It is a very real and human tendency to forget. In fact, the forgetting curve is a mathematical formula that describes the rate at which something is forgotten after it is initially learned. The idea is over 100 years old. It originates in the late 19th century, with German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, who was among the first scientists to perform experiments to understand how memory works. The forgetting curve is initially very steep, and you can lose approximately 75% of information in just 24 hours. The good news is that Ebbinghaus made a second discovery. The downward slope of the forgetting curve can be softened by repeating the learned information at intervals!
We named our business Learnfully for a reason. Our programmes are designed in a way that participants can benefit from their learnings well after they leave our workshops. If you have ever crammed for an exam the night before you will be familiar with the experience of rapidly forgetting! Our learning model is designed to challenge this method of acquiring knowledge, so we equip participants with a range of techniques to ensure new skills and insights become deeply embedded.
To create training that sticks we have come up with some great tricks to help with those pesky memory issues.
Learning ‘Bytes’
In the 5 weeks post our workshops, we provide a number of quick 2-minute content refreshers to help deepen the learning. Delivered to participants via text message, these ‘bytes’ use images and minimal, targeted words including some of our favourites… Check Your Mindset, Get Curious Not Furious, and Build Trust in Small Moments.
Teach someone else
This is a powerful way of reinforcing your skills. Explaining your newfound learnings to colleagues in the context of your unique work environment can help you remember those skills better yourself, and it can also help improve your understanding.
Repetition and frequency
Practise makes perfect! Whilst our courses are designed for the workplace, most of the strategies can be used in other situations. Many of our participants practise the skills they have learned with friends and family members and have found them to be quite transformative. Practising either at work or at home will help to build your confidence as you start to see how they improve your relationships.
Break it down
You don’t need to wait for the most challenging difficult conversation to start using your new skills. Try one technique first and see how it goes. For example, if someone has done or said something off-putting at work, try asking a few questions and being curious. You may even find that by simply doing this it diffuses the situation before it develops into something bigger and more complex.
Personalised coaching
A bespoke, deep dive into your leadership and communication issues can be a highly beneficial professional development step to take you forward in your career. Get in touch to find out more about how we can help.