Accelerated Learning Techniques - Part #2

It is said that the brain is really three smaller brains inextricably linked.

First there is the primitive brain which controls our instincts and bodily functions. Then there is the middle brain which controls emotions and an important part of your long term memory. Then there is the truly extraordinary outer brain, your thinking brain.

The middle brain (cerebral cortex) is where memories start, it is also where emotions are controlled. It is the middle brain that decides what is committed to long term memory and passes it up to the thinking brain for confirmation. This is why memories are far stronger when linked to an emotion.

I wrote last month that we all assimilate information in different ways and the secret of successful retention is to supply the information to your brain in the format which best suits it.

Before we can do this firstly we need to establish what type of learner you are.

We all use a combination of three basic learning methods:

A. Seeing (Visual learner)
B. Listening (Auditory learner)
C. or by doing (Physical learner).

Although we use all three methods we all differ - one sense is dominant for each individual.

This is why when Mr Monotone was dribbling on in the classroom he was only connecting with about 30% of the class. He had his way of learning and assumed that because he found it easy to learn by listening to a lecture, teaching it that way was the way forward.

What he didn’t realise was that his dominant sense was ‘auditory’. He absorbed information a lot better if he listened to it. The problem was 70% of the class had a different dominant sense.

Change the teacher and teaching method and a totally different section of the class, around 30%, will do better.

We need to establish which is your dominant sense. We need to find out if you learn best by watching something, by listening or by actually doing a task.

I find it extremely difficult to read a manual then follow the instructions, yet if someone shows me how to do something I can grasp it in an instant. I am a physical learner; I learn best by seeing and doing. The majority of you, around 70%, will have a different view.

Visual learners.
You like drawing diagrams, seeing pictures, charts and films. You like to see the written word and read instruction material.

Auditory learners.
You like to listen to lectures, tapes. You like to read out loud to yourself.

Physical learners.
You need a hands-on approach. You have to get in there and actually act out the subject. When you learn things you like to underline important paragraphs, doodle, imagine yourself actually doing whatever.

We all use a combination of the three different elements, but one sense will stand out.

Try the simple test below. Choose which phrase most suits you, click it then tot up
the score and type it in the text box. The column with the highest total will give you some idea of which is your dominant sense.

Don’t worry if the scores come out about equal because that just shows that you like to stimulate all three senses equally. All we are trying to establish is how to present information the way your brain likes to receive it.

How did you get on?

You should now have some idea of how you best like to take in information:

If you are an Auditory learner then it will help if you read out loud and listen to tapes.

If you are a Visual learner take regular breaks and visualise the scene.

If you are a Physical learner take breaks and imagine how you would do the task.

I did say that the best way to truly retain information is to use all three senses.

The next question you are going to ask me is: "How do I involve all my senses?"

I knew you were going to ask that!!!

We are starting at the basics here and as we progress we’ll make it more interesting and fun.

1. Read and visualise the material ... You have seen it. (Visual)
2. Read it again out loud ... You have heard it. (Auditory)
3. Ask yourself: "what are the key points I need to remember?" Write them down and
circle them ... You have done it. (Physical)

It’s time to get down to the nitty gritty. Because formal learning does not come naturally, a system has been developed so that you can readily digest large blocks of information, and more importantly retain them for future recall. Once you have a system that works you can apply it, practice it, and practice it again until it becomes second nature.

This system works ... use it, practice it, and you will become much smarter much quicker.

You don’t need a high IQ to be intelligent. In fact a high IQ will be of little use unless it is combined with an acute sense of awareness. I measure intelligence by the amount of common sense someone possesses.

There are hundreds of people with a high IQ who wouldn’t know what the real world was if it grabbed them by the scruff of the neck and shook them till their bi-focals fell off.

And besides I have taken several IQ tests and they gave differnet results, the first 179 (only joking!), so that suggests my intellegence changes depending on certain factors or the IQ test is a load of bollocks!

The time has come for you to start learning with ease ...

Let’s take a large unwieldy subject for you to take in and digest. Let’s take something important to you. Let’s use Accelerated Learning Techniques!!!

This is of sufficient size to become dull and boring as you try to sift through all the info so we’ll break down the task and stimulate all the learning senses.

1. Prepare mentally and physically for the learning process.

Before you begin to tackle any task you need to prepare yourself. You need to get into a learning state of mind.

I am going to keep banging on about mental preparation right throughout this course so get used to it!

What would happen if you tried to run a marathon without being prepared? You’d race off, cover a couple of miles, and before long all the other PREPARED competitors would be passing a sweaty, quivering mess as you lay exhausted in the gutter.

THERE IS NO POINT IN STARTING ANYTHING UNLESS:

i. YOU ARE MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY PREPARED
ii. YOU CAN VISUALISE THE ‘PAY OFF’AT THE END OF THE TASK

The only reason a marathon runner starts a race is to get to the end!!!

Before he sets off he can visualise the sense of self satisfaction and achievement he will experience on completion. This is his motivation, his ‘pay off’. Whoever heard of someone doing a marathon so they could enjoy the pain and endurance of the run.

They do it to win, or they set out to complete the race. Either way they crave the achievement.

This is how you are going to tackle learning. Next, you are going to establish why it is you need to learn the subject. "What’s in it for me?"

Always look at the positive. Never dwell on anything negative, it’s a cancer which will spread.

Ask yourself: "What benefits will it bring to my life if I learn how to learn?"

Imagine being able to tackle any subject and rapidly becoming an expert on it!!!

What would that be worth to you???

You need to visualise the pay off before the subject is learned. Crack this learning system and you’ll be able to go out and learn anything you wish. I can’t think of a better pay off!

So, now you are motivated, you have developed a desire to learn ‘how to learn’, and you have a clear picture in your mind of why you want to learn the ‘learning system’.

Remember how important goal setting is? I hope now you are beginning to see how immensely important these little things are to your life.

Every system you are learning now will, in the future have an impact beyond measure.

Individually, they may not seem world changing influences, but together they will change your world. You can’t see it now because you haven’t had time for them to take effect. I promise that you have an amazing life around the corner, but only when you have turned it will you be able to look back and say: "Bloody hell. He was right!!!"

Your goal for this task is to learn learning systems.

You have prepared mentally, you are ready to begin ... NO YOU’RE NOT!!!

You need to prepare physically. You will never learn anything if you are stressed, distracted, tired, bloated, got kids screaming down your ear...

I taught you earlier how to prepare physically for a task, especially a learning task.

Now do it.

If you are not entirely comfortable and able to give this section your absolute undivided attention come back in ten minutes or after a good sleep or when your
dinner’s gone down.

Go for a walk in the fresh air or to really set yourself up, go for a short run. Have a shower.

Come back when you feel fresh and ready for the task ahead.

Now you are ready to learn ‘how to learn’. You can only concentrate effectively for around 30 minutes at a time whilst learning - so in about thirty minutes from now take a short break!

2. Get The Big Picture

There are two different ways to approach a learning task. Linear and global.

Linear: means that you are fed a subject bit by bit, starting at the beginning and ending at the end.

The picture is built up as you go. This was often the way you were taught at school.

Can you imagine Mr Monotone ever giving you the answers before he gave you the questions!!!

Plodding through your subject section after section is hard. It is often impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel and very easy to get disheartened.

Global: means that you are shown the big picture first.

You get an overview of what you are about to learn, you can see what you are going to get at the end. You can see the pay off before you start. This it the way we need to learn.

Before you go any further scan over this section, check the subheads, see what the contents are, write down in a few short sentences, what’s coming up? Get a clear overall picture of what’s in store. If you were to apply this to other areas in your future, such as attending a seminar or watching a video, get an overview, look at the index and menu. Have a global view of the subject matter in hand.

Next, take some time out and jot down what you think you already know about the subject. Ask yourself what you understand at this point then write it down. Try and get an idea of what you would like to know. One or two areas will have pricked your interest. You must have seen something and thought: "I wonder what that’s all about?"

Write down all the key points. This exercise should have taken you no more than five minutes because you are only picking out the major topics. When you have done that place a tick after this paragraph. This will indicate that you have understood what was required 'in this paragraph only'. Each time you have read and digested a paragraph and fully understood it, place a tick by it.

Although this is a large subject we are going to tackle it bit at a time. We will not move on until you have fully got to grips with why you are doing things.

My dad used to be a builder and, as a young boy, I remember watching him repoint the brickwork on our house. He was tackling a huge wall and from where I was standing it looked like a Herculean task. I asked him: "Why didn’t it drive him mad tackling such a big wall?"

"Because," he replied, "I just look at a small section at a time and when it’s finished I move on."

If he were to stand back and contemplate the size of the wall he’d have sat down with a cup of tea and never finished it. By keeping his head down and completing each small section, eventually the whole wall looked like new.

We are breaking these techniques down into small manageable steps. It matters not if the subject is as big as War and Peace because we are only interested in the small section we are tackling now.

We know what the big picture looks like and can see the large blazing light at the end of the tunnel, the pay off when we’ve finished. At this stage you understand that it is important to break the subject down and when each section is fully understood you put a tick by the side of it.

You can now tick this paragraph

It doesn’t matter how you break your subject down and it really doesn’t matter where you start, so long as you just pick a point, and start! Once you begin your assault it must be sustained.

Start somewhere that inspires you, learn it, then move on.

As you go through this course and read something that is important to you, something that you want to recall at any time, print it off and mark it with a highlighter pen. This trick applies to any material.

The effort required to re-read it as you physically highlight it will commit it to memory.

To ensure you are using all your senses read it out loud. You are twice as likely to remember something read aloud. Print off the page and go get a highlighter pen then draw though this paragraph and while you’re at it you can put a tick in the box

Now read it out loud to yourself. You need these tricks, they are part of your learning tools.

Summarise what you have just learned and write it down to make sure you have fully understood everything.

YOU HAVE NOT TRULY UNDERSTOOD SOMETHING UNTIL YOU CAN TEACH IT
TO SOMEONE ELSE SO THAT THEY CAN FULLY UNDERSTAND IT

Now to make sure you have fully understood the last section turn away and see what you can remember. Sit and visualise what you have just read.

Make sure everything falls into place.

• Why do you scan the whole book before you start?
• Why do you put marks in the margin?
• What is your dominant sense?

If you struggle somewhere then go back and try again. When you can fully recall the methods in this small section put a tick at the bottom of the page in a different colour.

The colours you use will be up to you so long as you always stick to them, eg. blue for a paragraph you have understood, red for a section.

By doing this you are forcing yourself to remember, albeit on a subconscious level. Most people will read a book from beginning to end and that’s all they will remember, the beginning, the end and a couple of events in the middle.

They might as well read this:

One day there were three little bears who djeo feuj swfjdf ewo depdfu wdf fpwpefu efdoude fepf ewpofu wpf wdufps fpwu wdpfu wpf eat all the porridge wpwfufjng p eg gi dgupr pt epwho's been sitting in my chair etpug epg eu eri t4 r rwoi rwept wp bkkyye aoou !!@ kskh aaappq aaapu tr and they all lived happily ever after. THE END.

By using the tools you have acquired, reading out loud, marking important paragraphs, visualising and ensuring that you do not move on until you have finished and understood each section, you are guaranteeing the whole subject is committed to long term memory

I don’t consider myself overly bright so how did I learn accelerated learning techniques?

I managed to learn the subject sufficiently well to write this module and teach you.

Originally it took me a lot of time and effort, but now I know the techniques I could do it in a few days ... How?

Well firstly I want to write this release, the techniques fascinate me and I want to pass them on to you. That is my pay off. I would take out several books on the subject and scan over them, looking to see what areas would grab my attention.

Within a few hours I would have a fair idea of what the systems were and how they had been developed. This is only a very rudimentary grasp of the techniques. I would have spent only a relatively short time glancing over each section, picking out key points. But his is enough to give me the big picture.

I choose various sub-heads and read them, the ones that look most interesting, marking them as understood when finished. I do this in no particular order although I do have to complete every section, even the boring ones!

I get through those because I could see that pay off!

I am like that marathon man who hits the wall (that extremely hard section about three quarters of the way through a race, where most want to stop) he keeps on going because he has visualised what is at the end before he set off.

I have found that when I've have read and digested the interesting parts of a subject I want to read the rest in order to link it all together.

I want to finish the big picture.

I buy some tapes and listen to them, writing down key points as I go.

I then sit down to write this. I have forced myself to remember the subject as I read it out loud and then type it out.

In going through a considerable study to put this module together. I listened to tapes and read out loud - Auditory.

I pictured how the systems worked and how I should be applying them to learning about learning - Visual.

I wrote this - Physical.

Finally, I reviewed what I wrote and questioned each paragraph to make sure it was correct. I have thoroughly committed this subject to my long term memory. You can phone me at anytime and ask me a question on ‘Accelerated Learning’ and I will be able to help you.

It is important to review what you want to remember at intervals. This absolutely cements your knowledge.

The review cycle should be:

1. Review after an hour and rectify any mistakes or holes
2. Review after a day. This is the ‘24 hour test.’ Any major voids will show up
3. Review after a week
4. Review after a month.

If you follow the review programme you will see a 400% improvement in retention.

You can place a tick in the paragraph now!

SUMMARY:

1. Prepare yourself mentally and physically for the learning process. Establish the
pay-off for learning this information before you begin. What is this knowledge
worth to me at the end? Will you receive a certificate that in turn will get you a
better qualification? Will you be able to do something better which in turn will
increase your worth?

2. Get an overview of the subject, get the big picture.

3. Decide what you already know and how it fits into your current knowledgebase.

4. Break the subject down into manageable sections and start on one of them.

5. Explore each section using all your tools. Tape it, listen to the tapes, sketch it,
write it on cue cards, write notes, read out loud, act it out, discuss it with friends
or family, visualise yourself doing whatever it is, stimulate all your senses and
concentrate mainly on how you like to learn.

6. Review what you have just learned. Do not move on until you can recall the last
section from memory.

7. Take regular breaks - you can only work at peak performance for around 30
minutes.

8. Re-write the section in your own words. Discuss it with friends or family. Create
a learning map (we go into this in a minute), list out the key points of your
subject and test yourself, go back and fill in the blanks, write a song or jingle if it
helps.

Tape yourself, write out the key words and speak on the subject. You’ll soon know if you have a grasp. Some people are amazing at remembering the words to songs. It is totally natural for them to hear a song once and then be singing it the very next minute.

Try fitting the key words of a subject to a tune that is familiar. If you are able to do that you will never forget the trigger words and in turn the ‘body text.’

Question the subject continually. Why, where, what, who, how? As you question a subject you are forced to find answers; it is while looking for the answers that you re-enforce the knowledge and commit it to long term memory.

After you have tested yourself ask: "How would I do it better next time; how would I improve on my answers?"

9. Mark the section as thoroughly understood and move on to the next

Memory Maps

Memory maps are amazing tools. It is possible to create a memory map for just about anything.

They are so easy and quick to do. Once you have drawn one on a subject you will instantly get an overall picture of the main points and in turn trigger your memory on the subject.

First you begin with the main subject. Write it down and draw a circle around it.

Next list major key points that apply to the main subject in off shoots.

Then list the sub-heads. You can keep breaking each key area down to suit your required depth.

All a memory map needs to be is a scribble on a bit of paper. If you add sketches and colours it becomes even more vivid. You can see at a glance the whole subject and instantly recall those sections.

Easy as that eh!

These techniques now stand you in good stead for the vast amounts of information available to you - you are now in the enviable position to be able to work faster and smarter.

Winning Through Failing