Engage Brain Before You Speak! How to cultivate a top memory!

On my travels I often hear people say things like, "If only I had a better memory" or "I wish I could remember more". What could you do if you could remember more? How beneficial would it be to remember phone numbers when you are out of the office? To link faces with names? To learn things about your job or market quickly and easily? Or to meet several people at once and remember all of their names; first time! Well, I've got some good news for you - you can!

Many experts believe that we all have perfect memories - recording every little thing that ever happens to us in minute detail. This is why hypnosis works to remember details of accidents that you were never consciously aware that you had noticed in the first place!

"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had..............."

Anyone struggle with that? I doubt it. What about your own name? Or your Mum's? No?! Thing is, we all have great memories - its monitoring what goes into them and accessing the information once its there that's the challenge.

Technical bit! You've probably all heard of the unconscious and conscious parts of the mind. If you like, conscious is the rational side of thought, unconscious the stuff we just do without thinking about it. We don't forget things from the unconscious mind just from the conscious. The challenge we face therefore is 1) keeping things in the conscious long enough that they transfer to the unconscious and 2) accessing them from the unconscious when we need them again.

Ever wanted to remember someone's name and struggled and struggled and just not been able to remember it? Then two days later it pops into your head! Or suddenly remembered something in panoramic detail that you haven't thought about in years? The irony of this is that the harder you try consciously the more difficult it is to access the unconscious memory! This is why on television quiz shows people often "forget" things that they "know" really well yet once the pressure is off they remember them straight away!

So what are the keys to having a great memory?

Success in all walks of life is a combination of attitude, skills and action. And attitude plays a far larger part than most people give it credit for! Put simply, your attitude enables you to access your skills when you most need them. So many of the memory tips that follow are attitudinally based.

Firstly, it is fundamental that you believe that you can have a great memory! Your subconscious mind works on the messages consistently passed to it by your conscious. So comments such as "I have a great memory" and "I will remember this because ..." are more empowering than "I have a bad memory" or "I will never remember this". Simply changing your attitude and belief about this one thing will significantly improve your memory! If you need evidence for your "new" belief try writing down all of the times you remembered something complex or detailed. You'll be amazed by all of the examples you can come up with.

Second tip is to have a reason for having a great memory. Human psychology is a strange and complicated thing but ultimately our avoidance of pain and our pursuit of pleasure drive us. As such, its amazing what complicated things we can learn when it is necessary to do so or when its to achieve something that we really want. Consider the complexities of learning to talk yet you did this as a child. So if you can attach an increased commission cheque, a promotion, a new client or your new car to remembering something its amazing what a difference that will make. Write down what you want to learn and all of the benefits that will stem from that now!

Third major key is to relax. Research has shown that being relaxed is important for aiding memory. If you are trying to learn something in the privacy of your home classical music can help you to access the brain waves required for accelerated learning. No surprise then that when we put ourselves under pressure we cannot access the right state and massively hinder our memory capabilities. Learning to relax through breathing, meditation, tai chi, yoga or relaxation techniques will have beneficial effects on your memory.

Fourthly we need to create a dynamic picture. Trying to remember words only is very difficult. People who store their memories in pictures find them far easier to remember and access. Infact, it has been shown that dyslexics generally try to remember words verbally whereas good spellers form a picture. Dynamic moving pictures with full colour, sound and feelings will be much more easily remembered than static pictures.

Finally, utilise stories and metaphors to help you to link things together. Try this exercise. Write down 20 unconnected words, turn the paper over and try to remember them. You may well find it hard. Now look at them again but this time tell a ridiculous story to tie them together. Have fun, laugh, relax and make no attempt to remember them. Now turn the paper over and recall the story. Chances are you will do a lot better.

In conclusion, BELIEVE, HAVE A REASON, RELAX and CREATE DYNAMIC PICTURES. Have fun discovering the perfect memory that you already have.

Notes section:

Remember Names Easily!

1. Believe you can
2. Link remembering them to something that matters to you
3. Make sure that you hear the name properly
4. Repeat the name out-loud or in your head
5. Find out something about the person
6. Notice a physical feature about the person and exaggerate it
7. Link the name to a picture e.g. John (a toilet!)
8. Imagine the feature and a flushing toilet together
9. Try and introduce the person to someone else
10. Practise, practise, practise
11. Notice your improvement

This article was written by Gavin Ingham who specialises in maximising sales performance under intense competition - serving business owners, sales professionals and dynamic teams in their desire to create more sales and stronger businesses. Programmes are delivered by means of open seminars, keynotes, coaching, workshops and products. Find out more now by visiting www.gaviningham.net