Quick Notes

Pre-talk:

● Where do you record your notes?● How do you pass messages?

Picture Talk:

● What are your thoughts?● Is this a good use of post its?● How long do you think this took?● What post it artwork would you like to make?

Headline: Why You Still Need Post-It Notes (Source: Huffington Post by Emily Peck)

Headline Questions● How would you answer this?● Do you still use Post Its yourself?

Article:

Paper-based communications might be nearing obsolescence, but there’s a reason 3M still sells an estimated $1 billion worth of Post-It notes every year.

If you ask someone to do something by writing it on a Post-It note, they’re more likely to comply, according to an oddly resonant research paper from a decade ago written up this week on Harvard Business Review’s website.

Those little squares with the sticky strip on top are “surprisingly persuasive,” writes psychologist Kevin Hogan in HBR. (It should be noted that there are other sticky-note makers out there aside from 3M, which came up with the nifty technology 35 years ago.)

The paper's findings still hold up today, said Randy Garner, a professor of behavioral science at Sam Houston State University and the author of the original study, published in 2005 in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.

“Perhaps one explanation," Garner wrote in an email to The Huffington Post, "is that in our seemingly overly technologically bound and electronically enhanced world we live in today, people may find unique interest in the possible influence of the low-tech impact of a small 3 x 3 piece of semi-sticky paper. :- )"

An informal Twitter survey conducted by this reporter seemed to confirm his findings. This is kind of surprising, considering that over the past 10 years, we've all been gradually sucked into the digital borg. In 2005 there was no Twitter or Snapchat or Slack or whatever-the-hell-else you use to communicate with your friends and colleagues instead of talking out loud to them.

Discussion:

Do you agree with this research result? How often do you use post its? Do you read post its given to you? Do colors matter when it comes to post its?

o How do you color code? Will Post Its be replaced with technology? Ever?

o What do you think it will be replaced with? Why? Do you think technology is better for communication? Why (not)? What communication technology do you use at the office? Do you use Wikipedia? Sharepoint?

o What are the benefits of these systems? Are post its environment friendly? How do you deal with someone who doesn’t take notes? Do you think it is important to take notes? Why (not)? When you were a kid, did you pass notes during class secretly?

Additional Picture Talk