100 Things Every Presenter Needs to Know About People

8. Short-Term Memory Is Limited

Before you read any further in this chapter, read over the following list of terms for about 30 seconds, and then keep reading the chapter:

• Meeting

• Work

• Presentation

• Office

• Deadline

• Computer

• Papers

• Pen

• Staff

• Whiteboard

• Phone

• Chair

• Shelf

• Table

• Secretary

We’ll come back to this list later in the chapter. First, let’s learn about the frailties and complexities of human memory.

Everyone has experienced a moment like this: You’re on the phone, and the person you’re talking to gives you the name and number of someone you need to call right away. You don’t have a pen or paper to write down the information, so you repeat the name and number over and over to help yourself remember them. You ...