How Many Bananas Do You Have

Have you ever wondered why so many successful books, articles and speeches have titles or subtitles that use the 'bananas' approach - they incorporate a number and a thing?

Of course, not all successful titles have numbers in them, and even if you have no intention of using one in the title of your book, article or speech - or even writing one - there are big reasons why you should want to come up with your own bananas. (I'll explain why I call them 'bananas' later in this article.)

Developing your own set of bananas allows you to create a powerful framework around your own intellectual property - a framework you can brand, create products around, and finally establish a body of knowledge that allows you to leverage your expertise beyond your hourly rate.
This framework helps you tie together the key elements of your article or story, and can serve as a solid foundation for your outline, table of contents or sales rationale.

On the receiving end of the communication, the neat, little numbered structure gives your readers and listeners something specific to wrap their heads around. Bottom line: it helps them understand what you do, how you do it and why they should pay attention.
Perhaps that's why this style of title has been around since, say, The Ten Commandments!

The Ten Commandments
Using this framework - whether you use it explicitly in your published materials or not - makes it easier for you to walk people through your rationale, selling points, story or Essential Message. It demonstrates that you have fully thought through all the application of your area of expertise. And, it makes it easier for potential customers and clients to relate their own issues and challenges to what you offer.
In fact, once you look around, you'll notice that almost every situation that calls for a persuasive argument of any kind, calls for the banana treatment.

That's why so many authors organize their material into chapters and subchapters using this framework. And, you'll find this approach equally powerful for articles, sales letters, keynote speeches, presentations and proposals.

Even instruction manuals often use this approach. To prove it to yourself, go to your kitchen cabinet and pull out the box that your bread maker came in. Dust it off and dig out the instruction manual that came with it. There are three types of bananas that you can create, and chances are, your bread machine instruction booklet uses all three.

Source : articlesbase