Preserving Knowledge and Effective Communication (Part Two)

This is the second article in a series for companies aiming to implement effective and positive communication and enhance employee training for sales and meeting situations.

Why do employees tend to forget what they learned in workshops?

Forgetting is completely natural. There isn’t a clear statistic on how much information is lost during your workshop and how much disappears afterward because people are simply different. Some are more likely to remember than others. However, there are certain reasons why people forget. Learning expert Will Thalheimer wrote a list—not exhaustive but indicative—explaining that people forget because of:

1. Type of material being learned: Stories are easier to remember than direct facts, and information closely related to employees’ work is easier to retain than information unrelated to them.

2. Learners’ prior knowledge: People who have basic knowledge about a topic remember better than those who know nothing at all.

3. Learners’ motivation to learn: The willingness to learn increases your ability to remember.

4. Effectiveness of learning methods used: For example, having people assist you by giving feedback is better than trying to learn alone.

5. Contextual cues in learning and recall situations: As mentioned earlier, it’s much easier to remember from stories and examples.

6. Time allocated for learning and retention: How long the material is studied matters.

7. Practice time: You will remember longer if you periodically review and practice the material.

It’s understandable to feel frustrated when people don’t follow instructions initially, but the truth is that humans generally don’t have very strong memories.

This article was translated by Omnia Mahmoud.

Published on Pitcherific.