A Short Pencil Is Better Than A Long Memory

This is an update of the most popular Hawg Blawg posting. It was originally posted Feb. 11, 2010.

I know a lot of money is invested in learning seminars and training sessions whether they are short motivational sessions or multi-day conferences.  Organizations and individuals invest heavily in meetings/seminars. The payout or return on investment—in money or time—is not as apparent.

Numerous studies have been conducted on the retention levels of people who attend meetings, seminars, training sessions, discussion groups and the like. While there is disagreement on the exact retention percentage— how much knowledge is retained and put to work on the job—it seems evident that after a short period of time, four to five days, the average person has forgotten a large amount of the information to which they were introduced. As a result, organizations are nowhere near performing optimally. This low level of knowledge retention has a direct impact on revenue and earnings.

Information presented in seminars, lectures, and conferences often contains the ideas and strategies that lead to achievement. Yet, people who attend these meetings frequently do not realize the power of the pen and note taking. I find that if I don't take notes, I am not as attentive and focused as I should be. 

An article by Ellen Gibson, How A Doodle Serves Your Noodle, in April 6, 2009 Business Week refers to a study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology by Jackie Andrade at Britain’s University Of Plymouth in which she played a rambling voice-mail message to 40 people, half of whom were given shapes to fill in as they listened. The results: The doodlers recalled 29% more of the message than those who just listened. Andrade says idle scribbling uses just enough cognitive bandwidth to prevent daydreaming, so it may help us to stay focused.”

Benefit of Note Taking

1. Putting notes down on paper gets them out of your head and into concrete form. Write down what you want to remember. Ideas are fleeting things. Write them down and later when you review them, they may lead to even more ideas.

2. You collect the information in real time and are able to process it later. It is easier to reread than to remember.

3. Taking notes forces you to read and listen carefully.  Note taking also helps avoid lapse of memory later on.

4. When you are reviewing, notes aid in recall. People quickly forget, especially if the information is not acted upon immediately. The power of notes is they are a wonderful discipline of action. Notes help recall the important things that you may want to use.

5. Reducing ideas and facts to concise notes increases understanding and retention. Often notes help put the pieces together. I find that what I think I remember is often at odds with the facts.

I have found that I can increase my retention level significantly through the use of a non-technical recording device—a pen or pencil. Note taking is a sure way to improve retention levels. As someone has said, "A short pen is better than a long memory."

A person who takes notes is forced to listen more attentively to what is being said or discussed.  Note taking produces something that can be seen and read at a later time. And, in the process of taking notes, the writer is participating in the learning process.

A good rule is to write thoughts down when you hear them or when a idea comes to you. Do not depend on your memory. Write down pertinent information, but don't overwrite. Use short sentences, fragments of sentences, phrases and key words. Focus on salient points. A pen is an aid in memory retention and will help you capture points and facts you may overlook.

Sometimes, a comment you hear can help you with a future task. A few weeks ago my wife and I were eating in a local restaurant and I complimented our waitress for her great service and remarked how it looked like she was the only employee in the restaurant who cared to be there. Her statement, “While you’re here, I am here” and “I’m the only one working,” was so astute that I immediately took out my pen and wrote it down on my napkin. See, that note found its way into this book.

There is no excuse for forgetting important information.  Good ideas are often fleeting. And solutions to problems can quickly slip away. To capture them, write them down. Then use the information. Thomas A. Edison said, "Achievement is 2 per cent inspiration and 98 percent perspiration."  What is achievement?  Achievement is utilizing the information you have written down.

Three Point Success Summation

SUCCESS THOUGHT: While a person can help overcome the passive role of an attendee at a seminar or meeting by taking notes, the real power of retention is aided by action upon the notes one takes soon after taking the notes. Putting into practice what we learn is critical to our success.
 

SUCCESS QUOTE: “Set your goals to paper and you’re halfway there.” —Don Ward

SUCCESS ACTION: One idea or one piece of information can change your life. Write it down!

NEW BOOK REMINDER— My new book—“Mentor In The Mirror”—includes the above article as one of the 52 Success Reflections emphasizing that professional and personal success is within and with in reach. The eBook is available on Amazon (Kindle); iBooks (iPad) and Barnes & Noble (Nook). Go to www.mentorinthemirror.com for additional information and a review.