Made To Stick

Made to Stick Skill

Apply Chip and Dan Heath's SUCCESs framework to make ideas memorable, impactful, and actionable. This skill helps you transform abstractions into concrete, sticky communication.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Writing landing pages, blog posts, emails, or documentation
• Crafting investor pitches, sales decks, or presentations
• Reviewing content for memorability and impact
• Fighting the Curse of Knowledge in technical writing
• Evaluating app concepts or feature descriptions (secondary)
• Explaining complex ideas to non-experts

The SUCCESs Framework Quick Reference

Workflows

1. Improve Copy

Use for: Landing pages, blog posts, emails, documentation

Steps:

1. Read the existing copy
2. Ask the user what one thing readers should remember
3. Score each section against SUCCESs principles (see assets/checklists/sticky-evaluation.md)
4. Identify the weakest principles and apply targeted techniques:
   • Low Simple: Cut abstractions, find the Commander's Intent
   • Low Unexpected: Add a curiosity gap or pattern break
   • Low Concrete: Replace jargon with sensory details
   • Low Credible: Add a Sinatra Test, antiauthority, or testable claim
   • Low Emotional: Find the individual, not the statistic
   • Low Stories: Frame as someone overcoming something

2. Craft a Pitch

Use for: Investor decks, sales presentations, keynotes

Steps:

1. Ask the user for context: audience, goal, key differentiator
2. Build the pitch using all six principles:
   • Simple: Lead with the one-sentence core ("THE ___ that ___")
   • Unexpected: Open with what's counterintuitive or surprising
   • Concrete: Use specific examples and numbers (humanized)
   • Credible: Include Sinatra Test or testable credentials
   • Emotional: Connect to what the audience cares about (WIIFY)
   • Stories: Close with a transformation story
3. Present the draft and iterate

3. Review Content

Use for: Reviewing articles, proposals, documentation, marketing materials

Steps:

1. Read the content
2. Apply the sticky evaluation checklist to score 1-5 on each principle
3. Summarize strengths and weaknesses
4. Provide specific, actionable recommendations with examples

4. Fight the Curse of Knowledge

Use for: Technical documentation, expert-to-novice communication

The Curse of Knowledge is when experts can't remember what it's like not to know something. They tap rhythms expecting listeners to hear the song.

Detection signs:

• Undefined acronyms and jargon
• Abstract concepts without examples
• Missing "why it matters" context
• Assumed background knowledge

Mitigation strategies:

• Ask "What does someone need to know first?"
• Replace every abstraction with a concrete example
• Use the "mom test"—would your mom understand this?
• Add analogies to familiar concepts (pomelo = grapefruit)
• Include before/after scenarios

5. Evaluate an App Idea (Secondary)

Use for: Evaluating feature concepts, app ideas, product positioning

Steps:

1. Ask: "What's the one thing users should remember about this?"
2. Score the concept against SUCCESs
3. Provide targeted improvements for weak areas

Technique Toolbox

Simplicity Techniques

Unexpectedness Techniques

Concreteness Techniques

Credibility Techniques

Emotional Techniques

Story Techniques

Examples

Writing Example: Before and After

Before (Abstract):

"Our platform provides comprehensive workflow optimization solutions that leverage AI to enhance productivity metrics across enterprise environments."

After (Sticky):

"Teams using our tool ship features 40% faster. One engineer told us: 'I used to spend Mondays in status meetings. Now I spend them building.'"

What changed:

• Simple: Cut jargon, one clear outcome
• Concrete: "40% faster," "Mondays in meetings"
• Emotional: Individual story, relatable frustration
• Credible: Specific metric + quote

App Idea Example

Original pitch:

"A task management app with AI prioritization"

Sticky version:

"Imagine your to-do list actually knew what mattered. TaskFlow is the app that asks: 'If you could only finish one thing today, what would move the needle most?' Then it hides everything else until you're done. One user shipped a feature she'd been 'about to start' for three months—on her first day using the app."

What changed:

• Simple: One behavior (focus on one thing)
• Unexpected: Hides tasks (counterintuitive)
• Concrete: "hides everything else," "shipped a feature"
• Stories: Transformation narrative

Reference Documents

• references/SUCCESS-FRAMEWORK.md - Deep dive on each principle with extended examples
• references/WRITING-PLAYBOOK.md - Writing-specific applications (headlines, copy, pitches, docs)
• assets/checklists/sticky-evaluation.md - Copyable evaluation checklist

The Villain: Curse of Knowledge

The Curse of Knowledge is the central obstacle to sticky communication. Once you know something, you can't un-know it—you can't remember what it's like not to know it.

The Tapper/Listener Experiment:

• Tappers tap out well-known songs
• Listeners try to guess the song
• Tappers predict 50% will guess correctly
• Actual success rate: 2.5%

Tappers hear the song in their heads. Listeners hear disconnected taps. This is every expert trying to explain something to a novice.

The only cure: Transform your ideas using the SUCCESs framework. Assume nothing. Make everything concrete. Test with someone who doesn't know what you know.