How to Absorb Everything You Hear
Podcasts, audiobooks, and the “University of YouTube” contain a treasure trove of on-demand knowledge in our fast changing world. But what’s the point if you forget everything in just a few hours?
In this video, I demonstrated how I get the most of what I hear by real time mapping a 40-minute interview. If you don’t have time to watch the whole thing, I recommend clicking through the timestamps for my thinking process. This is how I train to become a deeper active listener in real life not just for podcasts.
Here are some key points from the video:
Get a basic understanding of the talk’s structure and contents before the video even begins by mapping the description and speaker bio.
Rephrase key phrases and words in terms that I understand. I’m not writing entire paragraphs, but rather just the parts that resonate with me. This is the art of abstracting a small collection of powerful words to summarize big ideas that I’ll get into in future posts.
Imagine you’re having a coffee chat with the speaker. Ask yourself whether you (dis)agree with what the speaker’s saying. Drill down into things that don’t make sense to you.
Bold any definitions of key concepts. This will help you understand the nature of what you’re learning. In my video, I learned that LinkedIn is consumer focused (users read and consume content far more than they create) on practical, inspirational and emotional content whereas Twitter is creator focused (everyone can write 140-280 characters) on pithy philosophical ideas. This understanding has profound impact on my content strategy for each platform.
Relate new concepts to what you already know to increase comprehension and recall. I’m always asking myself how what I’m learning relates to my existing body of knowledge and experiences. For example, I see the LinkedIn audience as MMN members who post in Tactical Masterminds (one of our discussion channels) whereas Twitter folks to be Strategic Nerds and Sensitive Poets. This clarifies who I’m targeting on each platform and solidifies my new learning.
Make the most of your mind maps
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