Let the page remember.

Try it the hard way

Three phone plans, shown one at a time. Read each one, then press Next. You won't be able to go back.

Most people lose at least one number. That isn't a memory problem. Working memory holds only a few things at once, and you just asked it to hold six.

Watch the page take over

The clip does the same test, then puts all three plans on one screen.

The name for it

The same plans, held by the page

Now answer the questions again. Cheapest: Plan B. Plan A's data: 15 GB. You didn't have to remember anything. You just looked.

The page is doing the remembering. Norman called this "knowledge in the world" as opposed to "knowledge in the head." Anything you put in the world is something the reader doesn't have to carry.

Where to use it

• Comparisons. If people need to compare things, show them together. Don't make them flip between tabs, pages or slides.
• Steps. Show the step number and the total, like "Step 3 of 5." The reader shouldn't have to count.
• Location. Show where they are. This page does that with the bar at the top. It follows you as you scroll and shows which section you're in.
• Earlier choices. Show what they picked on the last screen. Don't make them remember it.
• Units and limits. Put them next to the number, not in a footnote.

Ask your agent

Agents often answer comparisons in paragraphs, one option at a time. That's the flip cards again. Ask for the table:

Compare the options below. Don't describe them one at a time.
Put every option in one table: one column per option, one row per attribute the decision depends on.
Use the same units in every cell. Mark the best value in each row.
Under the table, write two sentences: which option wins for the most common need, and when a different one wins.

Options:
[paste here]

What good output looks like: one table you can read without scrolling back, the winners marked, and a short verdict under it.