Recalling it
A Memory and recollection vary from person to person. Take three average citizens with a similar degree of honesty and integrity and ask them to make a statement concerning a bank raid that they all witnessed. Whilst the three statements will contain a fair degree of concurrence, there will also be areas of dissimilarity. When a person observes an event, not only are cognitive (or thinking) powers involved but also emotions are involved, especially when the incident observed is of an unpleasant nature.
B In our primitive ancestors, emotional stress had a survival value. It prepared us to face or flee a danger (‘flight or fight’ syndrome). Today’s stressors are more likely to be perceived threats to an individual’s well-being and self-esteem rather than actual threats to survival. However, any stressful situation, real or apparent, can trigger many of the same effects, for example, increased blood pressure, heart rate and anxiety.
C ‘Pre-exam nerves’ is an anxiety state experienced by candidates prior to an examination. It is perfectly natural to feel apprehensive about an important test. Negative thoughts disappear quickly when the candidate makes a promising start. On the other hand, a poor start increases the stress felt by the individual who can then experience a ‘retrieval failure’. In this circumstance the information is held in the memory but cannot be accessed. The knowledge has been forgotten temporarily to remain on the ‘tip-of the-tongue’. In intensely stressful situations, panic sets in and the relevant knowledge becomes blocked out completely by thoughts of failure.
D The ability to cope with stress is influenced by personality (way of thinking and behaving) and social circumstances, so what one person finds stressful another may find stimulating. Managing your own stress depends in part upon becoming aware of what your own particular stressors are. You can then confront each situation and try to change it and/or change your thoughts and emotional reactions to the stressor, so as to lessen its impact. Emotional support from family, friends and work colleagues leads to an improvement in coping with long-term stress. When confronted with a potentially stressful examination, one solution is to sit back, take a few deep breaths and relax to steady the nerves. Relaxation techniques will improve the memory but they cannot help a candidate to retrieve knowledge that they have yet to acquire. In this respect, short-term memory improves if you repeat new information to yourself several times, learning by rote.
E Clear and precise information is required when giving instructions. How often, in an unfamiliar district, has the reader stopped a passing stranger for simple and clear directions? How often also have the replies been unclear, rambling accompanied by wild gesticulations? The route may be clear in the eye of the director but the message is lost if salient points are either omitted or out of sequence. Accurate recall of past events is facilitated by note-taking and in particular by placing information under the headings: who, what, where, when and how. When information is classified under these headings it acts as a cue that enables the reader to construct partial images of previous events or to recall details that might otherwise be overlooked. It is important not to confuse facts with opinions and to clearly preface opinions with ‘I believe’, ‘I think’, ‘In my view’ or similar words. Memories can be triggered from several sources and it is useful to include both visual and verbal aids when revising for an examination. Revision tools include spider diagrams that expand on a central idea, coloured highlighting of related topics, flash cards with questions and answers, as well as mnemonic devices (small rhymes), such as ‘I before e except after c’, that aid spelling, for example.
F Nerves play a big part in public speaking. Despite this, an impromptu speech can be delivered effectively if the speaker is knowledgeable in the subject matter and sounds enthusiastic. Slide presentations are a popular means of delivering a speech. Typically, a 15-minute talk can be linked to a sequence of 30 slides, lasting 30 seconds on average. Each slide contains a few key elements that serve to cue the memory towards the necessary detail. It is essential to make a solid start, in which case it is advisable to memorize the opening lines of the speech by practising it out loud several times. The slides should link naturally so that the talk never sounds stilted. It is not necessary to memorize the speech word for word. All that is necessary is for the speaker to be familiar with the content of the slide and to develop the speech from the key words. It is advisable to record the speech on a dictaphone and then to play it back to check the continuity and duration.