Memory Techniques
Michael Glenister
Basic Principles
•
Basic Principles
• Visual Memory is much more powerful than
Verbal Memory
Basic Principles
• Visual Memory is much more powerful than
Verbal Memory This is why it is much easier
to remember a person’s face than their name
Basic Principles
• Visual Memory is much more powerful than
Verbal Memory This is why it is much easier
to remember a person’s face than their name
• Unusual things are much easier to remember
than mundane things
Basic Principles
• Visual Memory is much more powerful than
Verbal Memory This is why it is much easier
to remember a person’s face than their name
• Unusual things are much easier to remember
than mundane things
• It is easier to remember two things than just
one.
Basic Principles
• Visual Memory is much more powerful than
Verbal Memory This is why it is much easier
to remember a person’s face than their name
• Unusual things are much easier to remember
than mundane things
• It is easier to remember two things than just
one. Essentially one can remind you of the
other.
Now a little demo...
Hook Technique
• Used to memorize information given in any
order to be recalled in any order
Hook Technique
• Used to memorize information given in any
order to be recalled in any order
• Uses a ‘hook’ that represents the number of
them item to be memorized and links that
hook to the item by some kind of action
(usually)
Hook Technique
• Used to memorize information given in any
order to be recalled in any order
• Uses a ‘hook’ that represents the number of
them item to be memorized and links that
hook to the item by some kind of action
(usually)
• When an item is not easily made into a visual
image, use something that sounds like or
reminds you of that item
Hook Technique
• There are many forms of hooks, eg. rhyming,
pictorial, and mneumonic
• However you should come up with hooks that
work for you. If a hook doesn’t make sense to
you, then it will make recalling it and
consequently that item very difficult
Rhyming Hooks
1 = gun
2 = shoe
3 = tree
4 = floor
5 = hive
6 = sticks
7 = heaven
8 = plate
9 = vine
10 = hen
While easy to remember, this is limited to 10 items
since it’s hard to rhyme fourteen, fifteen, etc.
Pictorial hooks
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pencil
Swan
Tricycle
Table
Star
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Elephant
Jackknife
Snowman
Balloon on a stick
Bat & ball
This can be continued as far as desired, eg. 11 =
pair of skis, 12 = clock, 13 = baker’s dozen, etc.
Mnemonic hooks
• These require mastery of a technique linking
consonant sounds to numbers. While
challenging to learn, the technique offers you
to develop hooks to over 1000
Eg. 1 – toe
6 - jaw
2 – neigh
7 - key
3 – ma
8 - fee
4 – ray
9 - pie
5 – law
0 - saw
Example – Digestive System
Pencil
Swan
Tricycle
Table
Star
Elephant
Jackknife
Snowman
Balloon/Stick
Bat & ball
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Example – Digestive System
Pencil
Swan
Tricycle
Table
Star
Elephant
Jackknife
Snowman
Balloon/Stick
Bat & ball
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Mouth
1
Example – Digestive System
Pencil
Swan
Tricycle
Table
Star
Elephant
Jackknife
Snowman
Balloon/Stick
Bat & ball
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Mouth
Esophagus
2
Example – Digestive System
Pencil
Swan
Tricycle
Table
Star
Elephant
Jackknife
Snowman
Balloon/Stick
Bat & ball
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Mouth
Esophagus
Stomach
3
Example – Digestive System
Pencil
Swan
Tricycle
Table
Star
Elephant
Jackknife
Snowman
Balloon/Stick
Bat & ball
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Mouth
Esophagus
Stomach
Small Intestine
4
Example – Digestive System
Pencil
Swan
Tricycle
Table
Star
Elephant
Jackknife
Snowman
Balloon/Stick
Bat & ball
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Mouth
Esophagus
Stomach
Small Intestine
Large Intestine
5
Example – Digestive System
Pencil
Swan
Tricycle
Table
Star
Elephant
Jackknife
Snowman
Balloon/Stick
Bat & ball
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Mouth
Esophagus
Stomach
Small Intestine
Large Intestine
Rectum
6
Example – Digestive System
Pencil
Swan
Tricycle
Table
Star
Elephant
Jackknife
Snowman
Balloon/Stick
Bat & ball
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Mouth
Esophagus
Stomach
Small Intestine
Large Intestine
Rectum
Anus
7
Example – Digestive System
Pencil
Swan
Tricycle
Table
Star
Elephant
Jackknife
Snowman
Balloon/Stick
Bat & ball
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Mouth
Esophagus
Stomach
Small Intestine
Large Intestine
Rectum
Anus
Liver
8
Example – Digestive System
Pencil
Swan
Tricycle
Table
Star
Elephant
Jackknife
Snowman
Balloon/Stick
Bat & ball
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Mouth
Esophagus
Stomach
Small Intestine
Large Intestine
Rectum
Anus
Liver
Gall Bladder
9
Example – Digestive System
Pencil
Swan
Tricycle
Table
Star
Elephant
Jackknife
Snowman
Balloon/Stick
Bat & ball
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Mouth
Esophagus
Stomach
Small Intestine
Large Intestine
Rectum
Anus
Liver
Gall Bladder
Pancreas
10
Now its your turn...
Pencil
Swan
Tricycle
Table
Star
Elephant
Jackknife
Snowman
Balloon/Stick
Bat & ball
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Link Technique
• This technique is for remembering things
given in order, and to be recalled in order
Link Technique
• This technique is for remembering things
given in order, and to be recalled in order
• This is much like constructing a movie, frame
by frame, where you visually link each item to
the next item by some kind of (unusual) action
Link Technique
• This technique is for remembering things
given in order, and to be recalled in order
• This is much like constructing a movie, frame
by frame, where you visually link each item to
the next item by some kind of (unusual) action
• You might even find this easier to do with your
eyes closed (just try not to fall asleep...)
Link Technique
We’re going to try to memorize this list of
apparently unrelated words. Most people
would just read the words to themselves over
and over, and consequently would only
remember the first few and the last few.
Happy face, books, cassettes, golf course,
aerobics class, tank, boy scout, pool cue,
model, bag
Link technique
Imagine a happy face on the board
Link technique
Imagine a happy face on the board
Now link it using a weird action to books
Link technique
Imagine a happy face on the board
Now link it using a weird action to books
Now to
cassettes
Link technique
Imagine a happy face on the board
Now link it using a weird action to books
Now to
cassettes
golf course
Link technique
Imagine a happy face on the board
Now link it using a weird action to books
Now to
cassettes
golf course
aerobics class
Link technique
Imagine a happy face on the board
Now link it using a weird action to books
Now to
cassettes
golf course
aerobics class
tank
Link technique
Imagine a happy face on the board
Now link it using a weird action to books
Now to
cassettes
golf course
aerobics class
tank
boy scout
Link technique
Imagine a happy face on the board
Now link it using a weird action to books
Now to
cassettes
golf course
aerobics class
tank
boy scout
pool cue
Link technique
Imagine a happy face on the board
Now link it using a weird action to books
Now to
cassettes
golf course
aerobics class
tank
boy scout
pool cue model
Link technique
Imagine a happy face on the board
Now link it using a weird action to books
Now to
cassettes
golf course
aerobics class
tank
boy scout
pool cue model
bag
Now its your turn...
Actually those words weren’t random
They are suggestions for self-improvement
Happy face = smile
Tank = Be thankful
Books = read
Boy Scout – help others
Cassettes = listen
Pool Cue – no exCUsEs
Golf Course = take courses
Aerobics class = exercise
Model = Have good role models
Bag – “in the bag” Take pride in your achievements
Link Technique
• The neat thing about the link technique is that
it works forwards and backwards
Link Technique
• The neat thing about the link technique is that
it works forwards and backwards
• It can also be extended indefinitely. As long as
your links between items are strong, you could
do 100’s or 1000’s of items
Link Technique
• The neat thing about the link technique is that
it works forwards and backwards
• It can also be extended indefinitely. As long as
your links between items are strong, you could
do 100’s or 1000’s of items
• Using the mnemonic/number technique some
people memorize pi to hundreds or thousands
of decimal places...why? Good question...
Hook + Link Technique
• The real power of these two techniques is
putting them together. With practice and
preparation, you can memorize a page of
notes in about 5 minutes
Hook + Link Technique
• The real power of these two techniques is
putting them together. With practice and
preparation, you can memorize a page of
notes in about 5 minutes
• The hook technique organizes things in a
specific order. Each hooked item then
becomes the beginning of a linked chain of
keywords about that item
Example – Digestive System
Pencil 1.
Example – Digestive System
Pencil 1. Mouth
Example – Digestive System
Pencil 1. Mouth -> Mechanical digestion ->
Teeth -> Chemical digestion -> Saliva -> etc.
Swan 2.
Example – Digestive System
Pencil 1. Mouth -> Mechanical digestion ->
Teeth -> Chemical digestion -> Saliva -> etc.
Swan 2. Esophagus
Example – Digestive System
Pencil 1. Mouth -> Mechanical digestion ->
Teeth -> Chemical digestion -> Saliva -> etc.
Swan 2. Esophagus -> Peristalsis
Tricycle 3.
Example – Digestive System
Pencil 1. Mouth -> Mechanical digestion ->
Teeth -> Chemical digestion -> Saliva -> etc.
Swan 2. Esophagus -> Peristalsis
Tricycle 3. Stomach
Example – Digestive System
Pencil 1. Mouth -> Mechanical digestion ->
Teeth -> Chemical digestion -> Saliva -> etc.
Swan 2. Esophagus -> Peristalsis
Tricycle 3. Stomach -> Pepsin -> HCl -> Mucus...
Example – Digestive System
Pencil 1. Mouth -> Mechanical digestion ->
Teeth -> Chemical digestion -> Saliva -> etc.
Swan 2. Esophagus -> Peristalsis
Tricycle 3. Stomach -> Pepsin -> HCl -> Mucus...
And so on...
And now the moment
You’ve all been waiting for:
Memorizing Names
Memorizing Names
• Unfortunately this one takes a bit more work
• You can improve your own recall without
using the following technique just by paying
more attention when you meet someone for
the first time. Focus on the person, and
repeat their name back to them. In other
words show an interest, rather than “Hi, nice
to meet you, I’m...”
Memorizing Names
• Make a mental note of something that stands
out to you on the person’s face, eg. nose,
eyes, eyebrows, etc. Hair often changes, so it
isn’t always a good choice.
• Visually link the facial feature to an object, or
objects, that reminds you of the person’s
name.
Example = Me
• Perhaps my nose stands out to you
Example = Me
• Perhaps my nose stands out to you
• My name is Michael, or Mike
Example = Me
• Perhaps my nose stands out to you
• My name is Michael, or Mike
• It sounds like mic (or microphone)
Example = Me
•
•
•
•
Perhaps my nose stands out to you
My name is Michael, or Mike
It sounds like mic (or microphone)
So imagine my nose is, or has hanging from it,
a microphone
Example = Me
•
•
•
•
Perhaps my nose stands out to you
My name is Michael, or Mike
It sounds like mic (or microphone)
So imagine my nose is, or has hanging from it,
a microphone
• Next time you see me, you’ll see the nose, and
be reminded of the microphone, and
remember my name is Michael
Common names/Images
• Obviously Inderjit is harder to memorize than
John, but:
Adam = a dam
Barry = berry
David = sling
Harry = hairy
Alice = lace
Barbara = barber
Heidi = hide
Marie = merry
Yes, it takes effort...
• In a classroom setting, I get my class lists
before I meet my class. So I spend a few
minutes writing my images beside each
students name. That way I can use them
when I take attendance the first time, or give
the class busywork, and go around meeting
each student individually
• Nothing like their expressions when you name
everyone correctly 15 minutes into class
Some other examples
Barry
Graham
Barbara
Eric
Julie
Wendy
Steve
Heidi
Can you name them?
Now lets try the entire class
For your interest:
• The mnemonic consonant/number system is as follows:
0 - s, z, soft-c - remember as 'z is first letter of zero'
1 - d, t, th - remember as letters with 1 downstroke
2 - n - remember as having 2 downstrokes
3 - m - has three downstrokes
4 - r - imagine a 4 and an R glued together back-to-back
5 - L - imagine the 5 propped up against a book end (L)
6 - j, sh, soft-ch, dg, soft-g - g is 6 rotated 180 degrees.
7 - k, hard-ch, hard-c, hard-g, ng - imagine K as two 7s
rotated and glued together
8 - f, v - imagine the bottom loop of the 8 as an eFfluent
pipe discharging waste (letter image of F in
alphabet system)
9 - p, b - b as 9 rotated 180 degrees.
Example
• So if you wanted to remember a number, say
604-588-4721
Example
• So if you wanted to remember a number, say
604-588-4721
• This corresponds to the consonants
sh s r l f v r c n d
Example
• So if you wanted to remember a number, say
604-588-4721
• This corresponds to the consonants
sh s r l f v r c n d
• Add vowels to create
shoes-rail-fever-candy
Example
• So if you wanted to remember a number, say
604-588-4721
• This corresponds to the consonants
sh s r l f v r c n d
• Add vowels to create
shoes-rail-fever-candy
• Use link technique to memorize them in order