一天40分鐘打造你的超級記憶力

It is said that for memorization purposes, there are forty minutes each day in which our memory is vastly more receptive than it is during the other 23 hours and 20 minutes. This 40-minute “super memory” period is divided into two parts: the 20 minutes before we sleep, and the 20 minutes after we first awake.
據說想要有效率的背誦，必須知道人在一天之中有40分鐘記憶力最強，接收能力超過其餘23小時20分。而這“記憶超強”的40分鐘又可以分爲兩段：臨睡前的20分鐘和醒來後的20分鐘。

The theory supporting this is pretty simple. First, the last information you input into your brain before a good night’s sleep has a better chance of taking root than information acquired during the hustle bustle of normal daily routine; and, second, your mind is free of distraction when you first awake in the morning — so more receptive to inputs, like a blank slate.
要用理論證明這個說法十分簡單。首先，在進入夢鄉前把信息植入腦海比在白天亂哄哄的情景下更容易紮根；其次，早晨醒來精力不容易分散，就像空白的石板，更容易銘刻下輸入的信息。

As far as language study goes, it’s not only useful for memorizing vocabulary. It’s also a very useful window of time in which to listen to the language you’re studying, even as background noise, and even if it’s at a level you find difficult to comprehend. It might be audio language study aids, or just radio, TV or whatever.
在語言學習方面，這個方法不僅對背單詞有幫助，也可以成爲鍛鍊聽力的最佳時段，即使只是作爲做其他事的背景音樂聽，即使你所聽的材料超過了你的理解能力，你也會受益良多。你可以聽外語聽力材料、廣播、電視音響或隨便其他什麼。

Beyond our years of formal education, memory skills are hugely important in any career.
記憶力除了上學必需外，在各行各業中也很重要。

How many times have you heard a speaker read their speech from a prepared text, or read the word-by-word content of a powerpoint presentation as they present each slide?
你聽過幾個演講者會照着寫好的稿子念，又見過幾個人在做演示時會逐字逐句地朗讀每張幻燈片的文字？

These are annoying, distracting, boring, and ineffective ways of communicating. They are almost guaranteed to lose the audience’s close attention and interest, let alone persuade or inspire anyone to do anything. And yet lots of people still make this mistake.
這樣的溝通方式令人厭煩、不能吸引注意、枯燥乏味、效率低下，保證會讓聽衆興趣索然，味同嚼蠟，根本就無法說服或激勵聽衆採取行動。但仍有很多人會犯這樣的錯誤。

If you use the “forty minute” technique, you may not succeed in memorizing your presentation contents on a 100% word-by-word basis, but you’ll be familiar enough that you can spend much more time making eye contact with your audience. You will engage them in the process, while glancing at your text instead of staring at it. This will also free up your hands and arms to add some emphasis through gesture.
運用“40分鐘”技巧，也許你並不能一字不落地背誦演示稿，卻可以充分掌握內容，從而留出更多時間與聽衆進行眼神交流。你可以讓觀衆參與其中，抽空兒再掃一眼屏幕，不用緊盯不放。你還可以解放胳膊和雙手，增加一些手勢，以示強調。

The technique really works, but like many things, it takes practice and discipline to hone and perfect it.
這個辦法真的很管用，但和其他很多事一樣，也需要練習和自律才能日臻完美。