Leadership

Say What Sticks: The Neuroscience of Memorable Communication

Think Fast, Talk Smart
Think Fast, Talk Smart•Mar 16, 2026

Why It Matters

Because business outcomes hinge on what audiences remember, applying these neuroscience‑backed tactics can turn fleeting presentations into decisive, memorable influence.

Key Takeaways

  • •Define a clear 10% core message for audiences.
  • •Use novelty or surprise to capture attention and boost memory.
  • •Prime listeners before key points with related cues or stories.
  • •Repeat the core message multiple times across presentation length.
  • •Align emotional arousal with surprising elements for stronger retention.

Summary

The podcast episode explores how cognitive neuroscience can turn ordinary business communication into lasting memory. Host Matt Abrahams interviews neuroscientist Carmen Simon, who argues that memory is a by‑product of attention and that communicators must deliberately engineer both.

Simon outlines two attention dimensions—where the audience looks (internal vs external) and who prompts the look. She recommends leveraging novelty (completely new stimuli) or surprise (unexpected combinations) to pull focus, and using priming cues that ready the brain for the upcoming point.

Illustrative examples include a pug emerging from an eggshell and a clown on a unicycle, both of which break expectations. Simon cites research that 90 % of information is lost after 48 hours, and she quantifies repetition: a five‑minute talk needs four repeats of the core message, ten minutes six, twenty minutes twelve.

For practitioners, the takeaway is to identify a single “10 % message,” embed it repeatedly, and sandwich it between novel or primed moments. Doing so aligns emotional arousal with attention, increasing the odds that decision‑makers retain the exact phrasing that drives desired actions.

Original Description

After any presentation, your audience will forget about 90% of what you said. That’s okay, says Carmen Simon — just make sure they remember the right 10%.
Simon is a cognitive neuroscientist, speaker, author, and expert on how the brain processes and retains information. Her research reveals a humbling truth: “We forget our lives almost as quickly as we live them,” she says. But instead of fighting our forgetfulness, Simon believes we can work with it — by getting intentional about what we want people to remember. “So many people aspire at attention and memory, but very few really know what they want to be memorable for,” she says. “Ask the question: what is my 10% message?”
In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Simon and host Matt Abrahams discuss how to distill your communication for maximum memorability. Whether you're pitching an idea or presenting to a team, Simon’s practical techniques will help you ensure your 10% message is the one your audience takes away.
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