Paper presented to the Interpretation Australia National Conference, "Future Challenge", Melbourne, November 2012.
Paper is based on the Heath Brothers' 2007 book "Made to Stick", summarising it and relating it to interpretive practice.
Business wants stickiness - is interpretation the glue they're looking for?
1. BUSINESS WANTS STICKINESS
is interpretation the glue they’re looking for?
Regan Forrest
School of Tourism, University of Queensland – r.forrest1@uq.edu.au
3. • Urban Legends
• Conspiracy theories
• Proverbs
• Landmark oratory
Heath, C. and Heath, D. (2007)
Made to Stick.
Random House, London.
What makes an idea ‘sticky’?
4. • Simple
• Unexpected
• Concrete
• Credible
• Emotional
• Stories
• S
Ingredients of stickiness
5. • The “curse of knowledge”
• Distill to core ideas and
concepts
• Simple
= Pithy + Profound
• Power of analogy:
the “high concept pitch”
SIMPLE:
Can I say it in one sentence?
6. • Unexpected =
Attention + interest +
curiosity
• Mysteries and
cliffhangers =
intellectual itches that
beg to be scratched!
UNEXPECTED:
Where’s the twist?
7. • Abstract language =
stickiness solvent
• Concrete language =
stickiness setter
• Sensory language and
mental imagery
CONCRETE:
Can I picture it?
8. • The “Sinatra test”
• Facts & figures on a human
scale
• Testable credentials – see,
hear, feel, smell, taste for
yourself
CREDIBLE:
Can I believe it?
9. • Heart, not head
• Specifics, not
statistics
• I‟m talking to YOU
EMOTIONAL:
Do I care?
10. • Stories = mental dress
rehearsals
• Sticky storylines:
• Challenge plots
• Connection plots
• Creativity plots
STORIES:
Can I act on it?
12. • S-U-C-C-E-S-s as an interpretive checklist
• Making our messages „sticky‟ or memorable
• Selling our sticky skills
• New markets and applications of interpretive knowledge
and skills
INTERPRETATION
The art of the sticky?