Utilise these 3 tips to improve your memory during training July 19, 2019

Utilise these 3 tips to improve your memory during training

It can be overwhelming when undertaking training to retain all the information you are learning as there is so much of it in a short period of time.

Here are some tips on how to improve your memory during training in order to maximise your ability to remember and recall the lessons and skills you have learnt.

1. Take photos and short videos

Take lots of photos and short videos before, during and after your training to capture as many detailed memories as possible. Document your experience right from the beginning of your journey, when you are leaving for the airport, right up until the end when you are arriving home once again.

Be sure to take photos and videos of and/or during:

- The training session

- The training presentation

- The training room and facilities

- Your fellow classmates and trainers (with their permission of course.)

- The proud moment you receive your certificate of completion

- The city your training is in and its icons, landmarks and nice views.

- Your accommodation

- Even your food! If it looks nice why not?!

Taking lots of photos and videos will capture your experience as a whole. When you think back you will then be able to remember even the little details which will help improve your memory of the course content and what you learnt during training overall!

Remember to share all of your wonderful photos and videos on your social media channels and when you do don’t forget to tag @londontfe and hashtag #londontfe in all of your posts so that London Training for Excellence will also be able to share with our followers what an amazing experience you are having (or have had!).

Make time to reflect on your training

Whilst you are undertaking training make it a priority to put aside some time each day, either at night or even right after your training session for the day has finished, to reflect on what you have learnt.

Make sure you are in a quiet spot so that you can successfully summarise and document your reflection on the lessons and skills you have learnt that day.

Some good ways to capture your reflection is to take voice notes on your smart phone so you can easily record your thoughts. Another similar way is to make a video diary which again can be done on your smart phone. A more traditional way is to right down your reflection in a diary or a journal.

By taking the time to reflect you will be able to process your thoughts on training each day in a documented way which will allow you to look back and understand your learning journey and how the experience shaped you. It will also allow you to give your company who have sent you for training, your managers, your HR manager and even London Training for Excellence detailed feedback of the course based on your personal experiences.

Do more than just take notes

It is extremely important to take notes during your training in order to be able to look back and remember what you have learnt. Taking handwritten or typed notes is one of the most obvious and effective ways of remembering information for further study later and it is a skill that most people learn and develop throughout school and throughout university.

Although notes are effective, there are ways to increase their value and make them more memorable.

Try using the following methods to improve the effectiveness of your notes:

Use colour to organise your notes.

Whether it be different coloured ink, sticky notes, paper colours or even highlighters, incorporate colour into your notes to divide and segment similar areas of study and topics.

These colour associations will prove effective when recalling the association of an idea with its topic group.

Draw and incorporate pictures, diagrams and mind maps into your notes to make them unique and memorable.

If you are a visual learner, chances are this is something you already do, but if you aren’t why not give it a go to break up the monotony of pages and pages of writing. These visuals will stand out and prove to be memorable.

Be creative with your learning associations and try to relate new information to music, smells, places, movies or even famous people.

This may sound quirky but the unique association of new information with familiar concepts can prove to be quite memorable. For example, there may be a topic such as, “Leadership styles,” in which you need to remember the characteristics of each style. Why not think of a character in a film that reminds you of each style and embodies the characteristics that you need to remember. The styles will become easier and more fun to remember!