ECE 297 2017
Written Document 0:
What Makes Ideas Memorable?
“The first problem of communication is getting people's attention.”
- Chip Heath
Value: 3% of course mark
Due Date: Monday, January 30 at 6 pm
Instructions:
One goal of this course is to help make your proposals, presentations, and reports more compelling
and memorable. This assignment asks you to use three communication principles described in
the course text Made to Stick to assess a presentation on Google Photo from the 2015 I/O
Conference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V-fIGMDsmE (from time 1:00:10 – 1:13:00).
Do their ideas stick? Your analysis should do the following:
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Identify and summarize three principles from Made to Stick used in the presentation.
Explain how these make the presentation effective and memorable.
Make a case for one area the presentation could improve upon, again drawing on the
principles of Made to Stick.
Be specific in your analysis. In building your case, refer directly to Made to Stick as well as to the
presentation itself. If you want to draw your reader’s attention to a particular sequence in the video,
provide the time in parentheses in the body of your text, e.g., (1:09:35 – 1:09:55).
Format: Use paragraphs, and lists if they help. Provide a short introductory statement indicating
1) the purpose of the document, and 2) your main point. Also, include a brief conclusion that
consolidates the main point.
References: You are not required to consult sources outside of Made to Stick and the Google
presentation. Reference these using IEEE formatting for the citations and the List of References.
Length: 400 - 600 words.
Submission Procedure: Each student will submit individually to Turnitin.com. The Turnitin.com
instructions are posted on the website under Communication Milestones.
Late Penalties: 5% per day up to five days, after which the assignment will not be accepted.