Made to stick: why some ideas survive and others die

Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2007). Made to stick: why some ideas survive and others die. New York: Random House.

I taught a reading course on design to Northwestern's Kellogg MBA students. The most popular book of all was this one by the Heath brothers, Chip and Dan, "Made to stick." People were applying the ideas in their class presentations even before they had finished reading it, it was that effective. After the book, the students threw away their bullet-point slides and started telling stories. Their talks became more enjoyable, more memorable, and, as a result, more effective. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy. Their fellow students and professors objected at first, stating that they were deviating from tradition. "Thank goodness," I say. Afterwards, students reported that these same people came up to them and said "wow, best talk of the class."

So, if you want to do away with boring, dull, meaningless talks that do nothing except kill everyone's time - especially that of the nervous, overwrought presenter, buy this book by the gross: hand it out to your friends, employees, bosses, and professors. Hey, we do interesting stuff: our talks should be just as interesting! (You can find an excellent summary of their ideas as well as an excerpt from their book at http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0728/2006046467-s.html .