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

Principle	One-Line Summary	Diagnostic Question
Simple	Find the core and express it compactly	"If they remember only one thing, what should it be?"
Unexpected	Break patterns to grab and hold attention	"What's counterintuitive about this?"
Concrete	Use sensory, tangible language people can visualize	"Can someone picture this in their mind?"
Credible	Make it believable through proof or testability	"Why should they believe this?"
Emotional	Make people feel something, not just think	"What emotion does this evoke?"
Stories	Show, don't tell—use narrative to drive action	"Is there a person going through something here?"

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

Technique	Description	Example
Commander's Intent	State the single most important outcome	"THE low-fare airline" (Southwest)
Core + Compact	Strip to essential meaning, then compress	Proverbs, Golden Rule
High-Concept Pitch	Analogy to something known	"Jaws on a spaceship" (Alien)
Generative Metaphor	Analogy that guides behavior	"Cast members" (Disney employees)

Unexpectedness Techniques

Technique	Description	Example
Break the Pattern	Violate expectations	Flight safety done as comedy
Curiosity Gap	Open knowledge gaps, then fill them	"What if I told you movie popcorn..."
Postdictable Surprise	Surprise that makes sense in hindsight	Good movie plot twists
The Mystery	Frame as a question to be answered	"Why do some ideas survive?"

Concreteness Techniques

Technique	Description	Example
Sensory Language	Describe what you can see, touch, hear	"Ice-filled bathtub"
Velcro Memory	More hooks = more memorable	Multiple concrete details
The Concrete Goal	Specific, visualizable outcome	"Man on moon by decade's end"
White Things Exercise	Specific prompts beat general ones	"White things in refrigerator" vs "white things"

Credibility Techniques

Technique	Description	Example
Sinatra Test	One undeniable proof point	"If we can handle the White House..."
Antiauthority	Credibility from experience, not credentials	Pam Laffin (smoker) on smoking
Testable Credential	Let them verify themselves	"Are you better off than 4 years ago?"
Human-Scale Statistics	Make numbers relatable	Nuclear warheads as BBs in bucket
Vivid Details	Specifics signal authenticity	Darth Vader toothbrush

Emotional Techniques

Technique	Description	Example
The One	Individual > Statistics	Mother Teresa principle
WIIFY	"What's In It For You"	Lead with audience benefit
Identity Appeal	Connect to who they are	"Don't Mess with Texas"
Association	Link to existing emotional concepts	Reclaim "sportsmanship"
Avoid Maslow's Basement	Appeal to higher needs, not just base ones	Purpose > paycheck

Story Techniques

Technique	Description	Example
Challenge Plot	Obstacle overcome	Jared losing 245 lbs on Subway
Connection Plot	Relationship bridging gap	Good Samaritan
Creativity Plot	Mental breakthrough	Newton's apple
Springboard Story	Enables audience to see themselves	"What if we could..."
Flight Simulator	Stories as mental rehearsal	Firefighters swapping tales

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.