The research, plainly
Murdock's free-recall experiments produced the U-shaped curve every psychology student knows: items at the start of a list (primacy) and the end (recency) are recalled; the middle sinks. Position is destiny for memory.
The receipt: Murdock, 1962
What it means for events
Your agenda is a list, and memory will treat it like one. The opening session and the closing session get remembered nearly for free; the 2 PM slot is where messages go to hide. Sequence by importance, not by logistics.
Where to run it
Agenda design
The message that must survive goes first or last. Never bury the strategic keynote after lunch because that's where the hole was.
Within a session
Open with the point, close with the point. The middle is for evidence, story, and demonstration — not for anything that must be quoted back.
Multi-day events
Day 1's opening and the final day's close carry the event's memory. Design them as a matched pair.
Seen in the wild
Related concepts
Now use it
Score your own event against principles like this one — or make the whole vocabulary official.
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