| A Quick Word Helps to Remember | | | | horn - come to mind. |
| Do you have a list you have to remember quickly? | | | | Of course, it's unlikely that you'll ever have to |
| Take the first letters and form an acronym. | | | | remember a list of words such as this, but the point |
| For example - you have to remember to send Fred, | | | | is not to be afraid to create the absurd. It works. |
| Lisa, Ethel and Andrew cards. Yes, their first initials | | | | Longer Lists |
| form the word FLEA. Imagine itching (your head?) | | | | What if you have an extremely long list of items to |
| because you have a flea - you know the first letters | | | | remember? Try breaking it down into more suitable |
| of their names. | | | | sub-chains and apply the same rules as above. Better |
| Going to the supermarket? Bread, butter, ketchup, | | | | still - see if you can organize the list better, put similar |
| onions, tuna, olive oil- BBKOTO. | | | | or like items together. Are you able to form |
| Not too promising? Try rearranging them - you have | | | | acronyms from any of the items? Can you separate |
| TB BOOK. Think of a book going through the last act | | | | the list in such a way that the acronyms form words |
| of 'Camille' - dying of consumption. Silly? Yes. But | | | | and then you can combine these words? Remember, |
| remember - the sillier the better, it will force it to | | | | the more ridiculous the thought - the stronger the |
| stay in your head. Now you have all the letters. | | | | impact and the better it will stay in your memory. |
| If you don't have enough letters to form a word - | | | | It helps if either the acronyms or the associations |
| try to find one that comes close. | | | | you create can form mental images. What you can |
| PROMPT for PRMT, FAULT for FLT and so on. You | | | | see in your mind is very strong and the stronger |
| already know the items you're have to remember, | | | | something is, the better you can play with it and the |
| what you are trying to do is create a reminder - | | | | easier it will be to remember. What may be difficult |
| once your memory is jogged, the words will come | | | | at first will come with practice. |
| back. | | | | Sketching the Details |
| When you are devising the acronym, remember to | | | | Visualization is a very strong skill. Try thinking in |
| picture the items visually in your head, visualization is | | | | pictures and forms. When you have to remember |
| a strong memory technique. | | | | directions - use a series of arrows to lay out the |
| Forming A Story | | | | route. If you have to remember the blood flow in |
| If you have a longer list of seemingly unrelated items, | | | | the body - wouldn't it be easy to lay out a diagram |
| that automatically becomes a good candidate for a | | | | of the heart, lungs and other organs and then add |
| story. | | | | arrows to point the direction? Wouldn't that be easier |
| For example: | | | | to remember than a simple word description? |
| -Glass | | | | Associate a certain shape with a certain organ and |
| -Horn | | | | then it becomes even more vivid. |
| -Cat | | | | Relate the Facts |
| -Onion | | | | If a piece of information doesn't relate to you, then |
| -Melon | | | | try finding something about it that does. For example, |
| These words may be unrelated, but that is the point | | | | the human body has 60,000 miles of blood vessels. |
| - you can combine them easily with a story that will | | | | Kind of hard to believe? Think that that means ten |
| be outrageous enough it will stay in you head - | | | | round-trip drives between Los Angeles and New |
| change the order if necessary - | | | | York and it will take on meaning. |
| A cat is playing with a melon and all of a sudden it's | | | | Do you have to remember the physical dimensions |
| repelled by the smell of an onion that was used to | | | | for a room or a field? Compare it to something you |
| season the melon. The cat got all excited and ran | | | | know already. If you're a sports fan, chances are |
| away - racing through a glass window and landing | | | | you can picture the size of the playing field. How |
| inside a big French horn. | | | | does that compare to the space you are trying to |
| It's silly and childish - but that's the point, it's silly | | | | remember - bigger smaller, would it fit into a football |
| enough to be remembered. Think the story through | | | | field - how many times? |
| and the key words - cat - melon - onion - glass - | | | | |