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Sunday, 6 November 2016

Rhymes Move Minds

    Since the invention of the printing press, memorization became less important - the written word has made it easy for us to forget names. Consequently, the process of rhyming has in the same way gradually fallen out of favor. However, we all remember in one way or another the nursery rhymes we were told as children. In today's memory management courses, they tell you to use rhymes and word association. Rhyming is therefore effective because it is pleasing to the ear and helps to hook words easily in the mind.

    But beyond ease-of-recall, it also tends to add credibility. For instance, Dr. Matthew McGlone who is a professor of psychology has found that rhymes not only make a phrase more memorable, they also make it more believable (see http://www.lafayette.edu/mcglonem/rhyme.htm). According to McGlone, people surveyed prefer sayings like "Woes unite foes" to "woes unite enemies." As he points out, sometimes a singsong quality is a pleasing thing, and by virtue of the words being pleasing, they can confer a greater sense of truth.

    While some names use multiple words such as "Blinds of All Kinds" or "Ronald McDonald," most names are made up of a single word. Of course, a name can also rhyme within itself (such as Isuzu's "Rodeo" or "Coca-Cola"). But in other cases, the job would therefore be conferred unto the tagline (that small sentence that follows and complements the name).

    If I said "It takes a licking but keeps on ticking," you will probably know what product I'm talking about. And if the tagline rhymes with the name with which it is associated (like "Uh, Oh! Better get Maaco!"), the name will stick even more effectively as a result.

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