Based on work by Lila Davachi (Ph D and Professor at NYU). Tobias Kiefer (VP Learning and Development) and David Rock (author of Your Brain at Work), at the Neuroleadership Summit, there is now a formula to enhance memory and learning!
A= Attention
G= Generation
E= Emotion
S= Spacing
Focused attention is critical for memory, so that means multitasking is out if you want to remember! And it means that you may well NOT learn better with music blaring in your ears, or remember what a speaker said if you are texting or if you are driving
Be present! If you want your team/employees/customers to remember make sure they are listening with no distractions as you show/teach them new stuff!
Once information is in the brain system,generationor making it personally relevant is important. If you use stories and make a point and then demonstrate how that information is relevant for them, they will remember for years.
At literally EVERY meeting I speak at in Australia, there is one person who comes up and tells me something I taught them 20 or more years ago! Because I present the information in an engaging way that keeps their attention and I tell stories that link what I am teaching to their experiences!
If you add emotion to that mix, you make them laugh or cry or touch their hearts in some way, it is cemented in!
Rest periods during arduous physical tasks allow us to do more, and rest periods while learning allow us to learn better. And although they didn’t teach this, I bet if you did a bit of physical activity in that rest it would be even more effective!
So there- your secret to the wisdom of the AGES!!
Touch their hearts, keep them engaged, take exercise breaks and tell stories and they will remember you forever!
Zooties,
Amanda
