Memory Techniques
Where did I leave the keys? What was that person's name? What was I about to say? This workshop is an hour on why that happens, and a method that stops it.
Memory is treated as a fixed trait, something you either have or do not. It is closer to a technique, and like any technique it responds to being taught properly and then practised.
The workshop is built around the difference between committed and non-committed memory: what your mind has decided to keep, what it is letting pass through, and how to move something deliberately from the second category into the first. Once that distinction is clear, remembering stops being an act of effort and becomes a process you can repeat.
What people leave able to do
- Every name in the room. The most immediately useful and the most immediately noticed.
- A full presentation without notes. Structured so a lost thread is recoverable rather than fatal.
- Detail under pressure. A product list, a specification, a set of figures, held while somebody is watching you hold it.
How the hour runs
It is practice based rather than theoretical. Attendees try the methods during the session and see the difference in their own recall within the hour. The session includes a demonstration of advanced memory technique, used to show what the method is capable of at full stretch rather than as a performance in its own right.
The material has been taught successfully across a very wide age range, from children through to attendees in their nineties. There is no prerequisite and nothing to prepare.
What the method actually changes
None of it depends on concentrating harder. The workshop covers how to use committed memory by changing the process used to remember a detail in the first place, and how changing that process improves memory overall rather than only the one thing being practised on the day. It also covers how the two kinds of memory train each other, so that work on one naturally improves the other.
Who it suits
It is built for corporate training days, team development sessions and leadership offsites: groups that need to leave able to do something they could not do that morning, rather than with a set of notes about it. Because there is no prerequisite, a team does not need sorting by experience or seniority beforehand, and a mixed room is not a problem.
- Format
- Workshop, practice based
- Length
- 1 hour
- Group size
- Capped so everyone practises
- Prerequisites
- None
Common questions
How long is the session?
One hour, and the demonstration of advanced memory technique sits inside it. It is practice based rather than theoretical, so attendees try the methods and see the difference in their own recall before the session ends.
Is this a keynote or a workshop?
A workshop. Numbers are capped so that every person in the room gets to try the methods rather than watch somebody else try them, which means a smaller room and hands on practice rather than a conference stage. Tell Phoenix the group you have in mind and you will get a straight recommendation on format.
How interactive is it?
It is practice based rather than theoretical. Attendees take part in the methods and systems during the session and demonstrate the result inside it. There is also a demonstration of advanced memory technique, used to show what the method is capable of at full stretch rather than as a performance in its own right.
Does anyone need experience or preparation?
No. There is no prerequisite and nothing to prepare. The material has been taught successfully across a very wide age range, from children through to attendees in their nineties, so a mixed room is not a problem.
Can the content be tailored to our organisation?
Yes, and it usually is. Sessions are shaped around your objectives, your industry and the outcome you need, and that is settled before the day. What does not change is the method underneath: the difference between committed and non-committed memory, and how to move something deliberately from one into the other.
Does it only help with remembering names?
No. Names are the most immediately noticed outcome, but the same method covers a full presentation without notes and detail held under pressure, such as a product list, a specification or a set of figures. Because it changes the process used to remember something in the first place, it improves memory overall rather than only the one thing practised on the day.
Other sessions
- Mind Hacker. Security awareness keynote, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- MindSet. Keynote, 1 hour, from 25 people with no upper limit.
- Body Language & Rapport. Keynote, up to 1 hour.
Want a team that remembers the room?
Tell Phoenix about the group, the outcome you need and the date. You will get a straight recommendation on format, usually within one business day.