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Quote of the month: "The empires of the future are empires of
the mind" Winston Churchill
Double Your Brain Power
Source: Communication
Briefings ideas that work
You probably sometimes wish that you could think faster, grasp new information
quickly and recall more of what you read and hear. If so, you’ll find
the help you’ve yearned for in Double Your Brain Power, by Jean
Marie Stine. Examples:
- Tackle information you want to commit to your short-term memory
in the morning. Reason: The brain section that stores short-term
memory items performs about 15% better in the morning. But switch to
the afternoon for items you want to keep in your long-term memory because
that part of your memory bank hits its stride later in the day.
- "Reverse and rephrase" to overcome negative thoughts about
your ability to learn something new. Example: Instead of "I won’t
remember what I’m learning," tell your brain "I’ve already learned to
recall many things, names, dates, computer commands. So I can and will
remember this."
- Plan for an upcoming learning event by selecting a reward you’ll
give yourself afterward. Pick something you wouldn’t usually buy or
do. Picture yourself enjoying the reward just before the learning event
starts. Repeat the process whenever you feel anxious about learning
the information. Note: No matter how things turn out, give yourself
the reward.
- Answer these questions after you read something that you want
to remember: What was it about? What parts of it were most important?
What opinions, if any, did it contain? What element makes it unique?
Note: Do this mentally or in writing, whichever works best for
you.
- Rely on graphic devices to increase your reading speed and
to help you zero in on the main points in books and other publications.
Examples: italics, boldface, underlining, bulleted lists, charts,
graphs, etc. As you go through pages, ignore regular text and scan only
for these devices. When you find one, slow down and read these sections
more carefully.
- Boost your thinking power by taking the time to really think
about the answers to these questions about a situation, some information
or a problem: What seems to be the key idea here? Does this resemble
or parallel anything I’ve already learned or experienced? Do I still
have a nagging question about any part of this? When I put everything
together, what do I see as most important?
Source: Double Your Brain Power: Increase Your Memory by Using
All of Your Brain All the Time, Jean Marie Stine, Prentice Hall, 240
Frisch Court, paramus, NY 07652
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