Friday 29 October 2010

Why do we love "Top 10 lists?

Why do we love "Top 10" lists so much?
What is so compelling about discovering "The top 10 ways of doing this!" or "The 12 greatest ways of doing that?"
Why is it that as a teenager I couldn't move from the radio when they were playing the latest Top 20 selling singles?
Or be fascinated by the list of most watched programmes around the TV regions? And delight in seeing that Ulster TV's favourite show was The Flintstones!
What persuades me to sit through a two hour TV programme on a topic of minor interest just to see how Channel 4 viewers counted their favourite bits down from 50 to number 1?
And while I'm about it - who was it who said that any article we write for the web has to be "the 6 top tips..." or "8 awesome ways...?" Where is the evidence for this unchallengable rule?
If not evidence, there is plenty of opinion about. I particularly like the offering from National Public Radio http://tinyurl.com/alhhp2 Their No 1 is Lists bring order to chaos. And they quote David Wallechinsky who co-authored the Book of Lists - talking about lists he says "lists help us in organising what is otherwise overwhelming." Spot on there mate!
The Montreal Observer's no 1 reason is They make us feel smart followed closely by They make us feel smug. Yes. have to agree with that too.
And Stuart Brown of Modern Life writing from the perspective of a blogger and article writer points out their obvious attraction - They are easy to digest!
I think that is a key point - digestability. Which is why I and many others ignore the rather ridiculous 100 hot hints or 50 finest findings.  Even 8 awesome ways may be stretching it a bit.
But with an eye or brevity I think lists or rankings are a brilliant aid when putting together a presentation or lengthy pitch.

  • Lists help retain attention - telling the audience there are 5 compelling benefits you want to share conditions them to listen up for five chunks of information.
  • They hold interest - positioning your list in a "saving the best until last" manner hooks the audience with curiosity - just like I get hooked by a two hour TV show!
  • They have implicit authority - probably because our brains have become "Google'ised" to think this way - we just seem to accept that a list is definitive.
For good measure, qualifying your list with "based on proven demand" or "derived from research findings" makes it practicably irrefutable. And to be really on the money with your message why not assemble it into your own Top List of ...usefulness or ...value in the benefits? A simple e mail questionnaire or an hour or two on the telephone would do it for you.
So the next time you're mapping out those presentation key messages express them in a ranked listAnd get yourself into the No 1 slot!   

For more tips on persuasion visit http://persuadability.co.uk/  

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