NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The instant classic about why some ideas thrive, why others die, and how to improve your idea's chances--essential reading in the "fake news" era.

Mark Twain once observed, "A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on." His observation rings true: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus news stories circulate effortlessly. Meanwhile, people with important ideas--entrepreneurs, teachers, politicians, and journalists--struggle to make them "stick."

In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain ways to make ideas stickier, such as applying the human scale principle, using the Velcro Theory of Memory, and creating curiosity gaps. Along the way, we discover that sticky messages of all kinds--from the infamous "kidney theft ring" hoax to a coach's lessons on sportsmanship to a vision for a new product at Sony--draw their power from the same six traits.

Made to Stick will transform the way you communicate. It's a fast-paced tour of success stories : the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who drank a glass of bacteria to prove a point about stomach ulcers; the charities who make use of the Mother Teresa Effect; the elementary-school teacher whose simulation actually prevented racial prejudice.

Provocative, eye-opening, and often surprisingly funny, Made to Stick shows us the vital principles of winning ideas--and tells us how we can apply these rules to making our own messages stick.

Reader Reviews

Mark Dickson

(2/5)

Apr 07, 2025

Perhaps it was because this book came highly recommended from a reliable source, but I was greatly disappointed. This book was a redundant snooze. The ultimate test, I suppose, is whether the ideas from this book do, in fact, stick. It suffices to say that "enjoyability" is NOT on the list of what makes an idea stick. It's quite clear that the authors are doing their utmost to follow their own advice. That this makes the book almost unreadably repetitive is possibly an argument against the book'...

مشاري الإبراهيم

(4/5)

Great book on how to make the core message you want to deliver remembered. How to formulate it so that it 'sticks' in the minds of the listeners. The core idea is that: in order for a message to be 'sticky' it has to combine these 6 characteristics: 1) Simple 2) Unexpected 3)Credible 4) Concrete 5)emotional 6)StorySUCCES(without the extra 'S' spelling success)The authors tell very engaging stories on each of their success factors.I think this is a great book for consultants. One of their main jo...

Kevan

(5/5)

Update #2: Yep. Still recommending it. I Update #1, at the halfway point: five stars already.I want to read this book twice, at least. This will directly change how I write, present, think, create and make things. I know I need to keep experimenting to make my communication more memorable, more meaningful, and I'll be playing with many of the techniques described here. A few key points that I want to experiment with in my own work:"If you've asked somebody to remember three things, you've asked

Trevor

108

I came upon this book in a convoluted fashion. It was nearly recommended to me in a round about sort of way by Richard, a GoodReads friend, when he pointed to a review of Blink by someone else on GoodReads who is some sort of expert in the field (although, I have to admit I’m still not totally sure which field that is). The expert felt Gladwell was a little too simplistic. I enjoyed Gladwell’s books very much and so was keen to see what made them seem too simplistic to someone ‘in the field’ and...

Anya Weber

When I have enough money to buy books again, I'm planning to build a marketing and communications library. It will consist of three books: "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell, "Influence" by Robert Cialdini, and this book, which is maybe the one of the three that knocked me on my butt most often as I was reading it.The (adorable!) Heath brothers (check out their nerdy-preppy hottitude on the back cover!) are Chip, a Stanford business professor, and Dan, an education and new media consultant

Mehrsa

(3/5)

This is gonna sound weird, but for all their talk about making ideas interesting and unforgettable, this book was so uninteresting and forgettable. I mean, some of the stories were interesting and I did learn a few tidbits, but I don't think the book passes their own metric of stickiness.

Silvana

It's useful but too repetitive and thus could be shorter. Some examples just made went over my head, like the sport ones or outdated tech like Palm Pilot. What's that anyway?Having said that, I can't wait to start practicing some of the learning. So glad I don't have to rely on statistics so much. I hate memorizing them! Storytelling sounds much better.

Jane

Let's assume that since I get invited back to keynote at the same conferences, I'm a more-than-decent speaker. And, that since a couple of the books I've written are bestsellers, I must make them interesting to readers. Why mention this? Because my copy of Made to Stick is filled with sticky notes that are covered with ideas for upcoming speeches and writings. This book motivates application of the ideas it contains. Yes, I've used several of the core techniques described in the book for years--...

Loy Machedo

Remember the subway advertisement? The guy who lost over 200 pounds eating only the vegetarian sub?What about proverbs like “A bird in hand is worth two in a bush” or what comes to your mind when you hear the phrase “Sour Grapes”?What about John F. Kennedy’s Man on the Moon vision?Why is it we remember Urban legends like the Kentucky Fried Rat, Coco Cola dissolving tooth, Kidney thieves or the fact that you can see the Great Wall of China from space?Welcome to a book that is the cross breed betw...

Romie

My dad read this book a few years ago, and because it's in English he thought I'd like it … so he gave it to me for my birthday. It's not a book I would have picked up on my own.I don't regret reading it, it was interesting, though a bit long. I think that's my main problem with this book: it's about sticky ideas being simple and yet this book was long for what it was. I don't necessarily think we needed to read about so many examples, just a few would have been enough.Like I said, it was good,

Lili Manolache

The book "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath Chow, is about how to make your ideas memorable; be it promoting a product / project, being a professional, forwarding a company's strategy or lessons to students. Everything revolves around the SUCCESS methodology. For an idea to stick, for it to be useful and lasting, it's got to make the audience:Pay attention - UnexpectedUnderstand and remember it - ConcreteAgree/Believe - CredibleCare - EmotionalBe a...

Snuggles with Rainbows

I don’t know why I’m surprised at my 5star rating. I was recommended this book by multiple people, including the professionals of Goodreads. The final nail on the coffin was when my Dad just handed me this book saying, “You know for a Doctor, you should really read this book!” Way to go Dad! That’s what did it. He throws in that ‘doctor’-word in there and I’m eating from the palm of his hand. But on a serious note, this book was enlightening to me on so many levels. Not only did I resonate with

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Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

More books from Chip Heath

Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact

The Myth of the Garage: And Other Minor Surprises

Making Numbers Count: The Art and Science of Communicating Numbers

Made to Stick (Chapter 4: Credible): Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

Reader Reviews