I love it when a book I'm reading echoes another book that I recently read. That happened when I was reading How to Raise Planned Gifts by Mail, by Larry Stelter.

Stelter says that when it comes to technical expertise, gift planners often fall into one of three camps:

It was that last category, the black belts, that sent me scurrying to find my copy of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Chip and Dan Heath.

The Heath brothers speak of the "curse of knowledge," which is that once we know something, it is impossible to imagine not knowing it. Thus, we talk above the heads of our audience because we cannot re-create the state of mind of a listener who does not know yet.

Much of Made to Stick is about how to bring our audience along, from not understanding to understanding, through many small steps.

Similarly, Stelter, in How to Raise Major Gifts by Mail, makes the point:

...at least part of your audience is made up of people with only a vague understanding of the concept of gift planning. It's your job to raise awareness, pique interest, and inspire action. You can't do that by launching into arcane explanations in every communication you send.

Stelter's book is packed with "aha!" moments like this (and it is a skinny little book). We were very taken with his chapter on women donors as well, and wrapped our review around that:

• How to Raise Planned Gifts From Women Donors

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