How many times have you heard some version of the following?

“It’s estimated that we retain only 10% of what we hear. But by adding visual aids, the retention rate zooms to 50%.”
An internet search will lead you to dozens of different versions of this “statistic.” I quickly found this quote (or a version of it) used over a hundred times on presentation and education related Websites, and not once was any kind of reference provided that might hint at the source of the “data.” The 10% of what we hear numbers are usually given as fact and rarely even include the “it’s estimated” of my example. So is this oft quoted information a true Presentation Fact? Read the rest of this entry »