Last week in our Family History Class we had a lesson on Journal Keeping and things we can do to make our writing more interesting. As we discussed things like using more description and detail and describing daily routines, I mentioned in passing that every morning I eat the exact same breakfast: I put a handful of walnuts in the bottom of my cereal bowl, then Special K with Berries, then a sprinkle of Rice Krispies, then skim milk.
Yesterday as I was having breakfast, a week later, I wondered if knowing those details made it easier for others to remember what I’d said last week. So in each of my classes yesterday I did an experiment. “How many of you remember what I eat for breakfast every day?” Almost every single hand went up. That’s more than 300 people. Amazing. I was right in my assumption that random un-important information, given with enough interesting detail, sticks in someone’s mind.
My take-away lesson from that: couple important information with enough detail, and my words might be remembered. It’s worth a try, anyway.
