Memories – News at 10
People often ask, “how can I make my presentations more memorable?”
Memory is the subject of a lot of neuroscience and experimental psychology. There are many strategies you can employ to ensure your message is remembered. I’ll touch on a couple here.
Open and Close
Research shows that we tend to remember more from the beginning and end of any learning or interaction. This is why it is important to have a strong opening and closing. It’s a good idea to preview or signpost key points at the beginning and review at the end. This is how TV news broadcasts work. They say, “Tonight’s headlines are…” They then have reports, discussions, film segments or whatever covering the stories in-depth and end with, “A reminder of today’s top story…” This is a tried and tested formula.
Feelings
Another common feature of TV news is the “and finally…” item. This is something quirky, amusing, cute or heart-warming. The aim is to leave viewers feeling upbeat rather than distressed by horrific or depressing news of war, terrorism or disasters. If you can weave in an inspirational, amusing or upbeat story which touches your audience on an emotional level they will remember more strongly.
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou, American writer, poet and civil rights activist.
What are your most successful strategies to be remembered favourably?
Phil Chambers I use lots of humour - also move around to vary things. And - as a past image consultant - wear something eyecatching near my face to give people something interesting to focus on (nowadays tends to be jewellery or a bright top, but could be a scarf, tie etc. And red shades near your face make you look more energetic and healthier!