Rule 12: Schedule Repeats
In 1911 Nevil Maskelyne and David Devant, two of the premier magicians of the day, published Our Magic. In the first section, The Art in Magic, Maskelyne outlines 20 rules for magic performance. After well over 100 years, are these rules still relevant, and do they apply to more than magic?
Rule 12: A minor conception ordinarily demands the cumulative effect of repetition; a conception important in itself should, usually, create a distinct surprise.
I know this feels as though it flies in the face of Rule 11, however it’s important to remember that the purpose of repetition here is to highlight something important that might otherwise be missed. Amongst your sea of inspiring information, there may be a point or two that runs the risk of getting lost, or something that may be vital to the understanding of what’s going on that, if not remembered, will mean that people aren’t getting the most out of what you’re saying.
Let’s discuss technology. We work in a world of multimedia. Where as in the past, if I were standing in front of a crowd and repeating the same point a few times I might end up sounding preachy, these days there are tools and tricks to sneak repetition in under the line. Getting the effect of repeating yourself without making it obvious to your audience.
If you’re using a presentation program while you speak, if you come to a point where you’re talking about a rule or something else you’ve already referenced, you can add it as a stand out line of text on the screen without having to directly refer to it
Consider putting together a single page ‘top sheet’ that repeats key points, and give these out to your audience
You can possibly pick something that might almost become a ‘catch phrase’ to really emphasise something that might be overlooked. This can be tricky as it might well become your key point and might possibly overshadow what you’re leading up to, and might be a tool to be used by more experienced presenters, but this approach can be used extremely successfully
You can also sneak repetition in by simply rephrasing or, even more sneaky, inverting a proposition. For example, if you had made the point ‘Every odd Star Trek Movie is Poor’ you can drive this home a bit later by talking about how every even Star Trek movie is at the very least okay, and some are great. It’s not exactly repetition, but it makes the same kind of point in a different way.
Repetition is most successfully used when driving home a point that might seem inconsequential to a less informed observer. Don’t forget, it’s your job to do all that you can to ensure your audience takes away your message. You don’t have to spoon feed or patronise them, but you should be doing everything you can to make it easy for them to hear you.
TFT
I hope you enjoy my writing. If you do, why not consider buying me a coffee?