THE SUPER-GLUE EFFECT: HOW TO MAKE A KEY MESSAGE STICK

A few years ago I watched the speech from the 2019 Toastmasters World Champion (Verity Price) and afterwards, her key message was almost ringing in my ears.

"Write a different story"

I was so fascinated by how this go buried so DEEPLY in my mind.

Word for word.??

I needed to figure out how she did it.

So I unpacked her talk. I watched it multiple times. I looked at the transcript.?

You know what I realised!?

You don't get a specific message to stick - by chance.

It also wasn't so much about the art of storytelling in this instance. Although that definitely helps.?

I discovered, if you want a specific message to stick, you've got to - use repetition.?

So, I thought for this article, I’d break down the 3 ways you can use repetition. So you can try it out for yourself.

#1 - SUCCESSIVE REPETITION

What i'm calling successive repetition is to:

>>> Repeat a phrase - DIRECTLY after you've said it.??

This works to drive a specific point home. I.E.?This can help to ensure an important point isn’t missed, plus emphasise the importance of it.?

EXAMPLES

E.g. 1 | Repeating it ONCE successively

If you were sharing a statistic in a presentation, you could say the number 2 times (i.e. repeat it once):

“This will potentially cost us ... $200 Million. Yes, $200 Million!

Why is this so important to do with a stat?

Because sometimes as an audience member, you might be listening, but you only catch the end of the statistic.?

If the speaker simply moves on and you didn't get the whole stat, you can't make sense of it and its?power?is lost.?

If you've done the work to find an epic stat, don't let it get lost in the sea of detail you're covering. Repeat it to ensure it gets noticed and to reinforce its importance.??

E.g. 2 | Repeating it TWICE successively?

In Barrack Obama’s historical 'Yes We Can' speech from 8th Jan 2008, he said his key phrase 3 times one after the other (i.e. he repeated it twice):

“Yes we can. Yes we can. Yes we can.”

This speech has been claimed to be one of the BEST speeches of the beginning of the 21st century. The recording on YouTube has been watched over 7.5M times.?

To me, it’s the use of repetition that’s made it that popular.

If you'd like to listen to that, you can do that here???

Personally, I haven’t found repeating something 3 times to be as applicable in everyday presentations.

But whatever your level of comfort, whether it’s simply repeating a key statistic 2 times, or?dramatically repeating something 3 times, it’s a technique that certainly works!

Also, it doesn’t require any pre-planning. You can simply repeat something on the fly to drive it home. So it's a great option for a work presentation.

#2 - INTERVAL REPETITION

This slightly different approach is much more subtle and might feel more comfortable to pull off as a speaker, but it’s still very effective.

What I'm calling interval repetition is to:

?>>> Repeat a phrase - across MANY INTERVALS in a talk.

Doing this will make your key point highly memorable.

Did you know:

Some famous speeches have repeated a key phrase once per min!

A lot of speakers would worry that this would be too much repetition. However, an audience member won't be thinking 'I wish they'd stop saying that'.

They will simply remember that key message being mentioned a few times, therefore it will stick in their minds.?

EXAMPLES?

E.g. 1 | Repeating it at 7 intervals across a 7min talk

In Verity Price’s 2021 Toastmasters World Championship Talk, "A great read” - she says her key phrase 7 times across her 7 min speech.

“Write a different story”?

Note: If you'd like to watch her winning speech in full, you can do that here???

E.g. 2 | Repeating it at 15 intervals across an 18min talk

?In Simon Sinek’s popular TED Talk ‘How Great Leaders Inspire Action’, he says says his key phrase about 15 times across the 18min talk.

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”

Obviously, in this case, you have to be very clear about what your key point is and intentional about where you will insert this.

Therefore, this technique absolutely requires pre-planning. Hence you would save this one for a presentation you’re giving on a stage.? Where you have the bandwidth to engineer these repeated phrases into your speech.

Whilst it does take time to pull off,? it’s well worth it.

?

#3 - ANAPHORA

This last one is the most memorable in my opinion, but a bit showy, so not as easy to pull off in a corporate setting.?

Anaphora is to:

>>> Repeat a phrase - at the START of a sentence.

This is a repetition technique that can drive a strong message home and make your WHOLE TALK more memorable.?

EXAMPLES?

E.g. 1 | Repeating a phrase at the start of 5 sentences

In 2008, Barrack Obama used repetition at the start of the sentences he spoke, towards the end of his victory speech. It was a very powerful way to end that speech, by reinforcing his message of hope and unity.?

“Yes we can ... to justice and equality. Yes we can ... to opportunity and prosperity. Yes we can ... heal this nation.?Yes we can ... repair this world. Yes, we can.

E.g. 2 | Repeating a phrase at the start of 8 sentences?

On 28th Aug 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King delivered the famous speech “I have a dream”.

In it, he repeats his key phrase “I have a dream” 8 times across his 15-minute speech. But, specifically at the start of his sentences.

“I have a dream...”

“I have a dream...”

“I have a dream...”

“I have a dream...”

“I have a dream...”

“I have a dream...”

“I have a dream...”

“I have a dream...”

You can watch that infamous speech here???

Even though that was 70+ years ago, most of us have some awareness of it.

?I believe a massive element of that is because of the use of repetition.

As this technique is quite showy, it’s a technique that’s either best used in written form, or for a formal presentation.

?But, it’s a cool way to have your message stick in the minds of your audience long after you’ve given your talk!?

IN SUMMARY?

It’s easy for a topic to stick in an audience’s mind.

But to have a specific message stick, is a different thing entirely.

That simply won’t happen …. by accident.

That simply won’t happen …. if you say it once and move on.

That simply won’t happen …. until you use repetition.?

That simply won't happen .... unless you're intentional.?

Either - repeat it successively, at intervals, or to start your sentences.?

This is your challenge for the week. Try out repetition in some form.?

If you do try it out, let me know how you go!?

Q - Seen any other uses of?repetition?you've loved? If so, please share.?

Cheers,

Emily

Hey, I'm Emily Edgeley, a Public Speaking Coach for the Tech industry. Since 2017 I've transformed the lives of thousands, by helping them to communicate with more power. I've run 300+ group coaching sessions, coached more than 250 people privately, and helped more than 100+ others give their first ever Conf talk.?

I'm on a mission to help people in Tech communicate with clarity, impact, and confidence. To boost your brand, career and industry influence.?

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