29 Jun Haste Makes Waste
Would that we all had the recall abilities of Sherlock Holmes or Jeopardy champ James Holzhauer. But we humans can employ some of history’s best memory tools. Your kids undoubtedly sang “The Alphabet Song” to learn letters. And, as we referenced in a recent tip, the ancient Polynesians sang songs as a way to teach navigational routes to apprentices.
Rhythm and meter lodge in the brain. Consider the proverbs “A stitch in time saves nine” or “Haste makes waste.” Combining song and rhyme allows us to retain almost any content. Another memory tool to employ is an acronym. If you have three solutions in your example, create a word made up of the first letters of each verb. For example, if you analyzed the data, constructed a plan, and then taught the client, you’d only have to remember ACT.
Storytelling is the strongest vehicle for information transmission and retention. All religions have holy books filled with parables or stage morality plays. Ancient peoples created fantastical tales and origin myths, so that their tribal culture would live on. Stories have human context and emotion, making their content memorable for both the audience and presenter.
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