Slow Leadership

Take your time to consider how to make any message memorable

You enter a room, labeled “The Numbers Room.” You see fifty people walking around wearing name tags that look like this . . .

3947202734
2739475214
0481659123
3927511198
2847111873

You then leave and enter a different room, labeled “The Names Room.” You see fifty different people walking around also wearing name tags. Only this time the name tags look like this . . .

Bob
Steve
Julie
Rick
Tom

Question: In which room would you expect to remember more people’s names?

The answer, of course, is “The Names Room.“

Remember this the next time you need to deliver a message that you want to stick. The people in “The Numbers Room” might very well be thoroughly and accurately labeled, but the chances their “names” would be remembered are slim to none.

To deliver a “rememorable” message, leverage the hidden secrets of “The Names Room” . . .

• Short. Less information is more.
• Easily recognizable. Short names and unique faces work for humans. Give your message a short name and only show its “unique face” and you have a winner.
• Easily recallable. Look away and spell Bob in your mind. Now look away and “spell” 3947202734 in your mind. Big difference. Use simple words and phrases to “stickify” your message.
• Easily transferable. How many Bobs have you heard of?
• Overcomes the knowledge gap. You probably have never seen 3947202734 before. So, your mind has to work harder to try to remember brand new information. However, you have heard, seen and dealt with the name Bob all your life. Find a way to take pre-existing words, concepts, or labels and give new meaning to them (instead of creating words from scratch.)

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