By Ethan Rotman
Simplicity and repetition are effective tools for helping your audience understand your point.
An example of this is a series of campaign ads that recently ran on the radio in California. The beauty and effectiveness of these ads is in how they were structured. The candidate was able to take something as complex as the economic crisis in California and boil it down to three simple issues. For each issue she offered one solution.
The rule of three. We can all remember three. Almost everything she said was in sets of three—the problems, the solutions, even her experience. Listen to her ads and count.
Regardless of your political views, the ads were brilliant. Meg Whitman, a candidate for governor of California, took a complicated issue with complicated solutions and made them understandable and memorable. Listen to her ads and you will know her political platform. Chances are you will remember it as well. After all, we can all remember three.
What is it that Meg Whitman knows? That psychologists and learning specialists long ago figured out there is a limit to how much new information people can take in at one time. She knows that complex issues must be marketed in simple terms. She knows that her audience does not want (or need) to know all the details—they just want to know what it means. While her ads are simple, they are very effective.
We often are lured into saying far more about our topic than our audience both cares to know and has the ability to remember. The more we give our audiences, the less they remember. The less we give them, the more they remember.
What is the one point you want your audience to remember and how can you use three simple concepts to make that point?
- The war was caused by greed, religious views, and imperialism.
- The mountain was created by pressure, heat, and time.
- The product is superior because of the technology, simplicity of use, and customer support.
- These tips are effective because they are short, to the point, and easy to understand.
When you speak, divide your topic into three facts, and talk about those. Just three—the rest are overkill and probably irrelevant. If Meg Whitman can simplify the problems of the most populated state in the United States into three issues, it’s possible for you to present your ideas with three facts as well.
This speaking tip is one is a series provided by iSpeakEASY. Visit www.ethanrotman.wordpress.com for more tips and articles or contact Ethan Rotman directly at 415-342-7106.
