These tools help you to improve your memory. They help you both to remember facts accurately and to remember the structure of information.
The tools are split into two sections. Firstly we will discuss the individual tools that you can use to remember information. Secondly we discuss how to use them in practice to remember people’s names, languages, exam information, etc.
As with other mind tools, the more practice you give yourself with these techniques, the more effective your use of them will be. This section contains many of the memory techniques used by stage memory performers. With enough practice and effort, you may be able to have a memory as good. Even if you do not have the time needed to develop this quality of memory, many of the techniques here are useful in everyday life.
Mnemonics
'Mnemonic' is another word for memory tool. Mnemonics are methods for remembering information that is otherwise quite difficult to recall. The basic principle of mnemonics is to use as many of the best functions of your brain as possible to store information.
Our brains evolved to code and interpret complex stimuli such as images, colors, structures, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, positions, emotions and language. We use these to make sophisticated models of the world we live in. Our memories store all of these very effectively. Unfortunately information we have to remember is almost always presented in only one way - as words printed on a page. While language is one of the most important aspects of human evolution, it is only one of the many skills and resources available to our minds.
This chapter of Mind Tools will show you how to use all these resources.
Using Your Whole Mind To Remember
By coding language and numbers in striking images, you can reliably code both information and the structure of information. You can then easily recall these later. You can do the following things to make your mnemonics more memorable:
- Use positive, pleasant images. The brain often blocks out unpleasant ones
- Use vivid, colorful, sense-laden images - these are easier to remember than drab ones
- Use all your senses to code information or dress up an image. Remember that your mnemonic can contain sounds, smells, tastes, touch, movements and feelings as well as pictures.
- Give your image three dimensions, movement and space to make it more vivid. You can use movement either to maintain the flow of association, or to help you to remember actions.
- Exaggerate the size of important parts of the image
- Use humor! Funny or peculiar things are easier to remember than normal ones.
Similarly rude rhymes are very difficult to forget! - Symbols (red traffic lights, pointing fingers, road signs, etc.) can code quite complex messages quickly and effectively
Designing Mnemonics: Imagination, Association and Location
The three fundamental principles underlying the use of mnemonics are imagination, association and location. Working together, you can use these principles to generate powerful mnemonic systems.
Imagination: is what you use to create and strengthen the associations needed to create effective mnemonics. Your imagination is what you use to create mnemonics that are potent for you. The more strongly you imagine and visualize a situation, the more effectively it will stick in your mind for later recall. The imagery you use in your mnemonics can be as violent, vivid, or sensual as you like, as long as it helps you to remember.
Association: this is the method by which you link a thing to be remembered to a way of remembering it. You can create associations by:
- placing things on top of each other
- crashing things together
- merging images together
- wrapping them around each other
- rotating them around each other or having them dancing together
- linking them using the same color, smell, shape, or feeling
