EYN#056: Using Datapoints and Factoids To Hook People In

Want your customers and colleagues to sit up like meerkats whenever you start talking?

Hook them in with an exciting factoid.

Like … the number 1 most murderous mammal is the meerkat. They kill more of their own kind than any other mammal. Pregnant future mums will kill and eat the young of their rivals. Yuck!

If you can create a gasp, a laugh, an audible wow then your message will land with impact!

You've all heard of hooks. Well a shocking factoid or datapoint is a great simple way to engage people. The more shocking, or funny or insightful the better. And it works in tech, it's not just for David Attenborough fans.

Why Do Hook Factoids Help?

If you manage to generate an emotional response from people, they'll remember the topic better. Neuroscience shows that an emotional response raises the memorability and recall of a topic. And if that factoid points to a solid rational argument, you've hit the jackpot - it helps persuade people as well.

Where Do I Find Them?

• Insight from your own data - These are the best. Highly relevant, insightful and uniquely available to you.
• Industry reports - Benefit from relevant research. Find the latest industry insight to engage people.
• A quick browse around the web - There's loads. Find great data from all sorts of sources and sites.

How Do I Use Them?

• Make them front and centre. Use them at the start of your session. Hook people in at the beginning.
• Use them to inject energy. Especially if you've got a long session, or a dry topic. Spread them throughout to inject some energy.
• Make them stand out. Don't hide them away. Stick them in huge fonts in your slide with only a simple sentence supporting it.

A Real Example

I was working with a product group in a tech company. They were launching a new feature and needed to create some energy in the field sales teams about it. But they really needed to cut through the noise with this one. They'd done some detailed analysis on deals they'd lost because they didn't have this feature.

They opened up the Teams call with a slide with this on:

$24.93m (in a massive font)

With this line below

"Deals lost because we didn’t have feature xyz."

The narrative was about how the sales team could compete toe to toe with competitors now that this feature was available.

It created a real response. By showing vulnerability and the impact of not having the feature, it hooked people in. It energised people and made them remember this new feature of their solution.

Using datapoints and factoids is a great way to hook people in, create an emotional connection and support a strong rational argument.

Hope this helps.

Ben