Unique + ruthless = unforgettable. The secrets of iconic charity slogans

The best charity adverts use words that stick in the mind. How can charities harness the psychology of words to improve their fundraising ads?

Contrary to what you may feel about everyday communication, there is science and psychology behind every word we use: our speech is not random at all.

Elizabeth Stokoe, a British scientist and professor of Social Interaction at Loughborough University where she studies conversation analysis, explains: "Talk falls into systematic patterns in ways that are surprising and not intuitive, for example, people on a first date ask questions about each other's relationship histories in almost identical ways".