Three Ideas for Writing Memorable Listicles

A compelling story is one we remember

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.

— Benjamin Franklin

I am a bit tired of reading listicles. I feel I’ve wasted thousands of minutes of my life reading stuff I can’t remember long enough to make any use of. It is as if I’ve deprived my body of vital nutrition by consuming empty calories instead of real food.

Even though I worry about my memory, it seems to be doing its job for the most part. I still remember some stories I read months ago including this incredible story by Drew Breez. So, why is it that I remember some things I read better than others? More specifically, how come I forget the content of most listicles even before finishing them?

I suspect listicles are harder to remember because the brain works harder to retain a list of separate items than one continuous piece. So how do we make our listicles not only more readable but also more memorable? Now I think I’m onto something.

I write to discover what I know.

— Flannery O’Connor

My trouble with listicles reminds me of the time I learned about the most effective method for turning a list of random items into long-term memory.

About ten years ago, I did a simple memory experiment on myself out of curiosity. I was studying psychology at the time and had access to peer-reviewed research papers. One day I printed out an article on memory from JSTOR before going off to babysit a toddler. I used to take my little friend to a park for his naps and use the time to read.

The article described an experiment comparing six different methods of memorization in order to find the most effective one.

In a nutshell, the experiment found:

Rote Memorization is the least effective method for remembering a list of random words.

Story-Link is the most effective method to memorize a list of words or really anything.

Almost ten years have passed since I first memorized a list of words using the story-link method and, to my amazement, I still remember most of them. I simply linked my chosen set of words together, weaving them into a single story with vivid movie-like imagery. I never expected this mental movie I created in one sitting to last forever.

Based on this experiment and other observations, I have three ideas for writing a more memorable listicle:

1. Make it a story

Memory always obeys the commands of the heart.

— Antoine de Rivarol

Weaving a story into a listicle or a listicle into a story will make it more memorable.

It is no secret that the human brain is wired for stories. Making a story is how we make sense of the world and turn relevant information into memories. It is even harder to forget stories that make us feel something.

But in our time, we have an unhealthy obsession with numbering, and we often even foolishly attempt to interpret complex matters of life through numbered lists. But such lists can never be as powerful as the stories we tell from our heart, especially when it comes to writing.

2. Keep it short

I always have trouble remembering three things: faces, names, and — I can’t remember what the third thing is.

— Fred Allen

The number 7 is an arbitrary number I came up with based on my observations, and it applies to advice-based listicles. Many writers write listicles to share tips and advice. The numbered points make our writings more structured and easier to digest for readers. The thing is, short-term memory is known to hold only about 7 items (plus or minus 2) for around 15 to 30 seconds.

We don’t know if this affects how we remember listicles, but I’ve observed that those with more than 5 points are harder to remember. If you are like me, by the time you get to the sixth point, you’ve already forgotten the first one. Additionally, the greater the number of points, the weaker each one tends to be.

3. Look for the uncommon perspective

No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.

— Robert Frost

Choosing surprising topics or offering uncommon perspectives on common ones can make your listicle more memorable.

For example, writing about why “Kindness Makes Us Happier” is rather cliched and is likely to be less memorable than a story that focuses on specific examples of kindness. Barry Davret’s 4 Ways Manipulators Use Kindness as a Weapon is effective because of his surprising take on the topic.

Tim Denning’s 13 Ways I Completely Changed My Life in a Year and So Can You is personal, therefore unique yet relatable.

At the end of the day, I prefer to read more stories and fewer listicles. But I now see that writing a memorable listicle is possible if we consider how the memory works and the brain encodes information. A listicle is a great way to gather related ideas on a particular topic in one place, so I will keep writing them once in a while (like this listicle about listicles, lol).

But if you’re not a fan of them, I can totally understand. In that case, enjoy these quotes by Genius Turner and read his brilliant essay below, if you haven’t already.

Listicles serve readers via drive-thru windows. A scroll-thru and a brief exchange mark the end of the transaction. But such a flimsy relation is like seeds scattered about the concrete pavement — they never take root!

Listicles, like all fast-food, never leave the diner with a one-of-a-kind experience. Hence there can be no true fans made by embarking on such a well-worn path.

For any writer to believe the road to literary glory is paved with listicles is to believe “2 + 2 = 5” — it doesn’t add up! The reason being, listicles offer no bridge whereby writers can connect with readers. The root of the “connection,” after all, lies in unearthing a shared experience in the imagination.

Thank you for reading.