WEBVTT - Specific times get remembered

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that specific numbers and in particular specific times

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<v Speaker 1>can be more memorable and seem more legitimate than round ones.

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<v Speaker 1>If you know that, you can use it to your advantage.

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<v Speaker 1>So whenever I see a round number for something, I

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<v Speaker 1>get a little suspicious. Lately it was a slew of

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<v Speaker 1>CEOs declaring that AI was doing twenty percent or thirty

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<v Speaker 1>percent of the work in their companies. Really, do we

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<v Speaker 1>have a good way of measuring everyone's exact output? And

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<v Speaker 1>how fascinating that the number was round as it is.

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<v Speaker 1>I suspect these are just guesses, just as if someone

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<v Speaker 1>claims an eighty hour workweek, it's probably not exactly right.

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<v Speaker 1>But here's the thing. If someone told me that time

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<v Speaker 1>to product delivery had dropped twenty seven percent in one

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<v Speaker 1>unit because of AI, that would seem plausible. Specific numbers

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<v Speaker 1>feel like they must be based on something, so they

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<v Speaker 1>seem more believable. They are also more memorable. What does

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<v Speaker 1>this have to do with time? Well, when I wrote

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<v Speaker 1>about the problem with round numbers on Vanderhak's My Substack, newsletter,

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<v Speaker 1>a reader mentioned that she would often tell her family

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<v Speaker 1>they needed to leave at a very specific time, like

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<v Speaker 1>one twenty three, not one fifteen, not one thirty, no

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<v Speaker 1>one twenty three. I love this, and I think it

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<v Speaker 1>is a great tip. A round number like one fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>or one thirty is thought to be round, as in

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<v Speaker 1>it's not exact, and so people get it ready around

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<v Speaker 1>that time. Those who are generally ready early will be

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<v Speaker 1>ready early. People who are always late will be late.

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<v Speaker 1>But when you tell people one twenty three, first they

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<v Speaker 1>will remember it, and second they will assume that there

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<v Speaker 1>is an actual reason for that time, and so they

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<v Speaker 1>might not aim for around one point fifteen. They will

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<v Speaker 1>know people are aiming for exactly one twenty three. It

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<v Speaker 1>just might make everyone more punctual. I think the same

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<v Speaker 1>thing could work with a meeting agenda. It is so

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<v Speaker 1>odd that almost every meeting is either thirty or sixty minutes.

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<v Speaker 1>Isn't it strange that every manner of business decision can

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<v Speaker 1>be reached in exactly thirty or sixty minutes. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>that's not actually true. It's just that those are convenience

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<v Speaker 1>scheduling blocks. But if you send people an agenda with

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<v Speaker 1>exactly forty seven minutes accounted for. We are dealing with

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<v Speaker 1>something entirely different. People are going to assume this is

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<v Speaker 1>really well thought through. They're going to know that you

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<v Speaker 1>truly are aiming for forty seven minutes and you are

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<v Speaker 1>not planning on wasting their time, which is a good thing.

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<v Speaker 1>So if you can come up with a specific number,

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<v Speaker 1>do it. You might have people treating their minutes with

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<v Speaker 1>a little more care. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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