One of the most impactful pieces of information I learned in my education in business has been the level of retention you have of information you are exposed to.

I am struck by the number of videos, podcasts and audios many of my clients listen to, however, when I ask them how many they have implemented, they quickly look down and admit to very few.

The issue, of course, is that there is a very clear correlation between what you read, hear, see and then do to the level of how well you have learned or remembered that particular topic.

This was postulated way back in the 1920’s by Edgar Dale and has been further refined and quantified since then. His pyramid or “Cone of Experience” as he presented it is shown below in modified form (he originally didn’t have percentages assigned):

In summary, people remember:

• 10 percent of what they READ
• 20 percent of what they HEAR
• 30 percent of what they SEE
• 50 percent of what they SEE and HEAR
• 70 percent of what they SAY and WRITE
• 90 percent of what they DO.

So next time you read an article, listen to a podcast or audio, or attend a webinar or seminar, just remember you will only retain up to 50% of what you’ve been exposed to if you don’t do anything else. To really learn, re-write what you’ve heard into your own notes AND then take some action and apply what you’ve learned to a real-life scenario.

It is only through using all levels of the Cone of Experience that you can maximise the likelihood of retaining what you’ve learned.

One of the biggest impacts I have found with my coaching is to have clients actually implement changes – whether they are behavioural and leadership changes, or business efficiency changes. And then doing this consistently.

So next time you read or listen or view something, write some notes and take action to help you retain and remember what you’ve learned…then let me know how it goes for you and whether it’s worked out better than in the past.

Of course, if you have trouble taking action and maintaining it, then seek some outside support through an accountability partner or a mentor to keep you on track.