394720 or Bob

(This is a repost of one of my most popular posts...)


You enter a room labeled The Numbers Room. You see fifty people walking around with name tags on and they look like this...

394720
273427
394751
404816
591233
92751
11982
821873

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

Bob
Steve
Julie
Rick
Tom
Jennifer
Will
Ashley

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 is slim to none. To deliver a "rememorable" message, leverage the hidden secrets of the Names Room.

1. Short. Less information is more.

2. 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.

3. Easily Recallable. Look away and spell Bob in your mind. Now look away and "spell" 394720 in your mind. Big difference. Use simple words and phrases to "stickify" your message.

4. Easily Transferable. How many Bobs have you ever heard of?

5. Overcomes the Knowledge Gap. You probably have never seen 394720 as a name 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.