Building a Better Business Brain: Visualizing to Remember

 

By Dr. Suzanne Miltich

 

For you who have concerns about memory—and who doesn’t these days—visualization on is an essential skill to develop.  What I’m talking about is the ability to create visual images mentally.  Visualization is also an important brain skill for comprehension and for conceptualizing problems.  If you create visual images of the novel you’re reading, you’ll better remember the characters and be able to ‘put the pieces together’ in chapters that follow.

 

You may have heard about this skill or even learned it before.  It’s a part of the Dale Carnegie Training.  And I’ve had adults tell me they learned the technique from a teacher when they were in elementary school.  Yet, few people have actually practiced the technique. 

 

You can have fun with this one.  The more creative you are the more fun you’ll have, and the more improvement you’ll notice in your memory. 

 

Here's an example of how to use this technique.

 

Let’s say you need to stop by for groceries on the way home, and you’re not able to make a list while you’re driving to your appointments. How do you remember what to buy? Make the list ‘in your head’ while you’re driving and visualize it by creating and linking wacky images. 

 

Need English muffins?  Imagine them rolling down the aisles? 

 

Need milk?  Imagine the aisles awash in milk. 

 

Need bread?  Imagine slices of bread with faces, arms, and legs, saying ‘Pick me up. I’m drowning’ (in the milk). 

 

Create your own images—the wackier the better.  You may find this so effective that you'll never need a shopping list again!

 

You can also use visualization for remembering people’s names, directions, and what’s on your 'To Do' agenda at work.

 

Some names have built-in imagery you can use to secure a name in memory.  This is a fun, easy way to boost name recognition and recall.  Here’s an example of how to use this at work.

 

Let's say your new customer service representative is Barbara Singer.  Using the built-in imagery in the name, picture a Barbie doll dressed in classic office attire singing into the phone. 

 

Try it for yourself. How would you use built-in imagery to remember these names?  Angela Basso, Red Armstrong, Harry Knott.

 

You can also use visualization to remember directions Just look for built-in images in directional information and link images together to form a wacky story or picture. Here’s an example. 

 

A customer’s new warehouse is on Bentmore Ave.  To remember this street, first break Bentmore into two syllables.  Then, using the built-in imagery, come up with a picture of the customer in the warehouse bending (Bent) down to get more product.

 

Now, you try this technique for Mayo Clinic; corner of Turnbull and Charles;  and Bangor, Me.

           

Visualization is also a great way to remember what you need to do.  Let’s say, you’ve forgotten to cancel your dental appointment and know you’ll be charged if you don’t cancel on time.  You’ll remember to do this when you get to work if you...

 

Imagine a giant, red toothbrush in the shape of a soldier standing guard at the door.  When you get the office, no doubt you'll see the guard in your mind's eye and remember.

 

So, how would you use visualization to remember to call the doctor’s office to schedule your fall allergy shots?

 

Imagination is an important part of the AIM techniques—Attention, Imagination, Meaning -- that can help you improve your memory skills in any setting.  As with most things, the more you practice the easier and more effective it becomes—and the more fun you’ll have with visualization.

 

 

Dr. Suzanne Miltich writes Building a Better Business Brain articles focusing on memory and the attention difficulties many of us experience in midlife. Miltich is the Director of the LearningRx Centers in Fayetteville and Bentonville. LearningRx is a nationwide network of brain training centers that help kids and adults learn and perform faster, better, and more easily. Email your comments to Dr. Miltich at smiltich@learningrx.net.