{"id":45767,"date":"2021-08-24T09:04:18","date_gmt":"2021-08-24T13:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=45767"},"modified":"2021-09-06T10:43:07","modified_gmt":"2021-09-06T14:43:07","slug":"core-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/core-message\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Distill the Core Message of Your Idea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Do you have an idea in mind? What is the core message behind your idea? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have an idea to communicate, you want it to be sticky: you want people to understand it, remember it, and pass it on. The key to doing this is twofold: identifying your core message and making it compelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is how you can distill the core message of your idea and make it stick. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sticky Ideas Are Simple<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the simplest terms, there are only two steps to making your idea stick: 1) find the core message and 2) make the core message compelling by using the SUCCESs template. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first sentence above is an example of what you need to do with your message. It distills the essence or core of this book to a single sentence, albeit not a scintillating one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Find the Core Message<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u201cS\u201d in the SUCCESs formula for creating \u201csticky\u201d messages stands for \u201csimple.\u201d <strong>Making your message simple doesn\u2019t mean dumbing it down or making it simplistic like a typical sound bite.<\/strong> Simplifying it just means determining the most important thing about it, the essence or core that holds it together like gravity.<br>It must <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/focus-on-one-thing\/\">focus on one thing<\/a>, not multiple things. The challenging part is prioritizing your points and then eliminating all but one central point. <strong>A simple, well-designed idea effectively shapes and guides others\u2019 behavior.<\/strong> The following are some examples of how core-focused messages are created and how they work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Communicate the Core Message<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Once you\u2019ve zeroed in on your key point, you need to communicate it.<\/strong> Knowing your priorities is one thing, but communicating and achieving them takes additional steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, Dunn, North Carolina newspaper publisher Hoover Adams encapsulated his top priority, providing relentlessly local coverage of his small community, in the phrase \u201cNames, names, names.\u201d The phrase was intended to remind reporters that covering the local community required getting local names into every story without exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But in addition to creating his message, he still needed to make it stick with his staff. He wrote a memo to convince them he wasn\u2019t just paying lip service to the concept of \u201clocal first.\u201d The memo was convincing because:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>He used clear language.&nbsp;<\/li><li>He used an analogy: The local mayor is as important in this community as the mayor of New York is to that city.&nbsp;<\/li><li>He exaggerated for emphasis: if an atomic bomb fell on Raleigh, it wouldn\u2019t be news in Dunn unless the ashes spread that far.&nbsp;<\/li><li>He underscored that names were his priority, by saying he\u2019d hire additional typesetters and add pages if reporters could get enough names to fill the space. His goal of publishing names was more important than the bottom line.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>By identifying his top priority and communicating it in memorable terms, Adams ensured that \u201cnames, names, names\u201d was top of mind and guided each employee\u2019s decisions like the force of gravity, whether the boss was present or not.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adams\u2019 clearly communicated, core-focused message has resulted in a paper read by 112% of the community, meaning that more newspapers are sold than there are households in Dunn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keep it Compact<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNames, names, names\u201d worked because it was core and because Adams communicated it memorably. But it also worked for two more reasons: it was compact, meaning succinct, as well as profound. <strong>A simple message is core (distilled to its essence), compact, and says something of value.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Proverbs are an example of sticky messages that meet these criteria. Proverbs are compact distillations of wisdom that have lasted through centuries and cultures, guiding people\u2019s behavior and ethics. The writer Miguel de Cervantes defined a proverb as \u201ca short sentence based on long experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their stickiness is unparalleled. For instance, the proverb, \u201cWhere there\u2019s smoke, there\u2019s fire\u201d exists in more than 55 languages. Versions of the \u201cbird in hand\u201d proverb have survived more than 2,500 years\u2014without the help of an advertising campaign or social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adams turned his core value, \u201cNames. Names, names,\u201d into a journalistic proverb with impact and staying power. Compactness helps people learn and apply a core message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Make it Compact<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Making your message compact, particularly when you\u2019re conveying a complex idea, is challenging. Here are three techniques: Tap into schemas, create a high-concept pitch, or use a generative analogy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1) Use Existing Knowledge: Tap Into People\u2019s Schemas<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>A schema is basically a conceptual framework\u2014information you\u2019ve collected and mentally categorized based on generic properties\u2014that you use to understand something complex. For instance, when someone mentions a sports car, your mind conjures up a picture of a typical sports car\u2014small, red, two-door, convertible, fast\u2014based on your past experience with sports cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To see how schemas work, imagine two ways you could describe an unfamiliar fruit to someone. One way would be to use a lot of detail: The pomelo, the largest citrus fruit, has a thick, soft rind that\u2019s easy to peel. The fruit is light yellow to pink, varies from juicy to a bit dry, and tastes sweet, but tangy. This is a lot of information, but even so, it doesn\u2019t convey the essence of the fruit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, using a schema (generic knowledge someone already has), you can instantly and understandably convey what a pomelo is: it\u2019s an oversized grapefruit with a thick, soft skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGrapefruit\u201d is a schema\u2014your grapefruit schema is a mental collection of generic properties including tangy flavor, yellow or pink color, a bit larger than a softball. This schema gives you a good idea of what the pomelo looks and tastes like. This second description is easier to understand and remember, even though it appears to contain less information than the first description.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Schemas allow you to pack a lot of meaningful information into a simple statement<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Teachers frequently use schemas to teach new or difficult concepts. For instance, some use the solar system model as a schema for how an atom works, with electrons orbiting the nucleus the way planets orbit the sun. This is an oversimplification (electrons actually travel in \u201cprobability clouds\u201d), but the solar model provides a useful starting point\u2014you have to keep your schemas simple in order for them to be useful and to avoid being sidetracked by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-curse-of-knowledge\/\">curse of knowledge<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2) Create a Hollywood Pitch<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Analogies are a simple way to call up a schema<\/strong>. For instance, you could use a simple analogy to describe a pomelo: A pomelo is like a grapefruit. Another example of an analogy is, \u201cLife is like a Box of Chocolates\u201d (Forrest Gump).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hollywood producers use analogies to make \u201chigh-concept\u201d (striking and easily communicated) pitches for new movie ideas. In just a sentence, the best ones can get the go-ahead for a $100 million movie. Besides attracting financial support, they also instantly tell everyone working on the movie what they\u2019re aiming for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examples of high-concept pitches include \u201c<em>Die Hard<\/em> on a bus\u201d (for the movie <em>Speed) and \u201cBig <\/em>for girls\u201d (<em>13 Going on 30<\/em>). Hollywood\u2019s high-concept pitches are essentially industry proverbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3) Use a Generative Analogy<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Generative analogies provide a model or platform the listener can use to generate additional insights<\/strong>. For instance, psychologists have long used the brain-as-a-computer metaphor (a type of analogy) to inspire insights and investigations. Computer features such as memory and processors suggest (or \u201cgenerate\u201d) ways to think about the brain. Good analogies are thus \u201cgenerative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using a generative analogy to create a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/sticky-ideas\/\">sticky idea<\/a>, Disney refers to its employees as cast members. For instance, they <em>audition<\/em> rather than interview for a job; their jobs are referred to as <em>performances<\/em>, and whenever employees are in the park, they\u2019re <em>on stage<\/em>. The cast member analogy generates insight into how they should behave\u2014for instance, not smoking while in costume (uniform).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Proverbs are the ultimate in simplicity, compactness, and meaning. A core message with these characteristics isn\u2019t easy to create, but the experiences of the U.S. Army, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/southwest-airlines-marketing-strategy\/\">Southwest Airlines<\/a>, and Disney show that the benefits are worth the effort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you have an idea in mind? What is the core message behind your idea? If you have an idea to communicate, you want it to be sticky: you want people to understand it, remember it, and pass it on. The key to doing this is twofold: identifying your core message and making it compelling. Here is how you can distill the core message of your idea and make it stick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":45777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,104,9],"tags":[459],"class_list":["post-45767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication","category-marketing","category-psychology","tag-made-to-stick","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Distill the Core Message of Your Idea - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you have an idea to communicate, you want to make it sticky. To this end, identify the core message of your idea first. Here is how.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/core-message\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Distill the Core Message of Your Idea\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you have an idea to communicate, you want to make it sticky. To this end, identify the core message of your idea first. 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