more
good bookRead more
This is an excellent book that will help you think about the real story or the most compelling benefit that you should offer and communicate and...Read more
178 customers mention practical, 177 positive, 1 negative
The book is practical and straightforward. It also follows its own advice, being heavily packed with stories....Read more
...organized, is an easy read; plus all of the concepts are so practical, useful, and frankly obvious once they're read....Read more
Interesting, revealing and very useful.Read more
...will be most helpful to presenters, communicators, marketers, and educators, but it contains plenty for the casual reader as well....Read more
164 customers mention informative, 160 positive, 4 negative
...Great case studies and examples. This book is very interesting and insightful and very useful too. This book is excellent for everyone....Read more
This is a very good book. Great insights. I bought the kindle edition and read the ebook in three days. It was trully worthy for me....Read more
Really enjoyed this book. Great insight and strategies for developing and spotting quality content. I'd recommend for anyone in business.Read more
...I was grateful that I did buy this book because there is a lot of useful information in it regarding business aspects and how to develop products...Read more
143 customers mention readability, 137 positive, 6 negative
This is an amazing book. Not only is it easy to read, convincing, and enjoyable, it focuses on an incredibly important topic for todays society:...Read more
...This readable book explains that ideas have more stickiness if they are simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional and story-oriented....Read more
...Heath and Heath made that possible. This is an easy read because the authors model using techniques that make their words...well...sticky!Read more
...The concise, clear and real information in this book steers clear of the mumbo jumbo so frequently quoted as the "secret"....Read more
130 customers mention ideas, 128 positive, 2 negative
I wish this was written 20 years ago! Great ideas and stories. I took notes as I read it. Great for any manager, leader of a team, coach, etc.Read more
...But, also, those legitimate and good ideas that you may want to get out there to the public and sell...well, this book can give you some ideas of...Read more
Great concepts!!!Read more
Simply amazing. A set of clear ideas and really good examples. I'm very impressed about the power of this book.Read more
98 customers mention story, 91 positive, 7 negative
I wish this was written 20 years ago! Great ideas and stories. I took notes as I read it. Great for any manager, leader of a team, coach, etc.Read more
Easy to read. Great stories and anecdotes. I highly recommend it to everyone. Well worth it. I look forward to more books by the authorsRead more
Overall would recommend this book. Interesting stories and examples from different industries and time periods....Read more
Full of good insights, good stories, and laughs. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to communicate their ideas better.Read more
86 customers mention writing quality, 77 positive, 9 negative
...Well written and with way more content and specifics than some business management books that over rely on questionable psychological studies that ca...Read more
...It is well-written and well organized. Personally, it was not as useful to me as a retired person.Read more
...Really well written, a fun read and I think very broadly applicable.Read more
Excellent book!!! Very well written and fundamented. Fun and enlighting. Perfect balance between theory and data....Read more
80 customers mention communication, 76 positive, 4 negative
This is the best book on communication I've ever read. Outstanding, highly recommended!Read more
...marketing, advertising, management, and just being an effective communicator....Read more
...This book helps you understand how to be a more effective communicator, a core skill in sales.Read more
A good framework to improve your ideas and become a better communicator. Lots of anecdotes, which can be good or bad depending on your patience....Read more
Had to get the hard copy
I first purchased the audible version and it was so good that I had to purchase a hard copy to add to my collection. Simple, solid ideas to help you enforce important messages and behavior.
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- The Charismatic NerdReviewed in Canada on August 18, 2017
Learn to be an excellent communicator in a week with this easy to read book.
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Isaac González ElizarrarásReviewed in Mexico on February 19, 2024
Un super libro
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- Perfect, but know the size!Reviewed in Belgium on April 22, 2026
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I haven't read the book, but right after opening the package I noticed creases in the cover; from flipping through it, I didn't notice any printing errors, but the crease in the book cover is not something one expects.Perfect, but know the size!Product damaged
Reviewed in Belgium on April 22, 2026
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