While we only had one section of reading this week, I really enjoyed it. The reading this week in the book Made to Stick was about stories. Stories inspire, simulate, teach important lessons, and ultimately lead people to take action. While many people believe stories are merely for entertainment, Heath and Heath discuss the psychology behind stories and the effect they have on their audiences. I really like the point they make about “passive” audiences and the idea that when people read a story, their mind follows it as if they are actually a part of it.
Stories evoke emotions, thought, and simulation. As Heath and Heath describe it, stories “put knowledge into a framework that is more lifelike, more true to our day-to-day existence.” People enjoy stories because they can usually relate in some way to the author or protagonist. I think Heath and Heath chose the best story to describe in their book; the story of Jared that led to a healthy Subway revolution. What made Jared’s story so famous was that he was a normal guy who decided to eat more Subway as a tasty way to lose weight. Subway didn’t have to pay Jared to promote their name; he actually proclaimed that their sub sandwiches saved his life. However, it was the person who “spotted” the story who actually made it famous. What if the reporter from Men’s Health magazine hadn’t read that article in Indiana Daily? What if Bob Ocwieja hadn’t seen the article? Jared’s story would’ve never made it past his college town and made Subway an icon for healthy fast-food eating. In this case, the people who found the story and made it publicly known are the real people to thank. Even with others’ doubts, they made a campaign out of Jared’s success.
As well as the Jared story, I never really considered the people behind the Chicken Soup books; the authors’ job is literally to find inspiring stories that will fit in with the focus of the specific book. All in all, If written correctly, stories can get people to act on a certain idea. As the title of the book implies, some stories can make ideas “stick” while others “die.”
I think you did a great job of explaining that in order for an idea to really stick, it needs to be both entertaining and inspirational (i.e. insight action). The Jared example showcases how those two elements are not mutually exclusive; that is, an inspirational idea won't necessarily succeed without also being entertaining, and visa versa. But, together, it is more difficult for the idea to "die".
ReplyDeleteI also like how you recognized the importance of the "middle-man" or the person who discovers stories and makes them marketable. They play such a vital role in the process, but are often overlooked, and I think it's worthwhile to consider that step-by-step route of an idea or story from conception to implementation.
I also thought you did a really good job giving a brief yet thorough description of the reading we had. The subway story was something that stood out to me as well, I had always figured that they went out to find a bigger person, make him eat a Subway diet, and then market him for popularity and inspiration. I never knew that Jared actually did it himself and your point about the importance of the middle man is so crucial and so often overlooked by audiences.
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