The Power of Edutaining Lectures: Why They Make Your Audience Lean In When They Listen
According to a 2008 University of California study (Bohn and Short) the average American consumes about 34 gigabytes of data and information each day. The researchers calculated that we consumed, on average, 10, 845 trillion words or about 100,000 words per American, per day.
That's estimated to be the equivalent of 100,000 words heard or read every day or about the same number of words in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. That's also like listening to 11,333 songs or looking at 34,000 photos - in 24 hours.
So, if the brain can take in that much information, why do we need to combine entertainment with education? Why can't we just present a good lecture full of intriguing facts and useful information?
Because German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus' study on memory revealed that humans forget approximately 56% of new information within an hour of learning it. And, within 24 hours, that number goes up to an average of 70%.
In short, what this means is that even though the human brain can "consume" a lot of information, it goes away almost as fast as we take it in. So, what can we do about it? How do we get them to listen?
Develop edutaining content so that the words you say will make it easy for your audience to listen and learn. Here are 6 techniques used by Hollywood writers and producers, professional speakers, and novelists all over the world. Use these techniques and you educate and entertain your audience at the same time.
1. Open with a bang.
A good opening is also called a "hook." You've got a hook your audience right from the start. Seven-time Academy Award winning filmmaker Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot, Double Indemnity) said "Grab 'em by the throat and never let 'em go." Some examples of hooks include a shocking statistic, a suspenseful anecdote, an evocative image, a question, something humorous, etc.
Whatever you do, don't start your lecture with "Good morning, my name is." Or "Today I'm going to talk about..." Hook them first and if you need to introduce yourself, do that after you hook them.
2. End on a high.
World renowned professional speaker and coach Patricia Fripp says "Last words linger. You don't want your last words to be "Thank you" or "I'm out of time." Give your closing words extra consideration otherwise, you waste your final opportunity to reinforce your core message."
3. Throw away the "good" stuff.
There are two types of information - good to know and need to know. Once you complete your research answer the question, "What does my audience really need to know?" Keep that and throw out the rest.
If you dig a little deeper, you can make your "need to know" list even shorter by keeping only facts and information that contains surprise, shock, humor, suspense, and emotion. Ernest Hemingway said, "You know you’re writing well when you’re throwing good stuff into the wastebasket.”
4. Facts tell but stories sell.
Facts are facts. A fact is information that is known to be true. A fact is information derived from research and study.
The sun is very hot. The surface of the sun is in fact around 9,980 degrees Fahrenheit or 5,520 degrees Celsius. That fact can't be denied. No matter how interesting or startling that fact is, it's typically emotionless and not open for debate.
Facts and Information inform but stories help us put those facts and information into context.
When you hear a story, it activates your sensory centers in our brain as if you are experiencing it yourself. Your brain places you inside the story.
5. Use the VAKS formula.
The 1999 world champion of public speaking Craig Valentine uses all the senses when he tells a story - visual, auditory, kinesthetic and smell. Here's an example.
Read the two descriptions below about the 1970 Apollo 13 tragic explosion in space and see which one holds your interest the most.
On the third day of the mission, when the spacecraft was nearly 200,000 miles from Earth, the routine activation of a fan in one of the service module's oxygen tanks led to a short circuit and an explosion in that tank.
Now, here's the same story using Craig Valentine's VAKS formula.
On the third day of the mission, when the spacecraft was nearly 200,000 miles from Earth, astronaut Jack Swigert received this command from mission control "You have a go on activating the switches."
Ninety-five seconds after the command was executed "bang!" they heard a loud but muffled sound. Everything went dark, and they felt a sharp thrust in the spacecraft. Jim Lovell looked out the window and said "Mission control, we are venting something. had a problem. lt's a gas of some sort.
Now, since it was a real historical event, you can't make up stuff just to make it more colorful. But, with a little bit of research, you can make your stories come alive. The result is that you make your audience lean in and listen.
World renowned and distinguished author, poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou said, "At the end of the day people won't remember what you said or did, but they will remember how you made them feel.”
6. Insert dialogue to increase the impact of the story.
The above dialogue (heard on a YouTube replay of the actual event) was the real conversation between the Apollo 13 astronauts and mission control.
7. Use media.
Music and video sound bites add color to your presentation and break up the monotony of a single person delivering a solo presentation.
News anchors rarely deliver the news alone anymore. Every few minutes, a guest will pop in, a sound bite will happen, or they will cut away to an interview. That contrasts significantly from years ago when a single news anchor would deliver an entire 30-minute program by themselves.
Consider recording your own interviews. As an example, maybe you know someone who watched the Apollo 13 Saturn rocket launch from the Kennedy Space Center. A 30-second interview can make your presentation a lot more exciting.
Steve Blanchard played the role of The Beast in the Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast.
He has a very funny story about a showstopping moment. During one of my presentations, the audience see a picture of Steve while they hear an audio of him telling the story. The audience loves it.
8. Surprise them with a prop.
Projected slides are two-dimensional. Objects in three dimensions often have an even greater impact especially if they allow the audience to experience things more than just visually or aurally.
Jill Bolte Taylor's TED Talk A Stroke of Genius has been viewed over 29 million times not only because it's entertaining and informative but also because she used a real human brain as a prop.
9. Break the rhythm.
You've probably heard of the rule of three. People tend to remember things when they're grouped in threes because our brains seek out patterns and finds the structure of three to be complete.
The rule of threes might be good in life because we like routines, but it can be bad when it's overused. If you want to hold the interest of your audience, you can't do the same thing over and over and over.
Senior lecturer at The Open University Dr. Gemma Briggs explains it this way "When we know what to expect, we pay less attention as less cognitive effort is required." What that means is that if you present your main points the same way three times in a row, your audience will lose interest because they assume they already know what to expect.
Jokes are set up in rules of three. You set up a joke by telling the audience two things in a row and you surprise them with something different the third time. If you want to keep your audience listening, change it up. Break the rhythm.
John J. Medina is a developmental molecular biologist who wrote the book Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. His research explains both the reason why you need to start with a bang and break the rhythm. "You’ve got just seconds to grab someone’s attention—and then only 10 minutes to keep it. At 9 minutes and 59 seconds, you must do something to regain attention and restart the clock—something emotional and relevant."
