And now for something completely different…is both the title of the 1971 movie by Monty Python and the Fly Circus and a hint at Chapter 2’s of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die title. The title is Unexpected (if you are reading along it won’t be a surprise), and is the second condition for something to be sticky.
The first step in communication is getting someone’s attention. An abrupt change in a scene or in tone during a conversation are changes that draw attention. The authors assert that people are hard-wired to see change. When a change is unexpected, it is even more noticeable. Something that is surprising, less likely, or unforeseen fits the definition of unexpected in Chapter 2. Being unexpected is the shock that draws the eyes.
The veracity of the assertions that the unexpected draws attention isn’t worth debating. The tool is used in advertising and social media to the point where what would draw attention last week evokes a yawn this week. Spending five minutes on Twitter, Facebook, or Threads will provide you with an opportunity to see how the cycle is escalating. That almost hysterical approach to attention-grabbing has translated to the world of agile transformations. Audiences are jaded, presentations need to do more to break through and garner attention. A week ago I listened to a webinar that opened by linking poor use of tools to mass murder and transportation disasters. I checked out and made a pot of ramen for lunch. What struck me was the apparent need to use horror to draw attention.
The most important idea for me during this reading of the book is the idea that while surprise gets attention, interest holds attention. Assuming you can get someone’s attention you need to hold it to have any chance of making your message sticky. Two of the concepts to hold interest the Heaths discussed that resonate with my business are:
- Constructing a mystery. Mysteries engage people by demanding closure. The need to solve the mystery keeps people listening and involved. Once you get someone’s attention they will pull those around them toward closure. This idea makes sense to me, my wife and I listen to mystery books (television is a pale version). The authors whose books don’t get to closure rarely get a second chance. There is no interest.
- Identifying a knowledge gap. A knowledge gap is the difference between what is known and what needs to be known. A gap is a form of mystery that holds interest because people will attempt to fill those gaps. Just like mystery books that do not provide closure presentations or pitches that don’t close the knowledge gap OR provide a path to close the knowledge gap are dead on arrival for me.
Both approaches require starting by getting attention. That is probably why the jaded public is presented with shriller cries from marketing hawkers. Once you have their attention you need to get them interested enough to solve the mystery or to close the knowledge gap. It is a bit of a conundrum.
Another important item in the chapters is the problem of an overconfident audience. Consider how many times you have presented an approach to a problem only to be told by someone that they dealt with that in their last job (or the like). Overconfidence interrupts and deflects interest. I have found it exhausting to regain someone’s attention in order to try to get them interested again. If at all possible do your homework of understanding where stakeholders stand before important meetings so that you can deflate overconfidence.
The world will end if you can’t first tear your audience’s attention away from their phones. Yeah, that bit of hyperbole was on purpose. Perhaps a measured, calm conversational approach coupled with a solution to a valuable knowledge gap might be even more unexpected than screaming. If not, THE APOCALYPSE IS NIGH and Chapter 3 will make that concrete.
Buy a copy of the book and then catch up on the logistics of this re-read:
Week 1: Announcement and Logistics – https://bit.ly/46tn5Bz
Week 2: Introduction – https://bit.ly/46CLmp1
Week 3: Simple – https://bit.ly/3PZLWaq
