When speakers just talk at people, listeners retain only 5% of what they hear. Breaking up a monologue with partner discussions, hand raises, and other interactive moments can boost retention to 90%.
We only remembered 5% of the information when someone is speaking. The problem is not our memory. The problem is how the content is communicated to you. If you're like most speakers, you will deliver long monologue. You keep giving facts after facts after fact. You forget, which is that your audience can't retain long pieces of information. What is the alternative? The Smart speakers, they engage people. So after they have shared something, they will say, okay, turn to your partner and share what you learned, or raise your hand if you have a perspective to share. That way they keep their audience engaged through various activities, and they are able to help audience retain up to 90% of the information. So if you want them to retain, engage them, make them do something so that they don't forget your information.
