How to make sure people remember what you want them to

If you ever have to write a set of bullets, this Tactical Tuesday tip will come in handy.

Don’t thank me (or do, whatever). Thank German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus. He first observed and described the phenomenon he called the serial-position effect.

The serial-position effect is that people tend to remember the first and last items in a list better than the items in the middle.

It’s due to the primacy effect (putting more importance on the first information we receive on a topic). And the recency effect (remembering best the information we’ve received most recently). Working together.

So, next time you’re making a list — could be features, benefits, achievements, expectations, or anything else — make sure you put the most important ones in the top and bottom 2 or 3 positions.

That will give them the best chance of being remembered.

Listing to port,
James

P.S. This old chestnut is actually known as the Ebbinghaus Illusion:

P.P.S. You guessed it! The orange circles are the same size!!! #Ebbinghaused