Repeat after me

Move over Yankovic, there’s only enough room on the internet for one biopic this week…

Hi, it’s me Weird Al. Welcome to this issue of The Speakeasy.?Let me tell you a quick story about the power of song lyrics...

It was the 90s and things were, well, weird. It was a time of saggy jeans, frosted hair and Tamagotchis dying under mysterious circumstances.

I was in my teens and filled with angst. I soaked up the prerequisite anarchy with my ears - Nirvana, Green Day, The Offspring, Smashing Pumpkins - and vented my fury by shadow boxing lampposts and shrubbery.?

‘I won’t do what you tell me!’ I yelled at a cluster of post boxes. That outta show them.

In my Discman one day was a scratched up copy of Nirvana’s album Nevermind, lent to me by a friend. One hit of Track 1, Smells Like Teen Spirit, and I was hooked. The double-tracked guitar, the reverb, the mewling - it was rock candy for a generation of misunderstood youths. I mainlined that song for weeks. And the lyrics! The lyrics…

The lyrics are what turned out to be my undoing.

One day I was halfway through a particularly heartfelt rendition of Smells Like Teen Spirit when a friend of mine lifted one of the headphones off my ear and said,

‘What are you singing?’

I stared at him like he’d asked me what colour the sky was.

'Um, Smells Like Teen Spirit. NO DUH!'

‘No, what are you actually singing… in the chorus?’

‘Well it’s lots of ‘Hellos’ and then…

Turn the lights out, it’s a strange mess

Here we are now, in containers!’

He burst out laughing. He laughed so hard at one point I was genuinely concerned he might choke.

‘CONTAINERS!’ He managed between gasps.

THAT’S NOT HOW IT GOES YOU NERD!’

‘Oh no!’ I turned red.?

‘I don’t have the album sleeve!’ I offered weakly. ‘I thought it was a song about breaking out of the mould,’ I protested. ‘How was I supposed to know?!’

‘Please don’t tell anyone…’

It was all in vain. When you’re a teenager that's the kind of story that spreads faster than Covid.?

It was contagious. I felt stupid.?

Though it happened almost three decades ago, I’ll never forget those misheard lyrics. I also remember many other correctly heard song lyrics (I became quite fastidious after that point, as you can imagine) from my teenage years too. So too can you, I bet.

See, while most memories warp and fade, song lyrics somehow enjoy unprecedented recall among the shape-shifting fragments of our past. They retain the kind of veracity we could only dream of when it comes to birthdays, quiz-night facts, or that thing we said last week.

There are a few reasons why, but one of the main factors is largely due to repetition.?

We can use this technique in our speaking to have a similar effect. Here’s how…

The effect of repetition on the brain

Studies show that repetition has a strong effect on the formation of new memories and the strengthening of existing ones. When something is repeated, the brain forms stronger connections between the neurons that are involved in creating, and holding onto, that memory. Without going into too much detail (I’m not a scientist - a fact made very clear to me by my high school science teacher) it has to do with the strengthening of the pathways the brain builds. When something is repeated it signals to the brain that it is going to need to recall it regularly, it gets prioritised. The more something is repeated, the more those pathways become insulated, resulting in faster data transfer.?

How to use repetition effectively in your presentation

You can, and should, be using the same kind of repetition to make the messaging in your presentation unforgettable. First, you need to find what that message is. Remember this:

Simplify. Amplify. Reinforce

To use repetition effectively when presenting, you first need to simplify. To do this, spend some time with your sales presentation. Look over your slides and try to bring the message down to its core tenet/s.

I teach SaaS professionals regularly, so let’s take an example from that field. Something I see from my clients often is how they struggle to reframe software in the minds of their prospects. That’s because we’re still used to software in its original form - something you download onto your computer. Software as a service is an evolution of that and it’s an idea that clients need to buy into first.

A simplified message in this regard might be:

‘You’re not just buying software, you’re buying a service.’

As a SaaS salesperson, I would work this phrase into the start of the presentation. Thereafter begins the process, like in a song, of amplifying and reinforcing.

To do this, you need to come back to that message during the course of the presentation. As you look over your presentation you’ll see natural gaps where it could fit in. In today’s world of crowded minds and information overload, having a simple message that is positioned correctly amplifies it above everything else. Now you need reinforce it, and that, like song lyrics is done with repetition.

Remember:

Simplify. Amplify. Reinforce.

3 ways repetition amplifies your message

• Repeating a message or a phrase in your presentation signals to your audience ‘This is important’
• Building your presentation around a repetitive theme makes it easier for your audience to recall details.
• Repetition reinforces belief. The more your prospects hear it, the more convinced they will be that yours is the solution.

In case you missed it…

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