How To Improve Memory And Recall Lists

How To Improve Memory And Recall Lists

Suppose you need to shop for groceries and you need the following food:

Eggs
Bread
Bacon
Cheese
Milk

How can you remember this list without writing it down in a piece of paper? For short lists of different objects, the most effective method of recalling objects is to associate the words and combine them to create a chain such as:

Eggs-Bread-Bacon-Cheese-Milk

Then, visualize some funny story in your mind so that the items on the list will be linked together. As an example, picture yourself entering the grocery with a bag in your hand. Start with the bag because it is a list for grocery it will be hard to think immediately of eggs. Someone appears from thin air, gave you an egg and disappeared again. Awed, you took the egg and put it in the bag. It cracked and made a horrible mess. This mess is a striking image in your mind that will emphasize the idea of eggs. Then the next person came and handed you some bread, because of the egg mess it is not wise to put the bread in the bag so you just hold it in your hand. You tied it in a string and it swirls while you walk.

Now this story will be quite long, however you should keep in mind that you agree not writing this story on a piece of paper, you are just creating it inside your mind, which is a lot quicker. In fact it is more vivid that some fine details will be very helpful in recalling the list later. The more ways you experience an event such as appearance, smell or shape will help you to remember it vividly.

Now back to the story. From out of nowhere, you spotted bacon on the sidewalk as you are walking and you stepped on it. Now the bacon is so greasy and some of the grease messed up your feet. Next, you also spotted a cheese on the grass, and you also stepped on it. Now you have a grease and cheese slime in your feet. When you are at the store, there is no wash room or water, so you just used milk to clean your feet.

Now, that is a funny story. Have you noticed that we haven’t used the grocery bag at all? If we did, we might find ourselves making similar sequences and it will be very dull. Our story is very funny that you can now stop, look away from this article and think through the whole story again and you can tell it in your own words. You can try it again tomorrow and see if you can still recall the story.

Our grocery list is just easy to remember than longer lists that can go about 50. If you forget a word in the middle of the list, the chain is now broken and the whole sequence will not be good. If you also want to recall the 34th president of the United States- its useful if you memorized the names in proper order of their service, which means that you also have to remember the first 33 presidents.

Also, you can memorize longer lists using the peg word system. This system use peg words such as common terms that are pegged to a number from 0 to 9 to help a person in recalling items on the list.

BONUS : How To Improve Memory And Remember Peoples’ Name

In order to remember the name of a certain person, you need to add variation to an existing method that you use to recall information for an exam or to retain the telephone number of your mom. If you are really serious in getting on the top of remembering people’s name and also to improve your memory and increase your brain’s capacity to recall information, you can do the following methods:

1. Face Relation

This method is a slight variation of the Link Method. The Link Method is one of the most popular mnemonic that are employed in improving memory. You can use it by making simple relation between items in a roster or a list, combining them with a clear image containing a certain item. Taking the first picture, images a relation between it and the other object. Then you can move on through a list thinking each object with the next. A variation of this technique is very similar, combining items together with a significant story. The flow of the tale and the emphasis on the picture will give you clue for recalling needed information.

You can observe a person’s face but do not be very obvious that you need to stick your eyeball in front of that person’s face. You should look at a peculiar feature that would let that person stand out from the rest such as forehead, mouth, ears, hair, and waistline, chin or skin complexion. Create a relation with another person you know with a similar name. Also, it could be also related into a rhyme or imagery of the name with that person’s name or distinct character.

2. Rehearsal

This method is a slight variation of the Roman Room System of recalling information. This technique is also known as Method of Loci, which is an ancient yet effective way of recalling data where it is concretized.

To use this method, picture a room that you are familiar with such as a bedroom, office or kitchen, within these rooms are items. Relate images symbolizing the names you want to recall with the objects in that room, imaging a certain object and the related images.

This technique can be effective in helping a person to memorize names by going into a more specific detail and encoding data to remember what you need.

When you are being introduced, ask for that person’s name again. Use this name always and try to recall it over and over again. If it is comfortable with both of you, ask how he or she spell the name or you can also ask for a business card. You should remember that the more you hear or encounter the name, the more it will be recalled by your brain.

Alternatively, after your encounter with the person is over, you can recall the name in your mind for a few times. If you are definitely keen you might also write it down in your notes.

These methods in recalling names are definitely simple and obvious, but they are proven to be very effective. Association with pictures or strange words with a person’s name can be very beneficial. Repetition and association will help you a lot.

It is also important if you keep to practice, patience, and memory improvement employing different techniques.