Your Memory is Rubbish....It doesn't have to be!
One area that is lacking in skills taught for the executive protection field is memory. Several things I have come across mention memory only in passing or even mention instead to “take notes” because no one has a perfect memory. To an extent no, no one has a perfect memory. However, that shouldn’t negate the importance of training one’s memory skills to match the level of every aspect trained in this field.
I’ll put this into perspective for those who might not see its importance. Imagine that you are on a protection detail of some sort, you see a suspicious character that needs keeping an eye on. However, said suspicious character moves out of your line of view, and now you have to communicate with your colleagues what the character looks like and why you pegged them as suspicious. But… you can’t remember what color shirt he wore, what his face looked like, or if he appeared to have a weapon. It was too instinctual to be aware of the main details for others to use. These memory lapses are things that many people, even those outside of the EP industry, struggle with. They are filtered out of our memories and perceptions because something as simple as shirt color, hair color, or facial features, etc., are such ordinary things that are presented to us in so many different forms on every individual we encounter throughout our day that our brain no longer registers them as important. Therefore, remembering these small details is considered more difficult than if you were seeing the suspicious person in the example walking backward as smoothly as if they were walking forward and headed into an area where they had no business. This scenario is much more memorable because it stands out in the mind. One does not normally see people just walking backward with ease, so the brain pays more attention to it.
The smaller details, such as colors or size or even just who is around said suspicious person, can be just as vital as the 'bigger' details. So, one thing that is vital to train would be how to pay attention to these details so that our brain chemistry does not filter them out as being of little importance. Several approaches could aid in this.
One of these approaches includes simple practice. Walk around during the day and consciously choose to pay attention to things such as the colors of clothes or specific facial features of those around you. Some examples of additional items to consciously pay attention to would be what type of watch someone has on, how they style their hair that day versus how it was done yesterday, what kind of shoes they are wearing, do they have any jewelry on… were they wearing that yesterday, etc., etc., etc. These are simple games you can play with the people you are around daily, and they will get you in the habit of consciously paying attention to the smaller details that the memory might normally filter out. I must stress that this is just to serve the creation of habits around noticing more. That's all. You are not looking to do anything with the data, merely acknowledging that you know it should the situation change gears.
Another approach is the use of mnemonic devices and training your memory in other ways that seem like games but apply to real-life scenarios. The Major system as well as the Journey and Method of Loci systems are great, easy access starting points. The Major system is a method of number memorization that turns numbers into short words. Once you have the hang of the number system, you can use it to memorize important dates or appointments, layouts, client interaction information and pretty much anything else that may arise as part of your work. Wait about a full 24 hours before writing that appointment down. Eventually, you will find that you don’t need to write them down at all anymore; you will have it all built into your head. The cascade of personal awareness and control over one's state is huge. Not to mention being able to put the most informed footstep forwards, all the time.
While this is cool, how does it apply to executive protection work? The short answer is that because you are engaging “memory muscles” that you may not have engaged before, you will find it easier to apply the same cognitive abilities to scenarios like I began with. Once you bring the memory into the conscious awareness, you have already done half of what needs to be done to start remembering more than you ever thought possible.
This is just the beginning of what the memory is capable of. Imagine that after a bit of training, you have a repeat client who hires you, and you can recall certain behaviors and tendencies of said client that could be problematic from months before without having to consult notes that may or may not exist. You would be able to troubleshoot potential problems during that detail that are specific to the client’s behaviors much more easily if you have those memories readily available. Now, imagine that that client is going to the same place as they were last time. Do you remember the staff? What they looked like? Who is new and a potential problem? What were the behaviors of the staff at said imaginary place? You would also be able to be more aware of threats in this respect because you were paying enough attention to get the brain to remember and not filter out information.
In conclusion, it is our memory is a vital aspect of the EP industry and shouldn’t be dismissed as something to be aware of, but that no one is perfect at it, so just take notes instead. Of course, physical notes are also invaluable in specific situations, but that doesn’t mean that the memory has to fail.
