Get Better Memory

Stop Forgetfulness

Most People include ‘Memory’ in their Top 10 Problems

 

Embarrassing…  isn’t it?

Picture yourself in the company of many respected people in your line of work or profession. It can be a highly charged situation, with jousting and sabre-rattling. You must be at your best. You bump into someone important or want to introduce someone, just to find you have forgotten their name.

This is the typical stressful situation you are most likely to forget – when it is most important. When you know your memory is not as sharp as what it should be it raises the stress level. Your confidence plays a big part in allowing memories to traverse the canyon into the now. Likewise, if you are not confident, even the correct memory can fall into the abyss. Opportunity missed.

If you are not affected by this, then you probably know someone that is; a friend or family member, a colleague or co-worker, or perhaps a manager. Of course business managers are supposed to know all the people they come in contact with right? Only in a dream for most.

 

What does Your Memory mean to You?

Your memory and the ability to use it is a precious asset. Your memory contains the sum of all of the experiences you have had throughout life. If there is any one thing in life that defines a person, it is their memory. It has made them what they are, it shapes the way they react to events, and often shows the experience level a person achieves in life. Take every step possible to keep it functioning well. Without memories, a person becomes empty and separated, with feelings of loneliness and uselessness.

If you find you have difficulty remembering your children’s names, then you better take a firm grip on your reality and get some help fast. If it is nothing, then you have not lost anything in having it checked.

 

Memory Misplacement

This has become  such an issue for people, there are tons of memory courses on the market, that are positioned to salvage your dignity along with your memory. Many of these follow the “Peter Principle“, and will only take you to the highest level of incompetency.  It is likely that you would rather stay in a system that is unwieldy and difficult for you, than to find a different system that works for you. (The same thing happens when people are ‘readers’.)

Often we see demonstrators that make a living from grandstanding to promote a memory course. They will enchant us with how “they” can memorize names and occupations of 100 people in a couple of minutes, using a particular technique.  “Wow!” screams the audience, ” that is we want! …no more embarrassment!” Yes, there are courses that will train you how to do likewise. What is involved? Will it automatically be there for you at any time you need to use it in the future? Unless you continually refresh it, probably not. Is that type of training for you?

 

My Experience in the Brain Training Game…

I have reviewed far too many memory trainings than I wish to think about over the years. Perhaps I was looking to stumble over the “magic pill” romance that many are led to believe. I have never found any sign of that magic pill, unless you just happened to be wired up that way to start with. Granted, most are not.

Memory training is a critical part of what Brain Management is all about. Brain Management first deals with accessing the NATURAL Photographic Memory, then stimulating memory growth naturally as a by-product of exercising the brain in this fashion. I have been presenting Brain Management for many years, and have consistently heard from our clients our training should be marketed more for the memory enhancement you get from it.

IMPORTANT: There is one thing above all else to consider when discovering the best memory training for you. If it does not feel natural, then you will probably stop using it.

 

Memory Trainings

There are relatively 4 different types of memory training. (To keep things easy to understand, we are stopping at 4 styles, although more are available.) I have listed them in order to the frequency how often they are taught to the public:

Rote Memory – This is the method you learn in school. This is when you simply keep going over the same information time and again until you have memorised it. Consumes the most amount of time and effort. Efficient only for the specific information you have dealt with in this matter. Once this type of information is forced over into the long term memory, you feel like you learned it.

Taught – First

Efficiency – Low

Lasting Long Term Memory – Yes

 

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Cup & Hook (associative) Method – This is the method you will usually see in action when the demonstrator is going around the room learning names. The basic premise is similar for this style – you will assign something that symbolises or represents certain characteristics around the specific thing you want to remember.  This is a good method and it is effective in most circumstances. It gives you a structure you can follow. If you stop using it for a period of time, you must go back to the beginning and start building all over again. It does not permanently build structure in the brain, at least not in the short term. Maybe those areas would improve over a great amount of time and continual practice.

Taught – Second

Efficiency – Varies with the amount of ongoing practice.  Loses effectiveness fast.

Lasting Long Term Memory – The efficiency of the method fades over time. But some memory may be picked getting through rote, from exposure.

 

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Mnemonics – This is a series of 9 different types of memory strategies. Once you learn all of them and how to properly use them, then you can use them in such ways:

 

1. music or lyrics
2. names (ROY G. BIV= Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet)
3. words or expressions
4. models and diagrams
5. rhymes
6. notes or note cards
7. outlines
8. images
9. connections and spelling

 

Each type is different and can be applied differently.  To become good at all of them would be a considerable undertaking.  If a person is willing to put in the time to understanding and using them, it is quite a formidable package. To have a good understanding in all of them should come with a medal; for sheer determination.

Taught – Third

Efficiency – High, but comes at a price.  Best used for passing detailed testing, and remembering specific details.

Lasting Long Term Memory – similar – due to cross-exposure of information, memories are likely to last longer in this format, as they often have a connecting structure built around the concept or word, and building links to other associative memories.

 

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Mental Photography – Mental Photography works in a very different way. This method places memory as second to photographic memory.

Even though being very effective for memory building, Mental Photography uses and exercises another natural brain function first – the Photographic Memory. By stimulating the photographic memory (eidetic memory) and delivering information at high rates of speed that pushes the serviceability of the brain. Through neuroplasticity, the brain triggers production of more neurons, synapses, and dendrites. All of this action in the brain essentially adds or grows more memory. Once more memory and connections are available, then accessing memory for any purposes is much easier.

This building process does not happen overnight. There are billions of connections within the structure of the brain. This action creates more neurons that will be connected into the rest of the system to increase memory.

Since Mental Photography is usually used foremost for large volume information retention, it is a wonderful benefit that you are actually growing more usable memory as by-product  of exercising the brain in this way.

Taught – Forth

Efficiency – Excellent…

Information Retention >50,000 wpm or more

Memory gain – High to infinity.

More use  will stimulate further growth. No limitation known. Time spent creates results in many areas using 1 basic set of exercises. Daily use gives better and ongoing results.

Lasting Long Term Memory – Excellent – approximately 100% for life.

More than any other method, Brain Management (and ZOX Pro Training) uses Mental Photography at the core of its’ teaching. Mental Photography was invented by Richard Welch, PhD, my Mentor and colleague. I have worked directly with him since 1986.

 

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If memory is important to you, and you want to make 2017 a Year to Remember, then you should consider your options as I have presented here. Brain Management, Mental Photography, and ZOX Pro Training have many more benefits than have been discussed in this article.

Shannon Panzo, PhD

 

Attention… Business Owners, Managers, and Human Resources…

Our organization is considering business opportunities for those professionals that see the Mental Photography as a good objective for their clients and businesses. Please connect with us by email of you are interested in pursuing this.

“Great Things Happen Here!”

memory training, photographic memory