Interesting article: How to write like Malcolm Gladwell:
Prose style and structure in The Tipping Point.
Malcolm Gladwell’s books have been derided, by both sides of the aisle, for making claims that are dubious or do not stand to scrutiny. Yet his books are influential and sell well. Concepts or memes such as the “10,000 hours rule” or “tipping point” have entered the American lexicon. A common explanation for his success is that his books tell readers what they want to believe, such as that IQ is not that important for success at life. I think that is part of it, but his delivery is also effective, as the article above shows.
Storytelling and one-off anecdotal evidence, even if done poorly, is very persuasive, as much as we want to believe we are persuaded by facts and data. We want to believe we are persuaded by data, but really, we want to be told a story that may confirm what we already suspected was true. It is also easier to relate or identify with an individual than to ‘facts and data’.
If you want to convince people that IQ is not that important for success at life, instead of citing a bunch of studies, tell a detailed story of just a single smart person who failed to live up to his or her potential, as told in Outliers. In invoking the tired Stalin quote, a single story is worth a million studies.