The World's Best Book Summaries
What’s wrong with product-focus in business? If the product isn’t the point, what is? One of the myths about visionary companies is that they require one great idea—a specific product or service—to get started. In reality, visionary companies don’t take the product-focus approach. Instead, they concentrate on building a great company. Continue reading to learn why product-focus generally doesn’t lead to greatness.
Have you read Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die? What are the key takeaways? In our hyper-connected society, important messages often fail to gain traction, while bad ideas and falsehoods go viral and seem to stick around forever. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die explores what makes some messages “stick”. Based on a wide-ranging research, the book identifies six criteria that anyone can apply for shaping a sticky message. Continue reading for key takeaways of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.
Do you have to be an amazing writer or speaker to deliver creative messaging? Is there a simple formula for effectively getting your ideas across? You don’t have to be a creative genius to communicate your message well. Chip and Dan Heath show you what to do through numerous examples of messages that have succeeded and others that have bombed. Rather than sweating over an original presentation, you can follow their “stickiness” template or even emulate someone else’s idea that worked. Keep reading to learn the formula for creative messaging.
How can you strategically grab attention and get people to listen? Can you do it without being gimmicky? To get someone to hear your message, you first have to get them to notice you. The best way to grab attention is to break a pattern and introduce the unexpected. People tune out sameness, but you can get them to tune in by changing something up. Keep reading to learn ways to grab attention.
How can you keep people’s attention once you have it? How can you create interest so people don’t tune you out? It’s one thing to grab attention. It’s another to keep it. You can create interest in two ways—by presenting a mystery or by generating curiosity. Read more to learn about these two ways of creating interest and keeping it.
Why is concrete communication important? How can presenting information in concrete terms make it resonate better? Many ideas fail to stick because they are presented in abstract rather than concrete terms. They are unconnected to specific things that people easily grasp. You need to use concrete communication if you want your message to resonate. Keep reading to learn eight keys to concrete communication.
Why is credibility important in communication? How can you build credibility? Credible communication sticks with people. When people trust you, they believe what you have to say. The Heath brothers share ways you can build credibility to help make your message stick. Continue reading to learn about the power of credible communication.
How do you figure out how to find your target audience in marketing? Why is target market analysis so important? You learn how to find your target audience when you grasp the interconnection between geography, product offering, customer segmentation, distribution, and production. Geography, production, and distribution determine where you can sell your products, while the use-cases of your product offering and customer segmentation determine who you sell your products to. Target market analysis not only helps with target market identification, but it also helps you discover your competitors. Read on to learn more about how to find your target audience.
What is the role of storytelling in communication? How can storytelling help you get your message across more effectively? Stories have the power to motivate and teach. They are interesting and memorable. That’s why storytelling communication is an important aspect of making your message stick. Keep reading to learn about the power of storytelling in communication.
What is the curse of knowledge? How does it get in the way of effective communication? Sometimes we’re blinded by the curse-of-knowledge bias, assuming that others know what we know. As a result, we fail to communicate effectively and compellingly. When we learn to get around this cognitive bias, we can craft messages that are clear and convincing. Read more to learn how the curse of knowledge hampers communication.