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The Tipping Point, storytelling, and good communication

I just finished The Tipping Point, which I really enjoyed. I doubt I have much new to add to the reams that has been blogged about Malcolm Gladwell's thesis, so I don't plan to comment on that. I did however try to think about why I liked the book so much (and immediately launched into Blink).

He does have a pretty interesting argument for how and why social epidemics happen. But I think what is just as important, if not more so, is the fact that he is very good at communicating. For one, he is a good, engaging writer. Knowing how to put a sentence (or a paragraph or a chapter) isn't enough though. He engaged and convinced me because he built the book on stories. Not just a compilation of anecdotes, but verifiable, detailed stories, with names mentioned and all. Taken together, he used the individual stories to build one coherent narrative in the book as a whole. It seems like a small thing, but it is pretty powerful. I try to think about my overall narrative (or, "what's the point,") when I write and present professionally and it isn't easy to do, especially since I am interested in so many things and see the connections between them. But to make others see the connections, one strong storyline is apparently all you need.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Alex,
I too loved The Tipping Point. I keep extra copies of that book so I can give them to my friends. I think the story that had the most influence on my was that of Lois Weisberg, the connector.
Patricia
9:28 PM
Anonymous said…
I loved the book too - I could connect every story, every new term with someone I knew - either personaly or at work - for me that was the magic of that book - didn't like Blink as much though overall - but again Blink made me think of the number of times I have had an intuition about what is going on with the people / product I am researching - yet unable to form a concrete hypothesis or explain to the client!
10:35 AM
Alex said…
I agree...sometimes I get into trouble because I can't articulate my rationale for something.
1:11 PM
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