Use it or lose it. The forgetting curve.
I’ve led of learning and development experiences for some of the coolest companies in the world.
We’ve worked to grow capabilities in the leaders of these businesses that, if used, would make a massive difference. A difference in the human experience for the teams they lead. A difference in their team’s ability to problem solve and innovate. A difference in their organizational bottom line. A difference in the world.
At the end of these sessions, I often tell leaders something that gets met with confusion and surprise. It’s this.
There is a strong likelihood that what we’ve learned together…doesn’t matter. Yep. It’s true.
No matter how juicy the learning. It makes no difference if we don’t reinforce to our brains that this learning is necessary. By using it.
Enter the enemy of learning: The Forgetting Curve. A phenomenon first researched by German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus.
The Forgetting Curve in an nutshell: The brain loses what it doesn’t use. In a very short amount of time.
Modern research on this phenomenon shows;
Within 1 hour, learners can forget an average of 50% of the information presented
Within 24 hours, they can forget an average of 70% of new information
Within a week, learners can forget up to 90%
I’m certain this is not news to you, no matter who you are, even if your sense of it is purely anecdotal. At some point in your life you’ve probably sat in a training session and by the start of the next day already forgotten the majority of what you learned. Even if that learning made absolute sense during the session.
What this means for you right now.
If you’re still reading this, you likely fall into one of these categories:
You are working to grow, learn, and change your own life.
You are a leader supporting others in the ways to grow, learn, and change.
Both!
Because of the brain’s tendency to lose what we don’t use, we must assume that any learning we invest in will fall short of it’s impact without… something more. No matter how engaging, AI driven, or expert led a learning experience. Without targeting the Forgetting Curve directly any workshop, coaching journey, or online learning course will suffer.
This suffering has a real impact and can leave you and those you lead feeling stuck, disappointed, or unmotivated in the face of what should be growth and development. It also costs a ton. Xerox once did research that showed 87% of sales training is forgotten in just 30 days. That amounts to a horrible return on yours or your organization’s investment.
What you can do to defeat the Forgetting Curve!
Here are 5 things you can start doing right now to make the most of any learning, for you or your team!
Change is uncomfortable. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Seriously. This. If we’re not willing to be uncomfortable we simply won’t change. Instead, you’ll find your mind scrapping all the new goodies for the comfort and ease of the old way. Leading others through change? Show them what it looks like to safely experiment outside of your comfort zone in every day situations. Show them it’s okay to go there. It’s okay to be uncomfortable in the name of growth.
Make specific commitments to the learning. Look for everyday moments that are specific to you where you can experiment and apply what you want to remember most. No hypotheticals. Actual meetings, situations you’ll create, and moments that are scheduled on you calendar.
Get an accountability partner. We are up to 90% more likely to take the steps to achieve a goal if we have someone who is willing to hold us accountable to do so. This can be a leader you trust, a mentor, a close friend. Anyone you trust to hold you accountable.
Create tactile reminders. Have physical artifacts (post it notes, printed images, illustrations or metaphors) in the places we need to be reminded of our learning and commitments to that learning.
Spaced repetition. Spaced repetition means revisiting and reviewing the insights you’ve gained that you don’t want to lose on a repeated schedule. Reviewing learning on a specific, timed schedule is proven to increase our brain’s ability to remember that learning and access it for use. There are a bunch of good resources out there on spaced repetition as well as strategies and apps to use in the process.
Your investment in you should make a difference. Too often…it doesn’t. Let’s change that.