4. Business Communication (7.5%)

Question 1

What is a sticky message?

Answer 1

understandable, memorable, effective in changing thought or behaviour

Question 2

Implications of the ‘curse of knowledge’

Answer 2

• When we know something we cannot communicate the idea clearly because its hard to imagine not knowing the idea
• your vast knowledge & experience makes it hard to fathom how little someone else knows

Question 3

business concepts and communication:

Answer 3

communication bridges the gap between concepts and interest,

• are ideas created interesting, or, made interesting by communication?
• not just what of the communication but how

Question 4

example of a sticky message:

Answer 4

CSPI and movie popcorn:
They turn a boring idea that is not sticky, and made it sticky.
-a medium size butter popcorn at your typical neighbourhood contains more artery-clogging fat than a bacon and eggs breakfast, a Big Mac and fries for lunch, and a steak dinner with all the trimmings-combined!

+a regular statement would have been interesting but not sensational, truthful but not mind-blowing, and important, but not life or death

Question 5

Identify and explain the 6 principles of stickiness:

Answer 5

SUCCESs-is and should make you

Simple -understand it
Unexpected -pay attention!
Concrete
Credible -agree/believe
Emotional -care 
Stories -act and remember!

Question 6

Simple:

Answer 6

core + compact
Find the “core” of the message
-no “plan” survives contact with the enemy

Question 7

example of a simple sticky message

need to know subway example

Answer 7

Disneyland employees are called “cast members” which tells them how to behave. even sweeping parks means they are on stage and need to act the part.

but subway employees are called “sandwich artists” even though employees are tasked to Follow Precise sandwich making Instructions. and Not get Creative

you should:

• keep information compact by using generative analogies
• explain your ideas using what people already know

Question 8

Unexpectedness

Answer 8

get audience to pay attention

• through surprise and interest
• be counter intuitive

Question 9

+example of unexpected sticky message

Answer 9

boring: bananas contain potassium, which is radioactive
wow: the power of a nuclear bomb can be measured with bananas

hold attention by generating curiosity. pose a question related to your idea that your audience just has to know the answer to.

“children hooked on new drug in town” vs “children are abusing a new drug - and it may be in your own medicine cabinet!”

The second one generates curiosity and holds attention.. it poses a question parents want to know the answer to.

Question 10

concreteness

Answer 10

Makes an idea clear: some the people can understand and remember
-use concrete imagery the audience can visualize

Question 11

+example of concrete:

Answer 11

bad: did you know popcorn has fat? vs.
good: did you know your popcorn has more fat than bacon and eggs breakfast, big mad and fries, and steak dinner with trimmings combined?

Question 12

how to you establish credibility?

Answer 12

-make audience believe

-external credibility: experts, celebs, anti authorities
anti authority: a smoker telling you not to smoke because she’s now suffering the effects

-internal credibility: vivid details, statistics (you’re more likely to get killed by a shark than a deer), testable credential (like how the NBA knows that their players get a lot of women, so to teach them to be cautious, they had them all hang out with women only to find out the women all tested HIV positive, this allowed the player to test out hanging with seemingly safe women themselves)

Question 13

Emotions

Answer 13

• get people to care and feel something
• use the power of association: appeal to people’s self-interest and identity

self-interest: overfishing causes Pacific Bluefin tuna numbers to drop 96% vs. overfishing of Pacific Bluefin tuna will lead to end of sushi as we know it.

identity: Dallas Cowboys football stars telling people don’t mess with Texas, by keeping litter off the ground. appeals to Texans, protect your own.

Question 14

Stories:

Answer 14

• simulate something with real life examples and get people to take action
• use inspirational stories like the subway guy who lost weight by eating subway
  1. the challenge plot
  2. the connection plot
  3. the creativity plot

Question 15

stories: 1. the challenge plot

Answer 15

• underdog tale of rags to riches
• or triumph through willpower
  ex: Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath: David is a young Shepard who armed with only a sling beats Goliath, the mighty warrior

Question 16

2. the connection plot:

big meaning in small events

Answer 16

stories about people who develop relationships that bridge a gap: racial, class, ethnic, religious, or demographic

ex: The internship: nick and billy are two 40 year olds are discriminated against by their younger peers due to age. Eventually gain acceptance with of their younger peers and become friends when they find out they all bring valuable skills to the table.

Question 17

3. the creativity plot:

people remember what they’ve experienced, use stories to simulate this effect

Answer 17

Stories that are different: innovation, problem solving, mental breakthroughs

Moneyball: Oakland A’s manager Billy Bean’s successful attempt to assemble a basketball team on a lean budget by employing a computer generated analysis to acquire new players

Question 18

Subway SUCCESs Example! Jared vs. “7 under 6”

Answer 18

Simple
 -eat subs and lose weight –
                 “Subway saved my life”
Unexpected
 -lost weight eating fast food
Concrete
 -oversized pants
Credible
 -anti-authority
Emotional
-individual vs. mass, reaching
     potential – self-interest
Story
 -Inspiring challenge plot