The thing is, humans have a problem with numbers that are outside of our real life context. For example, take a million vs. a billion. You know that a billion is a lot more than a million, but do you truly grasp what that means? Most of us don’t.

As explained in Made to Stick, numbers need to be human scale in order to stick with our listeners. If they stick, the listeners will have an emotional response, and are much more likely to change their behavior (read: choose your product, pass your initiative, choose salad over burger, etc.). Yes, numbers need make people feel something!

Human scale is about taking a number and making a comparison to something in our every day context. Below is a great video by @PoliticalMath, which explains a past budget cut by using pennies. (Politics is not the point – we’re looking at their use of scale).

We’ve all held pennies, and when the penny was cut in to fourths, it made $100M understandable in comparison to the rest. Wow.. that’s a small amount. We’re surprised! It’s an emotional response.

In a sales and marketing situation, let’s say you need to sell compact fluorescent light bulbs that last 7 years. A product like that should sell itself, right? Seven years may seem human scale already, but you can make it even more so. “You’ll change this light bulb when you get home from the hospital with your baby daughter, and not change it again until she’s in the third grade.” “Put the bulb in and you’ll never change it again. Average Americans move homes sooner than it’ll burn out.” “This light bulb lasts longer than the average marriage!”

So what about your numbers? Where could you use human scale? Comment with your ideas or areas where you need help, and  I’m happy to respond with some examples.

Click here for a video by Dan Heath if you want some inspiration.

It’s intriguing, deep, and action packed. And great effects if you’re into that kind of thing. While I was trying to sort out the plot around whose subconscious was whose, I started hearing the SUCCESs framework from Made to Stick. Disclosure: yes, I am in tune to it, but really not that geeky about it. Seriously, Nolan MUST have taken a few notes from the book in his research. If you’ve read the book or attended one of our programs you know that SUCCESs is a checklist for sticky messages which share the principles of Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Story.

The premise of Inception is how to extract and plant subconscious thoughts, using dreams as the vehicle. And it turns out that planting an idea is the more difficult of the two. Not unlike what we do everyday: trying to plant ideas like adopting a new technical standard, launching a new initiative or process, convincing the boss why we’re the right person for the job, lobbying for a family vacation in Florida instead of Colorado, and even getting the kids to put things back in their place (by starting with putting their shoes away in the closet instead of leaving them in the middle of the kitchen floor).

So, Leo (aka, master thief Dom Cobb) assembles a crack team including a dream architect, a chemist, and a forger – all of whom can also kick butt in the process. Their task: to plant an idea in the mind of a major energy conglomerate heir – specifically, the idea that he should sell off and disband the business his father built. And they do it using a few of the SUCCESs principles that also map to the Decker Cornerstones:

• Simple: The idea must be incredibly simple so that it can grow and thrive on its own. That means boiling your message down to the biggest change in how you want your listener to think/act about your idea – it’s your Point Of View.
• Concrete: There must be some specificity and familiarity in the environment to allow the idea to grow. In other words, once you get someone to buy off on your Point of View, you must tell them what to do next. Include a Specific Action Step that is timed, physical and measurable.
• Emotion: Use it! This is the get-someone-to-CARE-about-your-idea part. Why would they do this? Give them the benefits (to THEM), and remember that positive emotion trumps negative emotion. The movie really tugs at the heartstrings here – without giving away too much I’ll just say that parents, don’t throw out all the elementary school artwork.

And it all comes together in a terrific 2.5-hour story that keeps your mind whirling. Head to the theater and go brush up on your communications – it’s a pretty good excuse. I’ll leave you with the trailer:

Let me add on to Dan’s 3 tips with a few examples we’ve seen in our programs recently:

1. Be Simple: Force yourself to prioritize. Boil down your message into one (yes, one) phrase that signifies the single biggest change in how you want people to think or act about your idea, topic, initiative, product or service.

A veterinarian from our messaging program was trying to convince pet owners that they’re overusing protein in their pet’s diets. This could easily turn into a PowerPoint nightmare of chart-by-chart comparisons of the recommended dietary allowances for carbs, protein, vitamins, etc. Instead, she focused her message and took a page right out of James Carville’s playbook, and created the Point Of View: “It’s the calories, stupid.” And then she went on, “Protein alone is not the answer. It’s a balanced diet that your pet needs.”

2. Show something: One participant said that rather than decorate his slides with bullet points, and complex diagrams, that they would begin to “Deckerate” them instead. That means simplify – to the point that you might not even need a slide. Remember that slides are supposed to be a support for your presentation, not to be the presentation.

Of course, the best example of showing and not telling is all things Apple. Man, that iPad is beautiful, and yes, I want it. Apple is so good that they even get you to think that you need it.

3. Tease before you tell: Get them interested! In one of our programs last month, an exec from an insurance company announced that he was going to be doing his in-class presentation on work/life balance. Snooze. Like we haven’t heard that one before. But he began this way…first, he grabbed a flip chart and wrote “Key Clients” at the top. Then he asked everyone to write down their top 5 clients. “If those are your very best clients, you take their calls, right? You’ll let them interrupt a meeting, and always think about how you can add value.” Teaser accomplished. He continued, “Now, how many of you listed your spouse or kids on that list? It’s absolutely critical that you think of your own family as key clients.” Whoa. Mom guilt is in full effect. I’m in.

Your turn. Win a seat in our upcoming June 4 Decker Made to Stick Messaging program! Comment below with a good stickiness story and we’ll draw a winner!

Just finished watching the first two installments of Life , the Discovery Channel’s unbelievable account bringing life to… life. See a preview here. For nearly two hours, my husband and I sat in awe, muttering, “No way!” “Oh my gosh!” and “Holy cow!” back and forth.

I’m heading ff to Lawrence, KS next week to lead two back-to-back Decker Made to Stick Programs for a new client, so I’m loving the stickiness of these episodes.

Here’s a quick breakdown of why Life is so darn good and sticky – using the Made to Stick SUCCESs template as a test:

Simple:

Each episode has a clear Point Of View that focuses on what’s unique and interesting about the topic (the big idea). For example: “Reptiles make it because of their remarkable adaptations.”

Also, the brilliant use of analogies helps those of us with just Bio 101 under our belt to understand the incredible ways these animals have adapted to their environment.  Case in point: the Namaqua Chameleon has adapted to walking sand dunes by spreading its toes – aka, “Chameleon snowshoes.”

Unexpected:

From defense mechanisms, to hunting strategies, and mating rituals, your eyebrows will shoot up in surprise. Who knew that a big ol’ daddy bullfrog would dig a channel so that his tadpoles can reach a larger water source? Or that a Basilisk (aka “The Jesus Lizard”) can run on water for 100 feet to avoid its predator? And, did you know that the acceleration of a chameleon’s tongue is five times faster than an F16 fighter jet? Just check out what this frog does for a little dose of unexpectedness.

Concrete:

Amazing, stunning, jaw-dropping visual examples. Never-before-filmed visual examples. And you sit there, watching, thinking, “How the heck did they get that shot?” This is an experience. Totally different to read it in a text book that to see it, hear it, and really feel it. It is stunning, and I can now admit that going HD was worth it.

Credible:

Uh…hello? You can’t script this stuff. We’re talking all-up-in-your-face real animal drama. It took more than four years to produce Life. At the end of each episode there are little vignettes of the journalists who traveled to the most remote places on earth to capture the priceless footage– they’re legit too. Add the authoritative voice of Oprah beautifully narrating, and you’ve nailed credibility.

Emotional:

You actually feel for these animals and the challenges they face. Don’t like snakes? Doesn’t matter. You’ll end up rooting for them as they try to protect their eggs. Grossed out by lizards? Not any more. You’ll get to know and appreciate the stamina and strategy of a Kimodo Dragon hunting its prey.

Story:

Short of giving the animals names, each vignette is a story of survival, protection, ingenuity, and love.

Life is the complete, sticky communications experience.

And all this while the season opener of Dancing with the Stars played on with zero attention from yours truly. Looks like we finally have something worth watching. Catch the many repeats airing all week, and get caught up before next Sunday!

“Story” is the S of our SHARP principles. Story is also the primary tool in making your message stick, as in Chip and Dan Heath’s great book “Made To Stick.” And in the vernacular of Malcolm Gladwell – story makes ANY idea stick, and if you haven’t read his great book get “Blink.”

The Top Ten Reasons stories are useful and powerful:

• They are real
• They are short
• They are interesting
• They are human
• They give third party credibility
• They are easy to tell
• They are memorable
• They are emotionally connecting
• They move people
• They are the principle communication tool since Man began talking

What Others Say

To be a person is to have a story to tell.
-Isak Dinesen

The story is more important to me than the part.
-Catherine Deneuve

Of course it’s the same old story. Truth usually is the same old story.
-Margaret Thatcher

A compelling story, even if factually inaccurate, can be more emotionally compelling than a dry recitation of the truth.
- Frank Luntz (Communication Specialist in language – also a political consultant)

Eighty percent of our life is emotion, and only 20 percent is intellect. I am much more interested in how you feel than how you think. I can change how you think, but how you feel is something deeper and stronger, and it’s something that’s inside you.
- Frank Luntz

From Todd Paulsen, here is some of the power of story, and the reason behind it (see the complete article here):

“THE USE OF STORIES IS A POWERFUL TOOL that aids in material retention, but methodologies of inclusion are rarely discussed. The desire to share emotions and effect the emotional states of others drives us to tell and retell stories. A story is a vector that spreads the information and emotion that is contained within it. No classroom or teacher is needed past the initial storytelling. We have been doing this for years in the form of childrens stories. It has been widely speculated that the story of Hantzel and Gretel (sic) is a cautionary tale used by elders to prevent children from wandering off into the dangers of the European forests alone.”

Jesus told stories and parables. He didn’t talk in concepts – he only needed stories, and he riveted peoples attention. Sowing seeds along the path, the rich young ruler, a house built on sand, faith growing like a mustard seed, and dozens more.

Remember, people buy on emotion and justify with fact.

A great resource for getting great at telling stories is Doug Stevenson’s Story Theatre – after our “Communicate To Influence” program this is one to take – it pays as a communicator to get serious about storytelling.

Create YOUR communication experience – stories will add mightily.