Trying to get through a boring document? Need to read something that disinterests you or puts you to sleep? Content that must be consumed and internalized isn’t always the most exciting to ingest. If you’ve ever had to review a contract or enter into an agreement with an agent for instance, no doubt you relate to this sentiment! When you need to read and retain information, here are three ways that you can have your cake and eat it, too.
1. Engage the theater of the mind. Many people say that they could listen to Morgan Freeman read the phonebook. What if you could and didn’t have to pay a dime? We’ve all seen clips of people narrating other people’s lives, chronicling commonplace observations and detailing the mundane aspects of their subject’s daily life. That approach can be somewhat obnoxious, so we’re going to stick to simply hearing narration in your head while reading silently.
Pick a celebrity you admire whose voice you know well and have him/her “read” the document to you. Maybe you even have a favorite character in mind who is up to the task. Just last week I called upon the voice of Ioan Gruffudd in his role as William Wilberforce in “Amazing Grace.” The text was delivered in my mind as if Wilberforce himself were championing it in parliament. The added currency of the British accent made the read more palatable and helped reinforce its gravity.
2. Sound it out. If you are good at doing impressions, another way to make a dull piece of text interesting is to speak it out in the voice of someone else. Read the text in a famous actor’s voice.
Don’t be afraid to sound silly! Part of the fun is exploring what your voice can do. Even if the imitation you produce is poor, to say the least, what really matters in this case is that you’re engaging different parts of your brain and internalizing the information in a way that engages you. Why stop at celebrities? If you can do voices of characters from cartoons, employ those skills to liven up your study period or document review.
3. Put it to music. Do you find it easy to remember the lyrics of a song? If you had any experience singing in a choir and were required to memorize a text set to music, you know how deeply that piece can reside in your mind and your heart. Songs you sang decades ago may be imprinted on your memory as if they were learned the day before.
Sometimes singing through a text for the sake of singing can help. Singing will not only challenge you creatively, it will also keep you awake! The amount of oxygen you’ll take in as you sing and the happiness singing brings will release endorphins. These physiological changes make whatever it is you’re having to take in content-wise more relevant to you and as a result, more memorable.
Whatever you choose to do, remember that content is king. Finding interesting and meaningful ways to engage less-than-interesting yet necessary content is part of your responsibility in order to excel. Who’s on your roster of voices? Cast a voice and let them go!
Like this advice? Check out more from our Backstage Experts!
