Quote
“A credible idea makes people believe. An emotional idea makes people care.”
— Chip Heath & Dan Heath, in Made to Stick (2007) · Made to Stick →
Why it was said
The Heaths open the Stories chapter of Made to Stick with this summary of the two traits covered just before it, credibility and emotion, and then argue that the right stories make people act. Together these chapters supply the C, E and S of their SUCCESs checklist.
What it actually means
The two sentences split a job most communicators treat as one. Belief and care are different reactions: people can accept that a statistic is true and feel nothing about it, or be moved by a story they doubt. A message meant to change behaviour usually needs both. Credibility comes from details, testable claims and trusted sources; emotion comes from making the audience feel something for a specific person or consequence. The line works as a diagnostic: when an idea is accepted but ignored, it probably lacks emotion; when it is felt but dismissed, it lacks credibility.
How to use it
- 1In your next proposal, mark which sentences make the reader believe and which make them care, and add whichever is missing.
- 2Replace one large statistic with the story of one person it describes.
- 3Back an emotional appeal with one detail the audience can check for themselves.