Telling great ideas and stories that stick
Posted: December 8th, 2010 | Author: Jasper Visser | Filed under: Inspiration | Tags: advice, books, communication, conversation, do's and don'ts, ideas, review, storytelling, tips | 3 Comments »Tweet
Photo by Andrew Beresford on Flickr.
Years ago I read the book Made to Stick by Dan and Chip Heath. Basically it’s about why some stories and ideas disappear and others stick with the receiver forever. What makes a successful story that is retold over and over again?
The book applied its own rules and stayed with me. Reading through a pile of unremarkable blog posts and museum brochures this week its lessons came to mind again. Here’s the slightly edited summary I wrote for internal use in 2007. I believe this message is worth sharing, even after some years. Useful for when you pitch your next innovative idea, give a presentation or simply write copy for an exhibition.
What makes a story or idea stick?
Successful communication alone is not enough to make ideas stick. An idea sticks when:
- You can easily understand it,
- You can remember it,
- It’s effectively changing thoughts or behaviour.
To make sure your idea, story, pitch or presentation fits the above description, Dan and Chip propose the SUCCES criteria. Fulfilling these criteria will make your ideas powerful and successful. Read the rest of this entry »



