In this engaging discussion, Chip Heath, a professor of organizational behavior and author of Making Numbers Count, shares his insights on transforming data into compelling narratives. He emphasizes the need to make numbers emotional, as emotions drive action. Heath reveals how many people struggle with interpreting numbers and advocates for translating data into relatable concepts. Drawing on historical examples, he illustrates how emotional context can enhance communication and motivate change, providing practical strategies for clear and engaging data presentations.
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insights INSIGHT
Curse of Knowledge
The curse of knowledge makes experts forget what it's like to be a novice.
Communicate concretely, as novices think in concrete terms.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Bright Spots
Find "bright spots" (successful examples) within your organization.
Replicate those successes instead of constantly reinventing solutions.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Translate Numbers
Translate numbers into tangible concepts for better understanding.
Untranslated numbers are often misunderstood, hindering effective communication.
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Making Numbers Count offers principles like simple perspective cues, vividness, converting to processes, and emotional measuring sticks to help make numbers more understandable and impactful. It provides techniques to transform complex data into meaningful messages, aiding decision-making in various fields.
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Daniel Kahneman
In this book, Daniel Kahneman takes readers on a tour of the mind, explaining how the two systems of thought shape our judgments and decisions. System 1 is fast, automatic, and emotional, while System 2 is slower, effortful, and logical. Kahneman discusses the impact of cognitive biases, the difficulties of predicting future happiness, and the effects of overconfidence on corporate strategies. He offers practical insights into how to guard against mental glitches and how to benefit from slow thinking in both personal and business life. The book also explores the distinction between the 'experiencing self' and the 'remembering self' and their roles in our perception of happiness.
Made to Stick
Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
Chip Heath
Dan Heath
In this book, Chip and Dan Heath explore the anatomy of ideas that stick and provide methods to make ideas more memorable. They introduce the SUCCESs formula, which stands for Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Stories. The book is filled with examples from urban legends, business stories, and personal anecdotes, demonstrating how these traits can be applied to make any idea stickier. It is particularly useful for anyone interested in influencing others, whether in business, education, or other fields.
Switch
How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
Chip Heath
Dan Heath
In 'Switch', Chip and Dan Heath explore why making lasting changes is difficult due to the conflict between the rational mind and the emotional mind. They present a framework for successful change by uniting these two minds, drawing on decades of research in psychology, sociology, and other fields. The book provides compelling examples of how everyday people have achieved dramatic results by following this pattern, whether in personal, organizational, or societal contexts.
“We have to make data emotional because emotions are what drive us to act,” says Chip Heath, a professor of organizational behavior and author of the new book, Making Numbers Count: The Art of Science of Communicating Numbers. In this interview with host Matt Abrahams, Heath talks about ways that data and statistics can be used to illuminate — or obscure — our message. “A lot of people in the world don’t understand numbers like the numbers people,” he says. “And there are a lot of untranslated numbers that float around in organizations and in society.”
Heath suggests thinking about numbers like a foreign language we need to “translate” for our audience: “If we don’t translate numbers into something that’s more tangible, we’re going to sacrifice in a big way.“
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Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques 
