Visualisation; Using Your Mind As a Library
We’ve talked previously about visualisation and its many applications. Sometimes we will use visualisation without realising it but there’s always the potential to make such skills stronger.
When we revise for exams or tests, we may have systems we’ve already built for ourselves to store information in our minds to access at a later date. But we can widen this application by using it to prepare for meetings, speeches or any kinds of events which require a recall of specific information and/or knowledge.
As with many other applications, using visualisation as an aid in the process can really help to boost our success.
Whenever I have a reason to recall facts, figures, data or other information, especially in a pressurised environment, I use what I call my mind library.
I actually did this without realising. Revising for my Assessment of Professional Competence with RICS (The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) required the understanding and recall of vast amount of facts, figures, opinions and theories. It also required a presentation and subsequent questions, all under a very pressurised environment.
Some of us are visual learners and thinkers and I certainly am myself.
Through my days, weeks and months of avid revision, I found my own technique.I pictured a particular scene from the Blade trilogy films where a library is seen with glass partitions, with ancient texts inside them.
As a visual learner, such imagery was perfect to use for the memory bank. When I learnt information, I imagined using a central computer to bring up a storage system and visually stored the information within an organised structure in my head.
To retrieve the information, I imagined accessing the central computer again, finding the appropriate section I had stored the information under and then using and imaginary navigation screen like in the film Minority Report. I would then swipe across to the image of the information I needed.
Now this might not be suitable for you but I would certainly encourage you to think of your own visual way to record, store and retrieve information and knowledge.