Two of the FAB speakers from the WCA Leadership Summit were Chip and Dan Heath, authors of one of the best books I have read in years: Made to Stick – Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
The book focuses on how to make sure that the ideas that you are trying to communicate stick with your audience; whether you are a speaker, a teacher, a boss or a mom, the key is to make sure that your audience clearly remembers what you want them to remember.
So here is what I would love to do. All of you who are communicators: writers, pastors, administrative assistants, teachers, let me ask you a question:
What do you do to make sure that your audience remembers your message? (And please include examples!)
Let me get the ball rolling:
When I do my talk called “All Things New” I talk about the things that weigh us down in life and keep us from living our all that God has designed for us. During the presentation, I have a suitcase full of really heavy chains that I drag on to the stage and as I pull our each one, I name them (fear, judgment, etc) and then proceed to wear the chains throughout most of the talk – and let me tell you – they can weigh a girl down.
What is so cool is that women really identify with the illustration and can absolutely name the chain that they feel is weighing them down. I have women write me months later able to repreat back to me all that I said about their particular chain.
That is, what authors Dan and Chip call, “Sticky”.
So tell me, how do you communicate your message. I would love to use some of your tricks in my writing, speaking (and let’s be honest,) parenting.
From all the comments that are submitted now through next Monday, I will be choosing a name randomly to receive a copy of Made to Stick.
Can’t wait for all the stickiness.
I encourage my kids with words as much as I can especially with chores. i feel the more praise they get the more they are apt to doing a great job. This works quite well. However my impatient personality can blow it sometimes because sometimes they can be slooowww & then that’s where I get stuck. I’m constantly searching for balance * improvement.
As a teacher I learned that every child learns differently. So, using various tools to teach and having students help always adds to the sticky factor. I would do this by using the chalk board, hands on tools and asking a child if they had a different way of doing the problem or project. I may learn something new by having a student show the class another way to come up with a solution. The other thing that comes in handy is passing out chips or bonus points for being active listeners. They can later turn these in to get prizes from the grab bag.
As a SAHM I am trying to prepare my 2yo dd for school. We pick a letter and focus on that letter all week, food activities, clothes, etc. If it’s c week then we eat a lot of cereal and chicken, color pictures of cats, draw pictures with chalk, etc.
As a teacher of the younger set (3-5yrs) I find that to get my point, story, thought or whatever across…I have to get very dramatic. I have been known to get so dramatic and loud that the entire class stops to look…”Oh No! You told ______ that she (can’t play with you, is stupid, can’t come to your house, etc.)? We don’t say things like that to our friends! ________ is my friend. See how she’s sad? That hurt her feelings! We don’t hurt peoples feeling! Would you like it if someone hurt your feelings?” While reading stories I change my voice for different characters and ask the children questions or ask them to act out different parts as we read. It’s all about the drama. 🙂
As a teacher of college students, I try to have silly clipart on my powerpoint slides to send the point home. For example, when we talk about the “id” and “superego”, I use a devil and angel smilie. I also use activities for practical applications. They love acting out scenes in class and, as a result, the applications they use stick in the students’ minds. Sometimes it’s difficult to come up with something to help information “stick” and sometimes my ideas bomb…but I try!