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In dealing with any audience, one of the things to learn is that you must make your technical material understandable and memorable. I use the following as an example. How does one teach the Metals Reactivity Series?
If your first question is, “What is the metals reactivity series?” and your second is, “Who cares?” then you have come to the right place. As an audience, you would be difficult to persuade because you have a.) limited knowledge of the subject, and b.) even less interest.
One of the most difficult problem chemists face is predicting reactions. Will two things react and, if so, what will be the products? Centuries ago, alchemists began searching for ways to turn lead into gold. They were not successful, but in attempting a solution they discovered that certain metals were more reactive than others. For example, Lithium is more reactive than iron is more reactive than copper. Over the years, this information was put into a table. I include my version here.
Carbon and hydrogen are not metals, of course, but I include them as reference.
Now, how in the world does an audience remember this? Without help, no one will even try. Most will grunt in disgust.
So, you devise a clever device, in this case a mnemonic, to bring them into the technology. I searched and found several mnemonics, but most were for a shortened form of the table. I combined some of the ideas I found with my own and came up with a mnemonic that works. I desire to credit all those with original material but know not the source.
You want to use these aids with your audience because you want them to remember your technical ideas. In this particular case, the Metals Reactivity Series might be a little detailed, but it illustrates how to simplify complex material.
The difficulty with the mnemonic is, do you use the name “gold” or the atomic symbol “Au?” Do you use the name “sodium” or the atomic symbol, “Na.” I decided that my mnemonic would be tailored to high school students and would combine both. Here it is:
Let Kelly Bake Cakes. Nasty Maggie, Align Carbon Zebras INTo Lead-Hard Cages Monkey Security Guards Patrol.
This works because the two girls names, Kelly and Maggie connect. All the students will remember “Nasty Maggie.” Then, the Zebra and the Monkey help connect the end segment.
The point is this. If you want to be persuasive, you must bring your audience into the technology and put the technology in a form they can readily understand.
Which brings us back to how to get an audience interested int he first place? I defer that component to a future insert.