Five techniques to never forget anything
You struggle to remember numbers, put names to faces, or recall a long file? With a little practice, your memory will stop playing tricks on you.
How does your colleague manage to remember everything? Client orders and requirements, details from the last three work meetings, participants' interventions at the year-begin seminar... nothing escapes him. And don't think he's boosting his neurons with a miracle substance: using medication and excessive consumption of stimulants (alcohol, coffee) tend to reduce cognitive abilities by increasing stress and disrupting sleep. It is much more likely that the secret to his efficiency lies first and foremost in a healthy lifestyle, the first condition for maintaining the brain in perfect working order.
But while observing a healthy lifestyle is essential, everyone can additionally stimulate their memorization abilities through regular exercise. The techniques and tips suggested here are inspired by common situations in professional life. They will help you improve by practicing day-to-day.
Say the names of the people you meet
This mishap has happened to each of us. At a professional event, someone comes to greet you. The face is certainly not unfamiliar, but you are unable to put a name to it or remember the circumstances of your meeting. Awkward... To avoid this kind of embarrassment, follow Guillaume's method. This telecoms consultant, who changes companies with each assignment, constantly meets new employees.
"When I am introduced to someone, I look at them carefully and pronounce their name with phrases such as "Pleased to meet you, Mr. X" or "Hello, Mr. Y". When I am given a business card, I use the same memorization technique: I read it aloud. This helps me associate the name and function with the individual." Another tip is to rely on the sound of the name or the physical characteristics of the person: Mrs. Lebrun is blonde, Mr. Appréti is "smart". Sometimes, you will need to find a more elaborate mental image: for Mr. Jardon, imagine a garden full of rhododendrons... or thistles. In short, use your creativity.
Associate a date or gesture with numbers
Associations of ideas are, a priori, more difficult to perform with numbers. Yet it is the method that works best for remembering them durably. Let's imagine that a colleague gives you the access code to a client's company and that you don't have the possibility of writing it down. If you have good visual memory, close your eyes and mentally trace the numbers. Otherwise, attach a date or key event to each piece of data.
To remember 10 36, you can for example associate the current year (10) and that of the Popular Front (36). Another very effective method: use your gestural memory by remembering the spatial arrangement of the numbers on the keyboard. If it is a matter of memorizing a series of numbers only for a short time, such as a telephone number to dial immediately, repeat them one after the other or by grouping them in pairs (the "echoic" memory allows you to remember, for a few seconds, seven elements on average).
Mentally visualize the tasks to be performed
Another busy day ahead. Your boss asks you to go to the accountant before keeping an important appointment with a supplier. You also have two urgent phone calls to make. To top it all off, it's your spouse's birthday and you have to organize it.
Are you afraid of overlooking something? Mentally visualize the tasks to be performed and the order in which you will accomplish them: you have your telephone handset in your hands, then you find yourself in front of the accountant's building. You then take your car to go to your appointment. When you leave, instead of turning left, as usual, you turn right to go to the florist and the caterer.
There is another method, which consists in finding an object representing each task symbolically, then mentally placing them in familiar places to define an itinerary. You need to congratulate a colleague on their results, set new objectives for a collaborator and send an important email to a client? Imagine a medal in the entrance of your apartment, a target in the living room and an envelope in the bedroom. You will then only need to remember the itinerary to find each object and the associated task.
Assimilate a file by organizing your ideas
The disaster: it's 5 pm, and you have to devour a 120-page file for the next day. No need to dive in headfirst. Do as Béatrice, marketing director: "Before I start, I list the information I will need." List in writing the fifteen or twenty questions you ask yourself about the subject and note the answers as you read.
You can adopt the same approach before attending a conference or meeting: this preparation will facilitate your note-taking and therefore your memorization. Second step, create a tree structure with the data collected: place a few branches for the main information, then introduce ramifications for the more detailed elements. You will assimilate the data more easily. Finally, reread what you have written. Without this preliminary work, twenty-four hours after having learned information, you will have forgotten more than 75%.
Imitate actors to master a speech
Another common professional situation that requires a great deal of memorization: giving a speech. To prepare yourself, draw inspiration from the methods used by actors. Start by reading your text several times. Then, say it aloud, at times when you are not likely to be disturbed, punctuating your phrasing with gestures. Then, to check that you really master your speech, recite it while doing something else (filing documents...). In a second step, match a keyword to each part: they will constitute "hooks" for your memory. You can also represent these terms in the form of drawings (a landscape, a tree, a house...). During your speech, mentally visualize these sketches. You have a memory lapse? Breathe and repeat the last sentence: "As I have just said..." You should find the thread of your argument. Otherwise, move on: you may return to the missing element at the end of your speech. If you stay relaxed, your audience won't notice a thing.
Published January 31, 2011
Posted online February 28, 2011
