Pre-meeting preparationis crucial. For example, sleep well, think well. An adult generally needs seven to nine hours of sleep on a regular basis. (And none of this staying up late on weekends and thinking you can jump back to your routine on Monday.) Inconsistent sleep patterns can take two to three days to correct.
Speaking of being prepared, you need two servings of protein in the morning to maximize the thinking process. One serving of protein comes from: 1 egg, 1 oz of cheese, 1 cup of milk or yogurt, 2 TBSP of peanut butter, ¾ cup pudding or 3 oz of tofu. Carbohydrates and sugars are sources of energy but create highs and lows, as they enter the system quickly.
There is growing evidence that coming to a meeting with the right attitude is also crucial. Your mindset going into a meeting will dictate what you get out of the meeting. Our emotions serve as filters, so it’s best to have an attitude that matches my blood type, B Positive.
Note taking and active engagement address the same concept of attentiveness. Note taking forces you to think about what is being presented: drawings force processing of the information, and asking questions force you to listen. All of these are crucial to the next step of making a protein marker in your brain. But, remember that different behavioral styles will interpret this rationale based on their own filters and may use the tips as an excuse for over application. For example, high Influence styles from DISC, please don’t dominate just to stay involved; and high Dominance styles, as a participant in a meeting, you are NOT in charge, so work on your listening skills as a way to stay engaged.
Reinforcing learning is required to create a lasting memory. If you do not do something with new information within about 30 seconds after receiving it, the protein marker in your brain does not form. If you do process the information, think about it, make connections, take notes, or draw an image, the information will be locked in place for about 90 minutes. Again, if you do not refocus on the information within this window of time, it is gone. But if you reinforce the knowledge by again revisiting the concepts or information, you now have created a bio-chemical protein marking that will last from eight to 12 hours. A quick review before bed and you are ready to start the process of remembering!
Written by: Dr. Ron Bonnstetter, Senior VP for Research and Development at TTI