In several studies, babies as young as five months old have been shown to be able to do simple mathematics. What does this have to do with presentation? More than you might think. The fact that even babies know that one plus one is not three is not all that relevant to our purposes, but the way that they measured the babies’ abilities is.
Dr. Karen Wynn, of the University of Arizona, tested babies by showing each of them a small figurine of Mickey Mouse. After putting the figurine behind a small screen, she showed the baby a second, identical figurine and also put that one behind the screen. When the screen was removed, the researchers tracked the baby’s gaze. If two figurines were revealed from behind the screen, the babies would look at it briefly and then their gaze would move on.
Dr. Wynn found, however, that the babies would look longer at the figurines if the resulting number of them didn’t match the mathematically expected result. Beyond the amazing fact that newborn babies are as good at math as I am, the takeaway for our purposes is that the unexpected result grabbed and held their attention far longer than the expected result had. Several other studies have confirmed the results through similar methods.
It’s so easy to just follow the same old templates or formulas that have worked before, when a fresh approach, a different perspective or an atypical style that breaks from all of the usual expectations might serve you far better. At the very least, it should grab and hold your audience’s attention a bit longer, and that’s half the battle.
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