How the Forgetting Curve Can Help You Do Your Job

Do you remember learning about the forgetting curve (Hermann Ebbinghaus 1885)? In my daughter's high school psych textbook, I was reminded of Ebbinghaus' research that found that humans forget 50% of newly learned knowledge within an hour.  We do, however, remember 70% of what we say in that same time period.  So... people remember more of what they say, than what you say. 

It is important to keep this in mind when in conversation with your donors. You should try to speak 30% or less of the time, and when you do, ask questions, probe, reflect, share, and make key points.  The goal is to have a conversation with give and take where the donor speaks 70% of the time.  This is because people enjoy...and remember... conversations in which they speak the most. And, people believe what they say, more than what we say.  Therefore, we want them to tell us whatever we want them to remember. We want to elicit the case for support from our donors! 

How do we as planned gift professionals do this?

We ask strategic, open-ended questions that help probe for information.

• What has been motivating you to make donations all these years?
• Where does our organization fall in your priority of giving to charitable organizations? 
• Of the other organizations to which you give, which ones do the best job in sharing the significance and impact of your gifts? How so?
• What are your estate planner and financial planner doing to help you achieve your charitable goals?
• Would you tell me more about...
• Have you thought about...

Our goal is to encourage our donors to share their philanthropic and financial goals and, in particular, address the concept of planned giving using open ended questions. Once you can learn about the assets a donor owns, you can determine if there is a planned giving vehicle that is right for them.