made-to-stick

Files (10)

• SKILL.md
• applications.md · references/
• case-studies.md · references/
• concrete.md · references/
• credible.md · references/
• curse-of-knowledge.md · references/
• emotional.md · references/
• simple.md · references/
• stories.md · references/
• unexpected.md · references/

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Made to Stick Framework

A framework for crafting ideas and messages that are understood, remembered, and drive lasting action. Based on decades of research into why some ideas survive and others die.

## Core Principle

**The Curse of Knowledge is the single greatest barrier to effective communication.** Once we know something, we can't imagine not knowing it—which makes us bad at explaining our ideas to others. Sticky ideas aren't born, they're made: the SUCCESs framework provides six principles that make any idea more memorable and impactful.

## Scoring

**Goal: 10/10.** Score any messaging (copy, presentations, campaigns, onboarding) by running the [Quick Diagnostic](#quick-diagnostic): rate each of the six traits 1-10, then map the 6-60 total to a band (50-60 = 9-10, extremely sticky; 35-49 = 7-8, strong; 20-34 = 4-6, forgettable; below 20 = ≤3, won't stick). Always state the current score, which traits scored lowest, and the specific fix from the diagnostic's Fix column.

## The SUCCESs Framework

**S**imple · **U**nexpected · **C**oncrete · **C**redible · **E**motional · **S**tories

**Not a checklist—a toolkit.** Not every sticky idea uses all six, but the stickiest ideas tend to use most of them—don't force all six onto a message that only needs two.

### 1. Simple

**Core concept:** Find the core of the idea and share it compactly. Simple ≠ dumbed down—it means ruthless prioritization: "if you say three things, you say nothing."

**The Commander's Intent:** if everything else goes wrong, what ONE thing must we accomplish? For messaging: if people remember ONE thing about your product, what should it be? **The inverted pyramid:** lead with the most important thing; readers who stop anywhere still got the core.

**Techniques for simplicity:**

| Technique | How It Works | Example |
|-----------|-------------|---------|
| **Core message** | Strip to the essential | Southwest: "THE low-fare airline" |
| **Analogy** | Explain new via known | "It's like Uber for dog walking" |
| **Generative** | Core idea that generates behavior | "Names, names, names" (local newspaper motto) |

**Application to product messaging:**

| Before (Complex) | After (Simple) |
|-------------------|----------------|
| "AI-powered, cloud-native customer engagement platform with omnichannel capabilities" | "Talk to all your customers in one place" |
| "We leverage machine learning algorithms to optimize conversion funnels" | "We find why visitors don't buy and fix it" |
| "Enterprise-grade project management with Gantt charts, resource allocation..." | "The simplest way to manage projects" |

**The test:** Can you explain it to a smart 12-year-old? **Warning:** don't simplify into emptiness—"we make the world better" is simple but meaningless.

See [references/simple.md](references/simple.md) when you can't reduce a message to one core idea—it has the Commander's Intent exercise, the inverted-pyramid pattern, and five "find the core" drills.

### 2. Unexpected

**Core concept:** Get attention by breaking patterns (surprise); hold attention by creating curiosity gaps (interest). The surprise must connect to the core message—identify the counterintuitive implication and communicate that.

**Example surprises:**

| Category | Expected | Unexpected (Sticky) |
|----------|----------|---------------------|
| **Product launch** | "Introducing our new feature" | "We removed your favorite feature. Here's why." |
| **Statistics** | "Obesity is growing" | "A bag of movie popcorn has more fat than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, Big Mac and fries, and steak dinner — combined" |
| **Value prop** | "Save money on insurance" | "15 minutes could save you 15%" (specific, unexpected) |

**Creating curiosity gaps** — open a gap in knowledge, create the desire to fill it:

| Technique | How It Works | Example |
|-----------|-------------|---------|
| **Question** | Ask what they don't know | "What's the #1 reason startups fail?" |
| **Prediction** | Ask them to predict | "How many X do you think...?" |
| **Mystery** | Present a puzzle, delay the resolution | "Nordstrom once refunded a set of tires. They don't sell tires." |
| **Challenge** | Violate assumptions | "Everything you know about X is wrong" |

**Anti-pattern:** Gimmicky surprise without substance.

See [references/unexpected.md](references/unexpected.md) when a message reads as predictable—it has techniques for finding the counterintuitive angle and engineering curiosity gaps.

### 3. Concrete

**Core concept:** Use sensory language and specific details instead of abstract concepts. Abstraction kills memorability; the more concrete and specific the idea, the stickier it becomes.

**Abstract vs. Concrete:**

| Abstract | Concrete |
|----------|----------|
| "Improve customer experience" | "Customers get their order in 30 minutes, still hot" |
| "Increase engagement" | "Users open the app 8 times a day" |
| "Optimize efficiency" | "Reduce report generation from 4 hours to 10 minutes" |
| "World-class support" | "Call us and a human answers in under 60 seconds" |
| "Scalable solution" | "Handle 10,000 users on day one without code changes" |

**The Velcro theory of memory:** concrete ideas have more "hooks"—"bicycle" is easier to remember than "vehicle" because you can picture it.

**Techniques for concreteness:**

| Technique | How It Works | Example |
|-----------|-------------|---------|
| **Specific numbers** | Replace "a lot" with exact figures | "2,347 customers" not "thousands" |
| **Sensory language** | Engage senses | "Crispy, not crunchy" |
| **Concrete example** | Replace category with instance | "Like John, a 35-year-old teacher in Denver" |
| **Before/after** | Tangible transformation | "Before: 4 hours. After: 10 minutes." |

**Application:** features → outcomes; percentages → real numbers ("saves 40%" → "saves 16 hours/month"); categories → specific examples ("restaurants" → "pizza shops in Brooklyn"); demos > feature lists.

See [references/concrete.md](references/concrete.md) when a message stays abstract—it has sensory-language drills and the abstract-to-concrete conversion process.

### 4. Credible

**Core concept:** Help people believe your idea using external credibility (authorities, credentials) and internal credibility (vivid details, human-scale statistics, testable claims)—internal is more powerful.

**External credibility:**

| Source | How It Works | Example |
|--------|-------------|---------|
| **Authorities** | Expert endorsement | "Recommended by Harvard Business Review" |
| **Anti-authorities** | Real people with experience | "Here's what a customer with the same problem found" |
| **Credentials** | Verifiable achievements | "10 years experience, SOC 2 certified" |

**Internal credibility:**

| Technique | How It Works | Example |
|-----------|-------------|---------|
| **Vivid details** | Specificity implies truth | "On Tuesday at 3pm, in the conference room on the 4th floor..." |
| **Human-scale statistics** | Relate numbers to experience | Not "10TB of data" but "every book ever written, 100 times" |
| **The Sinatra Test** | One example so good it proves everything | "If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere" |
| **Testable credential** | Let them verify | "Try it free for 14 days" |

From wondelai/skills, MIT.

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