Expert Corner: Marketing Communications Writer Udi Shorr
Put Information in "Buckets" to Help Your Audience Absorb Your Message...
By Udi Shorr, Marketing Communications Writer
Want the audience to remember your message? Consider which number sequence would be easier for you to memorize:
8662375433 or (866) 237-5433
Most people will find it easier to memorize the second sequence. Here's why: although we can store an immense amount of information in our long-term memory, it must sit for a time in our short-term memory to be encoded. And short-term memory has a very limited capacity. Studies have shown that it holds more when we group a flurry of details into fewer "chunks."
You can take advantage of this by dividing your presentation into three or four key topics or "buckets." Then make it clear that your first set of facts goes into the first bucket, the second set goes into the next bucket, etc.
In a print piece, you'll use headings to clearly indicate each bucket. In a video or PowerPoint, you might use transition scenes or title slides. Organizing your content into distinct and clearly labeled "buckets" makes it easier for customers to remember your message.
Udi Shorr is a freelance marketing communications writer with more than 20 years of experience writing print, video, and live presentations for FORTUNE 500 clients. You can contact him at Udi.Shorr@gmail.com.
Can't send every presentation out for the full professional treatment? eSlide offers training on the three design principles that turn bad DIY slides into good slides.