Told, Shown or Experienced?

You will remember from the start of this tutorial that people who are told something remember around 10% of the content, people who are shown something remember around 32% and people who experience something remember around 65%.

So how does this information fit in with answering questions? After all, you are on your own – no one is telling or showing you anything are they?. Well, actually, you are being shown and told...

You are telling and showing yourself! As far as your memory is concerned, one part of your brain is telling or showing information to another.

When you 'experience' something in 'real life', or mentally experience things as you practised on the previous page, you use more of your brain. This is what makes the method extremely powerful.

Consider for a moment that you have completed a series of questions and are checking them against the correct answers (as given to you in the course). When checking your answers you find that you have answered a question incorrectly.

Now, if you just look at the correct answer on the page and say to yourself, "OK I know that now it should have been answer 'b' and not answer 'c' ", that is like being told the answer and trying to remember it 'parrot fashion' for the future. You have only a 10% chance of remembering it.

If, alternatively, you go on to research the answer by reading about it in one of the textbooks. That is like being shown the answer. This time you have about a 32% chance of remembering it.

Experience it!

If you imagine yourself in the situation carrying out the correct answer, while commenting silently to yourself on what you are doing and getting a feel for the correct answer you have raised your chances of remembering to about 65%.

In the case of 'driving related questions' you can do even more besides...

If you incorporate that correct answer into the way you actually drive, when you encounter the question or a similar question for a second time (which you will sooner or later) the only question you need ask yourself is. "What do I normally do when I'm driving in this situation?"

Repeated mental rehearsal (visualisation) of actually carrying out the correct answers to questions, as if you are in the situation at the time, is probably the most powerful way of learning the knowledge you need to pass Part-One.

Next: Some tips and traps!