When you read the title of this post, what direction are you expecting me to go in? That a good memory helps you out in processing knowledge gained in meetings? Or that remembering information from reading documentation helps in making informed decisions?
Those things are fine and good, but that's not exactly what I'm thinking about. Actually, I think a decent memory is most important for relationship building. While it might not be helpful in initial conversations, remembering things about people is important for subsequent interactions. Things like what a person was planning to do the past weekend or where a person lives.
So why is this important to relationship building? Well, it provides proof that you were listening when that person was talking. It's a sad reality that we aren't very good at paying attention to our immediate surroundings these days, so a reiteration of what a person said a couple days later is a good indicator of listening. (And of care, quite frankly.)
I purposefully note only needing a decent memory and not a perfect memory because we all can't remember absolutely everything. One thing to keep in mind is that there is a way to "improve" your memory. Improve is in quotes because what I'm talking about isn't some magical thing where you can remember things better.
Rather, memory improvement comes in the form of practice. Specifically, memory can be better reinforced via associations. Check out the TED talk below:
To recap what that video shared, we can remember things more easily if they are associated to some other sort of memorable thing. There is no universal thing that defines what makes something memorable. For me, I personally associate names to colors, and for some reason, that makes it easier for me to remember people's names. (Yes, I'm a weird guy.)
That's it for this post. While I prioritized memory skills for relationship building, I did note that an improved memory can serve benefits in other areas. There is certainly no downside to improving your memory, so make an active practice of associating things together to improve your memory skills.
Those things are fine and good, but that's not exactly what I'm thinking about. Actually, I think a decent memory is most important for relationship building. While it might not be helpful in initial conversations, remembering things about people is important for subsequent interactions. Things like what a person was planning to do the past weekend or where a person lives.
So why is this important to relationship building? Well, it provides proof that you were listening when that person was talking. It's a sad reality that we aren't very good at paying attention to our immediate surroundings these days, so a reiteration of what a person said a couple days later is a good indicator of listening. (And of care, quite frankly.)
I purposefully note only needing a decent memory and not a perfect memory because we all can't remember absolutely everything. One thing to keep in mind is that there is a way to "improve" your memory. Improve is in quotes because what I'm talking about isn't some magical thing where you can remember things better.
Rather, memory improvement comes in the form of practice. Specifically, memory can be better reinforced via associations. Check out the TED talk below:
To recap what that video shared, we can remember things more easily if they are associated to some other sort of memorable thing. There is no universal thing that defines what makes something memorable. For me, I personally associate names to colors, and for some reason, that makes it easier for me to remember people's names. (Yes, I'm a weird guy.)
That's it for this post. While I prioritized memory skills for relationship building, I did note that an improved memory can serve benefits in other areas. There is certainly no downside to improving your memory, so make an active practice of associating things together to improve your memory skills.
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