The human brain is an extraordinary piece of technology, but it comes with limitations. One of the most important is memory.

I’m reminded of this every time I walk out of a presentation thinking, “Wow, that was a lot” – only to realise ten minutes later I can’t recall a single point.

This isn’t just anecdotal. It’s measurable. Ask someone to remember three items – say, three animals – and they’ll recall them easily. Increase the list to ten, and recall drops sharply. Memory retention falls from near 100% to something far less.

Now apply this to professional communication. If your goal is to influence, overwhelming your audience with every last thing you can think of is not going to help you acheive your aim. You can’t persuade someone who can’t remember what you said – or worse, who only remembers the wrong bits.

The more points you cram in – especially irrelevant ones – the more you dilute the ideas that matter most. Every extra detail competes for mental space, reducing the odds your audience retains the core message.

That’s why the best communicators practice ruthless focus. They know influence depends not on how much you say, but on what sticks.

When presenting to influence, always:

• Focus on the essentials. Know the one or two things your audience must remember.
• Reinforce them. Repeat the key ideas in different ways that useful, relateable, and engaging, so they lodge in memory.
• Cut the rest. Jettison everything else.

It’s tempting to tell your audience everything about you, your product, or your idea. But the danger is simple: the more you say, the less they’ll remember.

Because it’s hard to influence someone if they can’t remember you.