Made to Stick: Post #2--Simplicity

Simplicity: The KISS principle is central to most Marines and military folks I know: Keep is Simple, Stupid. There’s a thing the Heath’s call the “curse of knowledge” that we all need to avoid. When experts inadvertently overwhelm lay people with every detail they have learned, they lose the chance at having any impact at all. Finding the core of an idea and presenting it in a powerful and lasting way is at the heart of using analogies and metaphors to help people bridge from something they know to something new. It’s like picturing and idea from your head. Used in Hollywood, a talent agent might “pitch” a script to a producer like this: ”This new political comedy is like what might happen if Woody Allen debated Jerry Seinfeld for the presidency of the United States! Funny and smart political stuff.”