Guest Thinkers — February 22, 2011

Six tips to make ideas succeed

nIn their new bookMade to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, the Heath brothers — Chip Heath, anprofessor of organizational behavior at Stanford and Dan Heath, a consultant at DukenCorporate Education — isolate and elaborate on six principles for helpingnideas succeed. In other words, what makes an idea “sticky”?

Principle 1: Simplicity. How do we find the essential core of our ideas?

Principle 2:nUnexpectedness. How do we get our audience to pay attention to ournideas, and how do we maintain their interest when we need time to getnthe ideas across?

Principle 3: Concreteness. How do we make our ideas clear?

Principle 4: Credibility. How do we make people believe our ideas?

Principle 5: Emotions. How do we get people to care about our ideas?

Principle 6: Stories. How do we get people to act on our ideas?

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Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

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The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

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High Culture

6 great books with wildly unreliable narrators

Dive into the twisted truths and concealed realities told by literature’s most unreliable narrators.

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The Well

Signs you’re burned out — and how to bounce back

If you don’t feel better after the weekend, the “burnout paradox” could explain why.

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7 min

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with

Laurie Santos

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