The brain loves shortcuts
Enter…Green Lantern
I was never a huge fan of superheroes, though I did read some Green Lantern. More recently, I just took the online superhero personality quiz, which pegged me as…Green Lantern.
Let’s go with this. Let’s say I’m Green Lantern. First, I’d show off my washboard abs for my lady. (Grrrrr…I’ll rescue you later, baby.) Then I’d put that magic ring to good use in my field of work: I’d simplify all the overwrought marketing we see each day.
Most companies don’t practice simplicity.
Face it, we are a nation not just of physical hoarders, but we also suffer from a glut of messages. Study after study shows that consumers prefer simplicity. Less is truly more, but so many companies still practice “more is more”: long headlines, lots of copy, loads of poor quality photos, and so on.
Preaching simplicity is not a new message, but it is an important one, and it is becoming even bigger in the world of science.
Enter…Cognitive Fluency
The big new thing in psychology is “cognitive fluency,” or measuring how easy it is to think about something. Indeed, people prefer things that are easier to think about to those that are hard.
The brain’s basic rule is “easy to swallow, easy to follow.” Like other heuristics—or mental rules of thumb—cognitive fluency is an adaptive shortcut. According to psychologists, it helps us quickly focus limited mental resources in a world full of distractions.
What is cool about cognitive fluency is not the basic premise, but the surprising extent to which it controls our thinking and decision-making. For example, studies show that shares in companies with easy-to-pronounce names significantly outperform those with hard-to-pronounce names. Consider that one of the best stock tips you will ever receive.
A study done by University of Michigan psychologists Hyunjin Song and Norbert Schwarz shows similar results. They found that the fussier the font (Brush vs. Times) the more complicated participants judged the information, even when the information—in this case a recipe—was the same. In other words, non-substantive changes can make all the difference.
Tips
Of course, the most persuasive companies and people already know this. To a great degree, they instinctively make things clear and simple. But not everybody has such powers. The rest of us have to learn it, and keep working at it. Like they say, making something simple takes a lot of work. While you are working at it, keep these tips in mind:
• Complexity is like a spice. Use it sparingly and people will be more likely to follow you. Use too much and they are likely to judge your message too complicated to bother with.
• You can foster simplicity. People will mirror back what you present. As Jay Heinrichs, author of Thank You for Arguing, and past magazine editor points out, if you give your readers short, sweet, and witty materials, you will get short, sweet, witty letters.
• Whatever you now have written for your next Web site, ad, brochure, or whatever, cut in half. Seriously, edit out fifty percent. This was brutal advice that I had to follow when shortening my wife’s book. It was hard, but the book is all the better for it.
Oh, and if your company name is more complicated than your competition’s name, simplify it. Your stock could actually go up.
Now … where is my wife?
Chime in: What simplicity tips can you offer? Or, what superhero are you?
Follow us on Twitter
Find us on Facebook
Subscribe
Keeping it simple wins every time
The brain loves shortcuts
I was never a huge fan of superheroes, though I did read some Green Lantern. More recently, I just took the online superhero personality quiz, which pegged me as…Green Lantern.
Let’s go with this. Let’s say I’m Green Lantern. First, I’d show off my washboard abs for my lady. (Grrrrr…I’ll rescue you later, baby.) Then I’d put that magic ring to good use in my field of work: I’d simplify all the overwrought marketing we see each day.
Most companies don’t practice simplicity.
Face it, we are a nation not just of physical hoarders, but we also suffer from a glut of messages. Study after study shows that consumers prefer simplicity. Less is truly more, but so many companies still practice “more is more”: long headlines, lots of copy, loads of poor quality photos, and so on.
Preaching simplicity is not a new message, but it is an important one, and it is becoming even bigger in the world of science.
Enter…Cognitive Fluency
The big new thing in psychology is “cognitive fluency,” or measuring how easy it is to think about something. Indeed, people prefer things that are easier to think about to those that are hard.
The brain’s basic rule is “easy to swallow, easy to follow.” Like other heuristics—or mental rules of thumb—cognitive fluency is an adaptive shortcut. According to psychologists, it helps us quickly focus limited mental resources in a world full of distractions.
What is cool about cognitive fluency is not the basic premise, but the surprising extent to which it controls our thinking and decision-making. For example, studies show that shares in companies with easy-to-pronounce names significantly outperform those with hard-to-pronounce names. Consider that one of the best stock tips you will ever receive.
A study done by University of Michigan psychologists Hyunjin Song and Norbert Schwarz shows similar results. They found that the fussier the font (Brush vs. Times) the more complicated participants judged the information, even when the information—in this case a recipe—was the same. In other words, non-substantive changes can make all the difference.
Tips
Of course, the most persuasive companies and people already know this. To a great degree, they instinctively make things clear and simple. But not everybody has such powers. The rest of us have to learn it, and keep working at it. Like they say, making something simple takes a lot of work. While you are working at it, keep these tips in mind:
• Complexity is like a spice. Use it sparingly and people will be more likely to follow you. Use too much and they are likely to judge your message too complicated to bother with.
• You can foster simplicity. People will mirror back what you present. As Jay Heinrichs, author of Thank You for Arguing, and past magazine editor points out, if you give your readers short, sweet, and witty materials, you will get short, sweet, witty letters.
• Whatever you now have written for your next Web site, ad, brochure, or whatever, cut in half. Seriously, edit out fifty percent. This was brutal advice that I had to follow when shortening my wife’s book. It was hard, but the book is all the better for it.
Oh, and if your company name is more complicated than your competition’s name, simplify it. Your stock could actually go up.
Now … where is my wife?
Chime in: What simplicity tips can you offer? Or, what superhero are you?