I seem to be having some of the same conversations over again when I see old and new patients in the exam room. The topics are usually something we have discussed before and are important points for the patient to remember. Since I find myself repeating the same information many times, I wonder why these issues come up time and again but I may finally have the answer.
Recently, I was discussing my concern with some folks in the speaker training business. These individuals are professionals that train physicians and others to speak properly and get their point across to groups both large and small. Over the years I have attended many seminars and speaker’s bureau training sessions. The techniques that are offered are designed to help a speaker get his message to a group in a way that they will remember it. The most impressive statistics concern the amount of information that is forgotten following an educational lecture. Literally almost 90% of the information from a lecture is forgotten in the first week with at least 10-20% going in the first day, and these are groups of people motivated to learn something from the lecture.
It turns out that most people need to hear a fact or a discussion at least 7 times before it sinks in. Some of my articles may contain information you think you have read or heard before. I will remind you about some facts at least six more times in different ways just to be sure you remember.
