Against Interesting Details
From the December Journal of Experimental Psychology:
In Experiment 1, students received an illustrated booklet, PowerPoint presentation, or narrated animation that explained 6 steps in how a cold virus infects the human body. The material included 6 high-interest details mainly about the role of viruses in sex or death (high group) or 6 low-interest details consisting of facts and health tips about viruses (low group). The low group outperformed the high group across all 3 media on a subsequent test of problem-solving transfer (d = .80) but not retention (d = .05). In Experiment 2, students who studied a PowerPoint lesson explaining the steps in how digestion works performed better on a problem-solving transfer test if the lesson contained 7 low-interest details rather than 7 high-interest details (d = .86), but the groups did not differ on retention (d = .26). In both experiments, as the interestingness of details was increased, student understanding decreased (as measured by transfer). Results are consistent with a cognitive theory of multimedia learning, in which highly interesting details sap processing capacity away from deeper cognitive processing of the core material during learning.
For this reason I tend to disagree with most people about who are the best speakers and writers. Most people prefer those with lots of interesting tidbits; I prefer those that stay focused on and deliver a key interesting point.
Yes, what I remember most from college was the time a Shakespeare professor was moved to tears by his discussion of the power of second chances--of redemption--in The Winter's Tale. I now teach English myself, and the moments when I speak from the heart are the moments when my students are most attentive. My student surveys bear this out.
@mikko
"specific patterns of emotions"
Indeed. But these books and all the speaker training I have taken stress the use of such to help guide audiences to your point and to help them remember it. Robin's suggestion that the emotion alone is the key item impresses me as novel.