Creating curiosity and motivation to listen

We can significantly add to levels of engagement, curiosity and interest through the way in which we actually create bullet points as we are speaking. Using pictures gives us much more scope to do this because we can grab attention as people watch a picture develop.

Making it memorable

If we think about the purpose of bullet points, the intention is to convey the essence of what we are saying in the simplest form. The very nature of bullet points is that the detailed information about them is excluded. What could be simpler than that, you might ask? The answer is, in this instance, that we not talking about making it even simpler, we are talking about making it more memorable. Using pictures helps us to do that.

Making it multi-sensory

The use of pictures to accompany bullet points really does give us the opportunity to engage the senses in a more powerful way than just text. As well as the audience reading the bullet points they will be seeing our pictures and hearing our spoken words. Combining the pictures with the words enables us much more easily to trigger feelings associated with our bullet points. This enables us to create emotional connections that are not only powerful in themselves, but also assist us in ensuring that our points are memorable.

When you have a lot of information – use lower case letters

One of the reasons why lower case letters are easier to read than capitals is because each word has its own unique overall shape. This makes it easier for the eye to distinguish when there are many words on the page. Books are written in lower case, which makes them easy to read. By contrast, when words are written in capitals they all have the overall shape of a rectangle.

See the examples below:

Here you can see two words written in both lower and upper case. I have drawn a line around each word to indicate its overall shape. Each word in lower case has its own distinctive shape. However, the line drawn around each of the words in capitals always forms a rectangle and therefore the overall shape of both words is the same. It is no surprise, therefore, that books and newspapers appear in lower case, thus making large areas of text easy to read. Only headlines tend to be written in capitals.

Capitals work well when you have just a few bullet points

In my experience, using capitals on a flipchart works well providing there is not too much information on the page. Therefore, when creating bullet points for flipcharts, I often use capitals if there are just three or four bullet points.

Use alternating colours

Where you have many lines of text on a flipchart you can alternate colours for each line, thus making each line stand out. For example, alternating black and blue text will be easier to read than a page of all one colour.

Example using both capitals and lower case writing

This example shows how main headings still stand out when sub-points are in lower case letters. This is a good example of a visual that can be built up ‘live’ from a blank start. Keeping the pictures this simple means you can easily draw them as you speak. In doing so you keep the group’s attention firmly fixed on the visual.

This format also gives you the opportunity to include the group’s contributions, e.g. you could come up with the main headings yourself but ask the group for the sub-points.

Using different colours for the bullet points and pictures would create additional visual contrast and therefore make the information stick more easily in the mind.

Using rhythm and repetition

Rhythm can work really well for memory, especially when you have a list of bullet points that are just one word per line.

Let us look at an example where I have used rhythm and repetition. I often tell students that if we see something as well as hear it, say it and do it, then we are more likely to remember it.

In order to teach this point I created the bullet point flipchart below which I draw ‘live’. By drawing the flipchart and then saying the words; ‘see, hear, say, do’ in a rhythm it makes it very easy to remember. Repeating the rhythm a few times makes it even more memorable.

Our brains love rhythm – use it to make ideas stick

Using rhyme

Rhyme is an extremely powerful way of remembering and can be used easily in conjunction with rhythm and pictures. In fact a phrase that rhymes is almost certain to acquire a rhythm when repeated. People naturally will put the emphasis on the same words. Again, this occurs in everyday life, for example ’A stitch in time saves nine.’

The power of threes

It is amazing how threes work really well in delivering messages. When you have three points to say it is easy to say them with a rhythm and power that creates impact. This effect is seen often in speeches of politicians and other people in the public eye. I recall a political party in the UK saying that the priorities were ‘education, education, education’. This shows that it works well even when each bullet point is the same word.

Let us look at a few examples:

• innovation;
• design;
• delivery.

Threes are easy to remember – and fit on flipcharts really well

The power of threes works especially well when they are linked in some way, for example in a time sequence or cause-effect relationship such as the following example:

• listen;
• think;
• respond.

A three-step sequence works well for memorising required actions

Start with the same letter

People find it easy to remember bullet points starting with the same letter. Here are some examples:

• distributing;
• directly;
• daily.
• presence;
• power;
• punch.

Static or active words?

One interesting consideration is whether you choose static or active words. Each has its merits and will feel different as people read or hear them.

Read the following pair of contrasting lists and notice how you feel as you read them:

• innovation;
• communication;
• education.
• innovating;
• communicating;
• educating.

There are merits to both static and active versions but there is no doubt that they feel different. Static words sometimes can come across as rather conceptual. This seems to be the case especially in words that end in ‘–tion’. The active versions seem to have a momentum about them and, feel more lively and energetic. Typically, verbs ending in ‘ing’ will create a sense of movement and action.

Make sets of words all active or all static – not mixed

In other words, if you are saying words in threes, they sound better if they are of the same type. Thus, ‘listening, learning, growing’ sounds better than ‘listening, learning, grow’.

Find the story – or narrative around your bullet points

Often you will find that you can create a story for your bullet points. This provides a way of creating interest and building up the bullet points in a way that is engaging. We are, therefore, simply adding another memory device by using this method.

If it is not exactly a story, often you will find that a narrative develops around the bullet points. As you explain each one you could elaborate and clarify using examples, evidence or whatever else will help to make your point convincing to the group.

Straight list of bullet points

A straight list is probably the most basic format. Bullet points are simply listed as we have seen in some earlier examples and in the following design:

• global;
• fast;
• delivery.

This example shows that even writing just one word per line and drawing a simple picture for each can convey your idea easily.

It is easy to see that this flipchart could be drawn ‘on-the-fly’ thus keeping the focus of the group on the visual as you create it.

Bullet list with another word added

I have taken a flipchart shown in an earlier example and added a word vertically. This design can be applied to many situations, in particular those where there is a cause-effect relationship between the bullet points and the other word.

Cause-effect relationship between the bullet list and the word on the right

In this example the point is that, if we learn by seeing, hearing, saying and doing we actually remember information better than if we do not use all of these methods. It is easy for us to link the four words with the one on the right as we build up the visual. This kind of design really enables you to build an interesting story or narrative with the bullet points leading up to a result represented by a key word on the right-hand side.

Bullets but just one picture

In the following example, you will see that there is not a picture for each of the bullet points. Instead I have drawn a picture that represents the overall idea.

The phrase ‘thinking correctly under pressure’, reduced to ‘T-CUP’, was used by World Cup winning England rugby coach Sir Clive Woodward.

It so happens that, in this example, a mnemonic ensures that it is easy to recall the concept. The picture is a strong way to further embed the idea in the memory.

One picture makes the whole phrase memorable

Don’t wait to do everything perfectly

Remember that success in getting your ideas across does not depend on the drawings being perfect. Even a very modest drawing of a symbol or picture will be enough to create a powerful visual association.

Just start and the ideas will flow

When you are thinking up a bullet point flipchart it pays just to start writing or drawing. Do not feel that you have to imagine it all in your head first or get the complete idea before you start drawing. I have found that if I just get started ideas will develop from there. When you get used to adding sketches to bullet points, you will soon find that the ideas come more easily. As you practise more you will find it easier.