How Do You Get into Memory?

As you know, there are millions of things competing for our attention every day. In order for someone to remember you, they must first pay attention to you. It can be challenging to grab someone’s attention, much less get into their memory. We discussed ways to command attention in Chapter 2. Once you have successfully directed someone’s focus and attention at you, you have a brief period of time to get into memory.

Let’s begin with a quick overview of how memories work. Memories work like files in a filing cabinet. A memory involves three primary ingredients: First, information is encoded (put into memory). This is like opening the drawer of the filing cabinet. Second, information is stored in memory. This is like creating and labeling a file for the memory and putting it into the filing cabinet. Third, the memory is retrieved. Without this step, that file will stay in the filing cabinet, unable to be accessed. Retrieval is taking the file out of the filing cabinet at the appropriate time.

Step 1: Encoding new information

In order for new information to be encoded into memory, the first step of the memory creation process, it must

1. Be attended to

2. Go into short-term memory

3. Go into long-term memory (often via working memory)

We’ve already discussed #1, how to get attention, in Chapter 2. Once something comes into our awareness via our senses (taste, touch, smell, sound, sight) and we put our attention on something, it lasts there for a very brief period of time, typically under one second. The information then goes on to our short-term memory where it can last for about 10 to 15 seconds if it isn’t acted on.

Let’s say, for example, that I asked you to remember a string of letters: A, C, X, F, D. You would probably be able to hold these letters in your short-term memory for about 10 seconds without rehearsing them.

Step 2: Storing new information

How much can we hold in short-term memory? You may have heard the magic number 7 +/- 2 for how many pieces of information (5 to 9) we can remember in the short term.

The concept of passive maintenance of information in short-term memory has been expanded to include working memory, which involves the active manipulation of information. Without working memory, things can go “in one ear and out the other.” Working memory helps them to stick. It does so by rehearsing or otherwise working with information. If, for example, I asked you to tell me that same list of letters backwards I gave you earlier (A, C, X, F, D), you would involve your working memory because you’d be manipulating the information. Working memory can serve to facilitate memories moving from short-term to long-term memory. When people work with information rather than just try to hold it in their minds, they are more likely to remember it. Think back to when you were in school—when you talked through information, integrated it with knowledge you already had, or made flash cards, you would remember it better than if you just read it and tried to remember it. If you have a school-aged child, you can help her study in this active way to improve her retention of information.

Many things can impact the functioning of our working memory. When I was in graduate school, my dissertation explored the impact of mood. I administered and scored a battery of neuropsychological tests with 100 participants. The results indicated that the mood that people were in when they took the tests significantly impacted their working memory. People who were in a depressed mood had much more difficulty remembering information, especially complex information presented visually. This means that if someone is anxious or depressed at the time you present new information to them, they may be less likely to remember it.

Working memory is a very important concept for your marketing efforts because once information is manipulated in working memory, it is more likely to be remembered. All of the tips in this chapter and the three that follow are designed to get people’s working memory systems involved so you’ll be memorable. One of my clients, Omar, a salesperson in communication technologies, told me that he had no luck with networking. He met people, but when he went to follow up with them, they didn’t know who he was. This was embarrassing and no fun for him, so he stopped networking. Together we worked on his branding so that he’d stand out as unique. He had a great memorable background story that people could relate to. When he told his story, it made people think of some of their own experiences. They were integrating the new information about Omar with their existing knowledge base, which activates working memory. When Omar made follow-up calls, people almost always remembered him.

Once information is manipulated, rehearsed, or associated with other thoughts, it goes into your long-term memory. As the name implies, long-term memory lasts for a long time, which can be days or decades.

• What was the name of your third grade teacher?

• What did you have for dinner last night?

• What was your favorite vacation you’ve been on?

• What was your high school graduation like?

It takes your long-term memory to answer any of these questions.

Step 3: Retrieving information

The final step in creating a memory is retrieving it. You can go through the process of getting attention, getting into short-term memory, and getting into long-term memory, but if people don’t access these memories, nothing will happen. It’s like you’ve earned money (gotten into memory) but can’t spend it because it’s in a vault and you’ve lost the key.

There are essentially two ways of retrieving information from memory—it can be recognized or recalled. Recognition memory is nice because it doesn’t require a ton of effort from people. If I gave you a list of four objects—ball, book, phone, cup—and then asked you which of the following objects was on the original list—plane, pen, phone, or frame—you would recognize “phone” as being on the list. Multiple choice questions often make use of recognition memory because you need only to spot the correct answer. Your personal brand facilitates recognition memory. Your name may be enough for someone to recognize you, or your face, or your company name, or a story that you told. If your image is easily recognized, you could call someone and say, “This is Dave Smith, the guy in the bright green suit from the other night.” If you compare yourself to someone, however, there should be a mild self-deprecating element; for example, you don’t want to say, “This is Rachel, the one who looks like the supermodel Heidi Klum.”

The second type of memory retrieval is recall. Recall memory can be free or cued. Free recall is the ability to remember items without much framework. For example, if I asked you to list all of the presenters from a conference, your response would show free recall of the names. If you’re like most people, you’d be able to come up with around five names. Free recall is not ideal to use in marketing because it requires the most amount of effort from someone. We have to really think to come up with the responses.

When people remember something without cues, they often remember a situation in order, which is called serial recall. The serial positioning effect comes into play because we tend to remember items at the beginning or at the end of a sequence best, forgetting what’s in the middle.

Cued recall is similar to free recall but you are given cues. If I said, “Who was the female presenter with the short dark hair who spoke about mistakes in wealth management?” your response would show cued recall of her name. Cued recall is typically less effortful than free recall because it gives someone a framework within which to think.