Have you ever walked into a room and couldn’t remember what you went there for? Have you ever grasped the hand of a potential client and then when the handshake broke, the name seemed to disappear from your memory? Or have you ever left a prospect and as you drove away remembered a key point that you should have shared with them?
Of course you have… we all have. However, I have some great news for you. Your memory is nowhere near as bad as you may think it is. Some time ago, I was a guest at a radio station in Waco. The disc jockey wrote a 50-digit number on a sheet of paper and told his listening audience and then played a three-minute song for his audience.
As the listeners enjoyed the song I memorized the 50-digit number. When the song was over we went back live on the air and I handed him the paper. I then proceeded to recite the number forwards and then I said it backwards. The disc jockey looked at me in utter disbelief and stunned he said, “Ron… you are incredible!’ I looked him straight in the eye and replied, “You know… you are right!’ I said, “Jay, the greatest computer ever created does not come from Dell or Gateway. The greatest computer ever created does not sit on the assembly line of a computer factory. Instead, you and I are the greatest computers ever created. And yes… you are right. I am incredible… but so are you.’
The human memory has the ability to hear a 100-digit number or more once and then repeat it forwards and backwards. It has the ability to memorize a Shakespearean play word for word or memorize the stats of every baseball player for the last 100 years. And the human memory has the capability to meet 100 people in 20 minutes and recall every single name!
Now, the question is, are you doing these things? If not, the reason is simply that you have not been trained to. Two thousand years ago a Greek named Simonedes developed a memory method called “Loci.’ With this method, Simonedes numbered locations in his home. He started in the doorway and then logically proceeded around his home. He reviewed these items so many times mentally that if you asked him what was number 25 then he could instantly tell you what piece of furniture that number corresponded to.
These 25 objects were actually mental files for Simonedes. Then if he had a list of items he wanted to recall, he would place them mentally on these objects in his home. Let’s say that you are a professional who wants to give a speech without notes. Simply turn the key points into pictures and then file them to your “house files.’ When you are called upon to speak, simply mentally walk through the house and give your talk without notes.
For example, I gave a one-hour keynote in Atlanta at a home builder’s conference. I wrote my speech out the night before. The first thing I wanted to do was talk about the book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.’ So I visualized the book on my front door and then mentally walked through my house and gave the one-hour talk without notes! That can work for you as well. Anything that you want to recall, simply turn it into a picture, place it on your house files and get ready to be amazed! YOU are the greatest computer ever created!