Contents
1 People process information better in bite-sized chunks
4 The more uncertain people are, the more they defend their ideas
6 People process information best in story form
7 People learn best from examples
8 Short-term memory is limited
9 People remember only four items at once
10 People have to use information to make it stick
11 It’s easier to recognize information than recall it
12 Memory takes a lot of mental resources
13 People reconstruct memories each time they remember them
14 Forgetting is programmed in
15 People are driven to create categories
17 There are four ways to be creative
18 People can be in a flow state
19 Culture affects how people think
20 People learn best in 20-minute chunks
21 People have different learning styles
22 People learn from making mistakes
How to Grab and Hold People’s Attention
23 Sustained Attention Lasts About 10 Minutes
24 The Unconscious Directs Attention
25 Expectations of Frequency Affect Attention
26 People Can’t Actually Multitask
27 The Mind Wanders 30 Percent of the Time
How to Motivate People to Take Action
28 People are more motivated as they get closer to a goal
29 Variable rewards are powerful
30 People’s behavior can be shaped
31 Dopamine makes people addicted to seeking information
32 People respond to cues in the environment
33 People are more motivated by intrinsic rewards than by extrinsic rewards
34 People are motivated by progress, mastery, and control
35 People’s ability to delay gratification (or not) starts young
37 Forming a habit takes a long time and requires small steps
38 People are more motivated to compete when there are fewer competitors
39 People are motivated by autonomy
40 Multiple Sensory Channels Compete
41 People Have to Hear Before They Can Listen
42 Vision Trumps All the Senses
43 People Read in a Certain Direction
44 It’s a myth that uppercase letters are inherently hard to read
45 Titles and Headlines Provide Critical Context
48 Peripheral Vision Is Used More Than Central Vision to Get the Gist of What Is Going On
49 There’s a Special Part of the Brain Just for Recognizing Faces
50 Red and Blue Together Are Hard on the Eyes
51 Nine Percent of Men and 0.5 Percent of Women Are Color Blind
52 The Meanings of Colors Vary by Group and Culture
How People React To The Environment
53 The more filled a room is, the more energy people have
54 Dark rooms put people to sleep
55 If you are out of sight, you might be out of mind
56 People are affected by the arrangement of furniture
57 It’s easy for people to lose interest online
58 People get tired and hungry
59 People are affected by temperature
60 When people are uncomfortable, they can’t pay attention
62 People respond more to anecdotes than to data
63 Stories engage people emotionally
64 People are programmed to enjoy surprises
65 People feel safe when things are predictable
66 People need to feel safe in order to participate
67 People are happier when they’re busy
69 Listening to music releases dopamine in the brain
70 People want what is familiar when they’re sad or scared
71 The more scarce something is, the more valuable people will feel it is
72 People obey authority figures
73 People “read” other people in an instant and unconsciously
75 People assign meaning to your body positions and movement
76 People assign meaning to your hand gestures
77 People assign meaning to your tone of voice
78 People assign meaning to your face and eye movements
79 People imitate your emotions and feel your feelings
81 People Listen to and are Persuaded by Those Similar To/Attractive to them
82 Speakers’ brains and listeners’ brains sync up during communication
83 The brain responds uniquely to people you know personally
84 People want you to control the room
How People Decide To Take Action
85 People make most decisions unconsciously
86 Fear of loss trumps anticipation of gain
87 People want more choices and information than they can actually process
88 People think choice equals control
89 People might care about time more than they care about money
90 Mood influences the decision-making process
91 Group decision-making can be faulty
92 People are swayed by a dominant personality
93 When people are uncertain, they look to others to decide what to do
94 People think others are more easily influenced than they themselves are
95 People value a product more highly when it’s physically in front of them
96 People want to keep a consistent persona
97 Small steps can change personas
98 Writing by Hand can Increase Commitment
99 People will act in order to relieve a sense of obligation
100 When people say no the first time, they often say yes the next time