Two for one special today. My reading backlog of late has been oriented on some well known books covering ideas; how they spread, how they are shared, and how you can get your ideas to stay in someone’s head. I am always interested in improving how I can communicate with world around me and these books offer some great viewpoints on that subject.

The Tipping Point
Malcolm Gladwell
ISBN: 0316346624

What’s The Point?

The tag line “how little things can make a big difference” covers the point well. This book covers how small things grow to become huge things; when an small idea tips and becomes a popular huge idea. This is accomplished via different types of people that communicate the idea: connectors, mavens, and salesmen, each with different abilities to connect. Once an idea is shared, how well it can stick with people is important: Sesame Street and Blues Clues are both TV shows that did a groundbreaking job at figuring out how to keep kids stuck watching them. Finally, the context of an idea, knowing when to apply different tactics, figuring out what is working to make an idea tip, is important.

How Was It?

A quick read covering a few pivotal ideas. It is well laid out and easy to follow. Plenty of usable case studies and hard facts.

Who Should Read It?

Anyone looking to better understand how ideas work and trying to manipulate how ideas their ideas are shared.

Made To Stick
Chip Heath, Dan Heath
ISBN: 1400064287

What’s The Point?

Elaborating on one of the main points of what makes ideas “tip” in The Tipping Point, this book dives into further into, well, what makes ideas stick in your head. It lays out six main points analyzing how you can make stories or ideas better stay with someone. These techniques could be useful for presentations, stories, or really anything that you are trying to communicate. They reference many concrete situations where people have used these techniques and explain why they were able to make their idea really stick. Overall, they make clear guide to how you can analyze and make idea stick.

How Was It?

Great read, very well organize and easy to follow. The book itself is a great example of how to effectively communicate and make its message understood.

Who Should Read It?

Improving how you communicate and making your ideas better understood is important to everyone really. Thinking differently, about how people are trying to understand what you are saying, is a great way to improve what you are saying. Getting a new perspective on an idea is always useful. What you learn in this book can be applied everywhere in your life.