My wife told me about a podcast where they were interviewing the author of a new book. During the interview, the host asked the author for the website where people could find more info about the book. The author thought about it, and admitted that she couldn’t remember the address. That’s just stunningly bad.

No matter what business or occupation you’re in, there are a few key pieces of information that you should be able to recite on a moment’s notice. For example:

– What’s your website?
– How much does your product cost?
– Why should someone buy your product (or subscribe to your blog, or whatever you want them to do)?
– What attracted you to that business or occupation?
– What are you working on now, or what’s your next project?

Putting it another way, these questions are like a pop quiz about you. The answers should be short and sweet, conveying the core information while encouraging people to learn more. As you go about your travels — where it’s a one-on-one phone conversation with a customer or an interview on national TV — you should be able to recite the answers without hesitation. After all, if your life and work aren’t important enough to make you commit the salient details to memory, why should anyone else bother paying attention to what you have to say?