Making Numbers Count by John Lind

Notable Quotes

signetwork — 2024-01-22 20:41:10 UTC

pg 16. Marketing Demographic v. a Person

2024-01-22 21:00:44 UTC

"We don't empathize with a marketing demographic; we empathize with a person." p. 16

From introduction

2024-01-22 21:01:39 UTC

"'what are our chances of reaching the oasis before we die of thirst?'

'One chance in, er, lots.”'

In the context of, we kinda instinctively only understand numbers 5 and under.

Introduction

2024-01-22 21:40:34 UTC

"...we lose information when we don't translate numbers into instictive human experience."

pg. 13. Try Focusing on One at a Time.

ayoung320 — 2024-02-20 19:45:06 UTC

Our brains process stories better than statistics.

Page 35

2024-02-26 13:50:08 UTC

"A great fathom gets your audience asking questions. It starts productive conversations about the numbers. And if you can get people talking about your numbers, you have won."

pg. 41

2024-02-26 18:24:23 UTC

when talking about infographics: "...but the brain is a high-tech graphics processor on its own. We can build a three-dimensional image..."

pg 33. Simple Multipliers

2024-02-26 20:01:57 UTC

The best number translations blend easily imagined comparisons and simple multipliers.

p 39

2024-02-26 20:06:45 UTC

translating turns it into a 3-dimensional object

math guru Dr. Jo Boaler tells us math is supposed to be 3-dimensional

Pg 40

2024-03-25 16:37:51 UTC

Concreteness is the first step to making your figures seem real. 3-4 oz is abstract. A deck of cards is concrete.

pg 65

2024-03-25 16:54:45 UTC

We comprehend more and we feel more when things are human-sized. At our scale, our vague admiration for the desert ant turns to deep respect.

Pg 65

scotteckman1 — 2024-03-25 18:02:46 UTC

If your number is not being taken seriously enough, try shrinking or growing it to human scale.

pg 50. Harry Potter

2024-03-25 19:03:53 UTC

We have a proposal for a universal measure of probability - Hogwarts.

pg 64

2024-03-25 19:04:11 UTC

Suppose you were willing to give up your 2 hours of Facebook on Fridays. Well, 5 months from today, you could say that you've made it all the way through War and Peace. And all you have to do is give up Facebook on Fridays.

Page 54

2024-03-25 19:05:53 UTC

" They had the bulliest pulpit in the world, cross-network exposures on the big Three networks in the country, and, with most Americans' eyes riveted to the television... they chose to stack currency." I just like the word Bulliest

pg. 77

IdahoSMART — 2024-03-25 19:06:47 UTC

Emotion comes from emotion. All you have to do is find some comparison that already carries the emotion you need, and use your numbers to justify why the emotion ought to transfer.

Page 53

2024-03-26 14:33:15 UTC

Whenever possible, we should take advantage of the amazing power numbers have to describe any dimensions of our experience and still make sense.

Pg 85

2024-04-19 17:47:34 UTC

Eisenhower's concrete conversions - cost of war not in dollars but in real things that can transform lives.

"The key to these kinds of translations is choosing elements that are close enough in theme that they complement each other, but not so close that they're redundant."

Pg 92

2024-04-21 21:16:09 UTC

'If a piece of information naturally relates to the people you are presenting it to, don't neglect to highlight that connection. If it's not about them, many times they can be persuaded to play along at home--to imagine themselves in someone else's story."

Pg 92

2024-04-21 21:19:31 UTC

"Verb it."

P.89

2024-04-22 14:16:03 UTC

Our brains are complex webs of associations, and we can access a piece of info in many different ways.

P.118

2024-04-22 14:54:39 UTC

Have a chance to break their expectations and create a surprise.

Pg 101. Up-close and Personal

2024-04-22 20:01:33 UTC

If we want to move people with our numbers, we can bring the numbers into the room for an up-close and personal encounter. p. 101

pg 89

2024-04-22 20:02:49 UTC

Make it personal: There's one complex network that is larger and quicker to access than all others--the self. It hits even closer to home than our actual home, we can take a vacation away from our home, but not from ourselves.

TRANSLATE EVERYTHING, FAVOR USER FRIENDLY NUMBERS

signetwork — 2024-04-25 16:11:04 UTC

INTRODUCTION

signetwork — 2024-04-25 16:12:09 UTC

TO HELP PEOPLE GRASP YOUR NUMBERS, GROUND THEM IN THE FAMILIAR, CONCRETE AND HUMAN SCALE.

signetwork — 2024-04-25 16:13:33 UTC

USE EMOTIONAL NUMBERS--SURPRISING AND MEANINGFUL--TO MOVE PEOPLE TO THINK AND ACT DIFFERENTLY

signetwork — 2024-04-25 16:17:33 UTC

Pg. 74

2024-04-29 14:49:40 UTC

"Many Story tellers relay their experiences and assume that others will feel the same emotional connection to the subject matter. It's like the personal version of the curse of knowledge - forgetting that you won relationship to the subject is forged by personal experience that the audience may not share. Some audiences may even discredit story tellers with personal stories because they assume that an "emotional" storyteller lacks objectivity."