March 7, 2012 - Abstract and Concrete

Think of a childhood memory. . . any childhood memory. I know you still haven't because you're still reading this. Well, I'm not going to post anything else until you think of one. . .

I regret pasting this. It's super irritating.

Anyway, that childhood memory was undoubtedly full of some sort of emotion. How do I know this? Because emotion heightens our memory and increases our recall ability. Nobody ever remembers that day in their life when nothing happened. We remember days of joy and of sadness and of anger. It's important for others to visualize and remember your writing when there are emotions attached to it.

This leads me to the ideas of "abstract" words and "concrete" words. Abstract words are broad, and they don't recall emotion. Concrete words are more specific. They will set off people's memories.

As you go down the ladder of abstraction, "war" becomes "beaches at Normandy" and "dog" becomes "my neurotic dog, Licorice" The concrete detail at the bottom of the ladder will set off people's memories.

Here's another example.

"Beverage"

"Soft Drink"

"Carbonated Soft Drink"

"Citrus Flavored Carbonated Soft Drink"

"Citrus Flavored Carbonated Soft Drink in a 12 oz can whose tagline told America to 'Feed the Rush'"

"Surge"

So tasty, yet so unhealthy.

Another excellent way for people to visualize your ideas is by following the SAFEST route.

Statistics

People love statistics. If you don't have some, get some. Or just make them up.

Analogies

A great analogy is like . . . something else that's great. And just like all great things, you don't have to be a genius to come up with them. 

Facts

Similar to statistics, a good fact can be backed up with appropriate links and footnotes

Examples

An example is something representative of a greater part. For example, an example of an example would be this example.

Stories

The power of stories has been well documented in this blog.

Testimonials

If you don't know how to say it, get somebody famous to do it.