Are there scientific way to learn faster and retain more information? And maybe even turn out as the smartest person in the room?
Even though it’s tempting to think you can hack your way to success, skills matter when you’re trying to achieve a large goal, like starting and growing a business. Your connections are important too.
However, what you know and what you can do is far more important.
This means the more quickly you learn, the more likely you are to succeed.
Let’s get started. Here are ten ways to speed up the learning process, backed by science.
1. Is it something you want to remember? Say it out lout
Comparatively to reading or thinking silently (as if there were another way to think), the act of speaking improves memory for selected information.
Researchers have found that “Learning and memory benefit from active engagement. When we add an active measure or a production element to a word, it becomes more distinct in long-term memory and therefore more memorable.”
Essentially, while mentally rehearsing is good, it is even better to do it aloud.
2. Use paper instead of a computer when taking notes.
Many of us are faster at typing than writing. (And we do it a lot neater too.)
However, research shows handwriting your notes makes you learn more. Strangely enough, taking notes by hand improves both comprehension and retention, possibly because you’re forced to put things in your own words instead of acting like a quasi-stenographer.
Thus, you will remember what you heard for longer.
Perhaps that is why Richard Branson has kept a handwritten journal for most of his life?
3. Break your study sessions into smaller chunks.
Time is limited. As a result, you wait until the last minute to learn what you need to know: A presentation, a sales demo, an investor pitch…
Terrible idea. “Distributed practice” is proven to be a much more effective technique for learning.
Let’s say you want to make a great pitch to investors. Go over your pitch one last time after you’ve written it. Then, make any revisions and corrections you need to make.
Step away from the process for at least a few hours, or even a day, before repeating it.
What makes distributed practice effective? According to the “study-phase retrieval theory,” if you successfully retrieve something from memory every time, that memory becomes harder to forget. (If you go over your pitch repeatedly, much of it is still fresh in your mind…. so you don’t need to recall it from memory.)
In addition, there is the concept of “contextual variability.” When information is encoded into memory, it is also encoded with some of its context. (That is why you can remember what you were feeling, where you were when you first heard a particular song.) That context creates useful clues for retrieving information.
Distribution of information is undoubtedly beneficial. Make sure you spread your learning sessions out over time. This will make learning more efficient and effective.
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4. Test yourself, and do it a lot.
Self-testing has been shown to be an extremely effective means of accelerating your learning process.
This is partly because of the additional context; if you test yourself and answer incorrectly, not only will you remember the correct answer after looking it up. You will also remember you did not remember. If you tend to be hard on yourself, getting something wrong is a great way to remember it the next time.
Do not merely practice your presentation. Practice what follows your introduction. Identify the five main points that you wish to emphasize. Try reciting key statistics or sales estimates or cash flow projections…
You will not only gain confidence in the things you already know, but you will also learn more easily the things you don’t. Until now.
5. Adjust your practice.
If you keep repeating something over and over in the hope that you’ll master it, you will not only fail to improve as quickly as you could, you may even decrease your skill.
Johns Hopkins researchers have found that if you practice a slightly modified version of a task you want to master, “you actually learn more and faster than if you just repeat the exact same act.” This phenomenon is called reconsolidation, in which existing memories are recalled and modified with new knowledge.
Imagine you want to master a new presentation. Follow these steps:
1. Practice the basics. Practice your presentation under the same conditions you’ll face on stage. As practice progresses, the second attempt will be better than the first. But rather than repeating it a third time…
2. Hold. Allow yourself to consolidate your memory for at least six hours. (Which means practicing tomorrow will probably be fine.)
3. Now practice again, but…
- Increase speed a bit. Try speaking a little faster than normal.Go through your slides a little faster. You’ll make more mistakes as you increase your speed, but that’s OK — in the process, you’ll replace old knowledge with new knowledge — and lay the foundation for improvement. Or …
- Decrease speed a bit. You’ll experience the same thing. (In addition, you can try out new techniques — such as using silence for effect — that aren’t apparent when you present at your usual speed.) Or …
- Break the presentation up into smaller segments. Most tasks involve several discrete steps. Presentations are no exception. Focus on one part of the presentation. Break it down. Make it your own. Then put it all back together again. Or …
- Modify the conditions. Switch to another projector. Use another remote control. Instead of using a headset microphone, use a lavaliere. Changing the conditions a bit will allow you to modify an existing memory, but it will also better prepare you for an unexpected situation.
4. Keep changing the conditions.
The process can be extended to almost anything. Clearly, this method works well for learning motor skills, but it can also be used for learning almost anything.
6. Get regular exercise
Exercise improves memory recall, according to this study. According to McMaster University research, periods of high-intensity exercise can improve fitness and memory: Exercise enhanced brain performance on tests of high-interference memory. (Interference occurs when information similar to what you’re recalling gets in the way.)
Remembering faces is an example of high-interference memory, a skill that can be especially useful for people hoping to make new connections.
Exercise also increased levels of BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), a protein that contributes to the growth, function, and survival of brain cells.
Exercising will not only improve your health, but also your memory. It’s a win-win deal.
7. Sleep more
When we sleep, we consolidate our memories. For that reason, even a short nap can help you remember things better.
Researchers tested participants’ memory by having them memorize illustrated cards. Each group memorized a set of cards and then took a 40-minute break to nap while the other group remained awake. Afterward, both groups had a test to see if they remembered the cards. On average, the sleep group retained 85 percent of the patterns compared to 60 percent for those who remained awake.
Sleep deprivation has also been shown to negatively affect your ability to remember new information and consolidate short-term memories.
Conclusion? Learn more by sleeping more.
8. Study several subjects simultaneously
You should practice or learn several subjects or skills in succession, rather than blocking (concentrating on one subject, task, or skill throughout a learning session).
In parallel study of related concepts or skills, the process is referred to as interleaving. The brain (as well as motor skills) is much better trained when you practice interleaving.
Why is this? There is a theory that interleaving makes it easier for your brain to distinguish concepts or skills. You can drill down until muscle memory takes over and the skill becomes automatic when you block practice one skill.
The advantage of interlacing skills is that no one skill can become mindless. The result is constant adaptation and adjustment. As a result, you continually have to see, feel, and distinguish between different concepts or movements.
Thus, you’re able to learn what you’re trying to learn, since it helps you gain a deeper understanding.
9. Teach others
It’s sometimes true that those who cannot teach… but there’s no doubt that those who are taught learn faster and retain more.
You can learn more effectively just by thinking you have to teach someone. Researchers reported that “when teachers prepare to teach, they often identify key points and arrange information into a coherent structure. Our findings suggest that students also use these types of effective learning strategies when preparing to teach.”
Teaching also contributes to the improvement of knowledge. Ask any person who has trained someone else whether the experience has also been beneficial to them.
Of course it has.
10. Take advantage of what you already know
The process of associating something new with something familiar is called associative learning. Associative learning is not the Pavlovian type, but the type in which you learn how things are related despite appearing unrelated at first.
In simple terms, you’re using associative learning whenever you say, “I understand… that’s basically how this works.”.
Would you like to learn something new? Make an attempt to relate it, at least in part, to something you already know. That will allow you to concentrate on the differences. As a result, you will be able to apply greater context to the new information you learn – which will improve memory storage and retrieval.
This means learning will take much less time.
You will learn a lot faster if you do this, according to science.
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