#77: Want More Sales? Lower the Cognitive Load in Your Marketing (SUMMER REPLAY)
The StoryBrand Podcast
StoryBrand.com
4.7 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 22 June 2026
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This summer, we're replaying some of the most useful episodes from the StoryBrand Podcast — episodes that can help you clarify your message so your marketing can actually drive sales.
Today's replay is about cognitive load. The idea is simple: It basically means if your marketing makes people think too hard, they don't buy. This episode dives into the science behind why that is. You'll learn how high cognitive load messaging is hurting your business, and how to make your message easier to understand, remember, and act on.
Donald Miller breaks down the concept of "cognitive load" and how it silently kills marketing efforts. You'll learn how to simplify your messaging, why "putting the cookies on the lower shelf" works, and how a billion-dollar company shifted gears by making its value proposition crystal clear. Whether you're running a political campaign, pitching investors, or just trying to sell more sweaters, this episode shows you how to make your message lighter, clearer, and more effective without dumbing it down.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | A very big mistake people make in their messaging and their marketing. They use messages that have high cognitive load. |
| 0:07.0 | And I see this over and over. High cognitive load has cost politicians the White House. |
| 0:14.2 | Like they could have won the White House if they didn't use high cognitive load statements. And they lost. |
| 0:19.3 | And so they always wanted to be president. They didn't get to be president because they used high cognitive load. It has cost |
| 0:24.4 | corporations billions of dollars, market share, lost to their competitors. It has cost small |
| 0:30.7 | businesses, their survival. They literally went out of business because they were using high |
| 0:34.5 | cognitive load statements. So what in the world am I talking about with the statement high cognitive load? |
| 0:39.4 | I would say the statement, the phrase high cognitive load, is in itself high cognitive load, |
| 0:44.8 | but I'm the only one who gets to do that because I'm trying to explain it to you so that you don't do it. |
| 0:50.3 | Hey, everybody, podcast producer Bobby Richards here. |
| 0:52.7 | And this summer, we're replaying some of the most |
| 0:55.1 | valuable and useful episodes from the Storybrand podcast, episodes that can help you clarify your |
| 1:01.4 | messaging so that your marketing can actually drive sales. Today's replay is all about |
| 1:06.8 | cognitive load. The idea is simple. It basically means if your marketing makes people think too |
| 1:13.1 | hard, they're not going to buy from you. This episode dives into the science behind why that is, |
| 1:18.7 | and you'll learn how high cognitive load messaging is hurting your business and how to make |
| 1:24.3 | your message easier to understand, remember, and act on. |
| 1:28.9 | You're listening to The Storybrand podcast based on Donald Miller's best-selling book, |
| 1:33.9 | Building a Story Brand. |
| 1:35.5 | The Story Brand framework is made up of seven key elements. |
| 1:39.7 | All of them anchored in one powerful idea. |
| 1:42.4 | Your customer is the hero, and you are their guide. |
... |
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