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How To Get 2x The Amount Of Information From Videos

Videos are one of my favorite ways of learning. Especially for doing hands on stuff but for lectures as well. I think YouTube like Amazon provides a great service allowing you access to more information and knowledge than you could ever know what to do with. You can listen to some of the greatest minds share their information through video as well as get conferences that you would have had to pay big bucks for, for free. I am all about making the most out of anything that is presented to you.

Video is no exception. So how does one go about getting twice the amount of information from videos than usual? Well it has to do with the way that the mind works are some cool features on YouTube (and I-Tunes podcasts as well). While when you are driving or caught up in something that requires your attention this hack won’t be as effective for every other time it can be both a time saver and increase your knowledge at a quicker rate. And as we know anything that helps us save and improve our greatest assets, is worth a look.

The Mind

Your mind is capable of absorbing much more than you can alone. Meaning your conscious mind is only aware of a little of what is being transmitted into your mind. In addition to that through focus you can increase the information that you conscious mind draws in. Think of the difference between someone who has to observe people for a living (say an interrogator or detective) observing someone and the average person observing someone. If you asked the detective what the person was wearing, what color their hair was, or any other feature they’d probably be able to give you a pretty accurate answer.

The same could be said of the interrogator if you asked was the person blinking a lot, did they seem nervous, were they making eye contact, and so on and so forth. Meanwhile the average person would have a hard time remembering the person’s name much less any other feature. It’s because the detective and interrogator’s minds have been trained to be more observant through time. Likewise your mind can be trained to absorb more information at a faster rate. Here’s how.

It’s All About Speed

Most videos now have an option where you can run a video at 1.25, 1.5, or 2x speeds. I started experimenting with the speeds to see how much of the information I could still get even at increased speeds. I started out a 1.25 speed and couldn’t even tell a difference. Even when writing things down. Then I increased it to 1.5 speed. Again my mind had no problem with keeping up with and retaining the information. This was a good writing speed as well. I found that I could get in much more information in a much shorter time period with this increased speed.

I know listen to all podcasts I listen to at 1.5 speed and get annoyed when I listen on regular speed as it seems like they’re talking in slow motion. My mind is ready to move on to the next thing and is waiting for the speakers to catch up. Now when you are not distracted by anything (as I often am when listening to my podcasts) I listen to recordings or watch videos at 2x speed. My mind has absolutely no trouble keeping up. This may be something you have to build up to but it’ll be much quicker than you think.

Get Double The Information

Now I can listen to an hour long presentation in a 30 minute lunch break. At first I thought there is no way I could be able to retain the information at that speed but it has had absolutely no effect on either my understand or what I retain other than I get double the amount of information in the same amount of time. Which increases me learning greatly, obviously. Using this will allow you to learn about and master subjects at a much faster rate. Information is the basis on which much of growth is based. Information followed by action.

Start out at 1.25 speed trust me you’ll get bored with it sooner rather than later. Then move up to 1.5 speed this is great if you doing other things while listening such a menial tasks. Eventually you want to go 2x speed when you are watching the video alone and have nothing else distracting you. I find this still allows for note taking if you have your document open next to the video or pen and paper at the ready. Granted sometimes you’ll have to rewind but at 2x speed that’s no problem.

If you have any questions you would like to see answered in a future post send them to me at charlessledge001 (at) gmail (dot) com. If you found value in this post then I would encourage you to share this site with someone who may need it as well as check out my books here. I appreciate it. You can follow me on Twitter here.

-Charles Sledge

Charles Sledge

4 Comments

  1. Hey Charles thanks for sharing this golden information. Never thought of it, I ran through a video on RSD at 2.0 and some others ones. In under 20 minutes…fast.Your right, your mind has no trouble keeping up or retaining the information.

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