How to Memorize Anything (10 page)

Now try to visualize it again in your mind in detail and see if you can recall all 10 words. I am sure if you have visualized all the associations well, you would have been able to recall all 10 words.

Let’s make this task a little more challenging. I am going to give you
5 more words
to be added to the list Read each word slowly and while reading, visualize the first word and link it with the last word in the above list i.e. laptop. Then read the next word and associate it with the previous word, while visualizing it in a funny way, exactly as we did in the above list. Do it till all 5 words are associated. The words are:

SPIDERMAN

TUNNEL

TARZAN

STONES

PAINTING BRUSH

HINT:
Start by associating Spiderman with the last word Laptop in a funny way. After doing this exercise, try to recall all 15 words in a sequence while visualizing the associations in your mind. You can also try recalling in reverse order.

Now you have learnt how to use the principle of AIR practically to memorize a list of 15 words in a sequence. Using the same technique,
we can succeed in remembering a sequence of even a hundred words!

Thus we can go on associating any two items in a fantastic, imaginary way. The objects to be remembered are linked to one another, forming a chain, and that is why this method is called the
CHAIN METHOD.
In this method, the first object is linked to the second, the second to the third and so on. This is also called the
STORY METHOD
as we sometimes weave a story about the things to remember.

This chain method or story method is the most commonly used memory technique and is very easy to understand and use. This method can be useful for memorizing
shopping lists, points of presentations, answers
and many other important things from our day-to-day life. We will elaborate on this more in the next chapter.

Points to remember:

At any point of the association, always work with just two words at a time. If you remember, while memorizing those 15 words, I first associated
book
with a
black rabbit
. Once I did this, I didn’t think of the word ‘book’ any more. I proceeded to the next pair of words, i.e.
black rabbit
and
swimming pool
. Again, once I did this, I stopped thinking about the rabbit and simply associated my next pair of words, i.e.
swimming pool
and
mangoes
.
At any given point, I was only working with associating two words at a time.

When you are a beginner in memory techniques, it’s very natural to create a story connecting all the words.
For example
, let’s say you imagined your associations like this:

As you opened the
book
, you saw a picture of a
black rabbit
in the
swimming pool
. The
black rabbit
came out and started eating a
mango
. From the
mango
, there appeared a
yellow bird
.
The black rabbit
starts playing with the
yellow bird
.

Though this might seem okay at the moment, you will find it difficult to recall the words in the same sequence later on.

See what will happen?

When you think of the word ‘book’, it immediately reminds you of a black rabbit. When you visualize black rabbit, what comes to your mind? It may trigger off thoughts of one or more of the three things (swimming pool, mango, yellow bird). When you think of swimming pool, does it remind you of the next word mango? Chances are that it doesn’t.

Now check it for yourself. In my original associations, the word book is
only
linked with the black rabbit. Further on, the black rabbit is linked with a swimming pool which is further linked to mangoes…and so on, resulting in recollection without any confusion.

In a Nutshell:
Always link two words at a time when using the chain method. The first word should be linked only to the second, the second only to the third and so on. The first word should not be linked again to the fourth. Likewise, the second should not be linked to any other word except the first and the third.

HOW TO MAKE STRONG ASSOCIATIONS?
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Sometimes people say that ‘
we are not good at imagining things’ or ‘cannot make as strong an association between words as you make’
. They claim that they tend to recall better when they remember using my associations or when I make them visualize an association.
I would say it’s just the opposite
.

Just think of how well you remember the story of your favourite movie, starring your favourite actor. Sometimes you can recall each scene of the movie as well as its dialogues. Now think about a movie where
YOU
are the actor, director, producer, editor, and dialogue writer.
Can you forget the movie?
It’s just not possible. Similarly, it’s not possible for you to forget the visualization you have created yourself.

It is important to know that
you can associate two things in whichever way you want.
There is no set track for making associations. In fact, whenever you try to associate two words, most of the time more than one association will come to your mind. Try to choose the one that seems most illogical and ridiculous, something that does not happen every day. For e.g. if you have to associate two words
‘book’
and
‘house’,
you can visualize different associations between the two. For instance,

1. A house is made up of books instead of bricks.
   
2. A house is full of books.
   
3. As you open the book, a big house came out of it as a gift for you.
   
4. A big book is the foundation of a house built on it.
   
5. A book full of pictures of different types of houses.
   

Try to think of many other such associations. Write two sample associations below:

KEY POINTS FOR BETTER VISUALIZATION

Usually we are taught to think logically, and here I am telling you to make illogical or ridiculous pictures. I know some of you might face problems in the beginning in making up ridiculous pictures in your mind. Let us help you in this matter by sharing simple rules of AEIOU:

A: All senses

E: Exaggerate (think out of proportion)

I: I (myself)

O: Outstanding

U: Use colours and action

1. A:
   All senses
   —Try to visualize the picture or association with all your senses. Make it as alive as possible. The more the numbers of senses we use, the deeper forms the impression in our brain. Your association should be visualized in the form of clear images, including sound, smell, touch, and taste, if possible.
   For example
   , if we have to make an association between a bed sheet and roses, there are two ways of doing it. One, you just imagine a bed sheet with roses printed on it or second, you can imagine the bed sheet in more detail—the roses start being real, the room is full of its mesmerizing
   smell
   , their petals are
   soft
   to touch, etc. If you go by the second way, you are more likely to remember it for a longer time because when we involve more senses, that information is stored in more parts of our brain, resulting in a deeper impression and a better recall.
   

   M
   AXIMIZE THE
   U
   SE OF
   S
   ENSES
   

   Let’s say, you are
   listening to a recipe on the radio
   . You will try your best to pay attention to it so as to not miss anything. Here you are using only one of your senses, i.e.
   ears
   .
   

   Now, let’s assume you are
   watching a cookery show
   on television. There you can see the details of preparing the dish like for how much time you have to cook the vegetable to make it equally tender or if you are making a batter then how much consistency should it have etc. Here you are using two of your senses—
   eyes and ears.
   

   Now visualize yourself
   attending a live cookery class
   . There you can actually feel the texture of the ingredients. You can feel and learn how hard or soft the dough should be, how coarse or fine the puree should be, you can smell the aroma while listening to each instruction and observing each step carefully, and finally you can taste it too.
   

   In your opinion, in which case from the above would the learning be better and faster and you will be able to retain the method for a longer period of time?
   

   Obviously in the third case because you are taking in the information using all five senses.
   

   To sum up, we have to use most of our senses while imagining things for effective memory.
   

   While associating a Book with a Black Rabbit, I asked you to visualize the thickness of the book, feel its weight, and see the black rabbit in action, growing in size. Visualize its colour, its shine of the skin, feel of the skin, and then finally the action of jumping out from the book and challenging you to catch him. So you made use of three of your senses: sight, touch, and hearing. That helps you feel the moment as real, as if you are a part of this event and bringing in three dimensions and movement to an image makes it more real.
   

2. E:
   Exaggeration—
   Visualize the objects in an exaggerated or out of proportion manner, especially in size or quantity.
   For example
   , visualizing so many yellow birds in the sky or one elephant-sized yellow bird makes more impact on the brain as compared to a single normal-sized bird.
   
3. I
   :
   Myself—
   Imagine that you are given photographs of a party that you attended some time back. Who will you look for in the photographs? Obviously yourself! Most of the time we are interested only in our self, i.e. ‘I’ or something associated with ‘I’. So the picture that you are going to imagine should include you, doing some action. That is why, while imagining the list given above, I asked you to visualize yourself holding a book—
   you
   are touching the horse’s mane,
   you
   went to sit on the horse, or
   you
   caught the laptop.
   
4. O:
   Outstanding
   —Try to visualize an image that is strange, odd, different from normal, outstanding, or silly. Our brain has a tendency to remember peculiar things.
   
5. U:
   Use colours and actions in your image
   —Would you like to see a black and white TV or a coloured one? Involvement of colours makes the picture unique and interesting. In the same way, action makes images appear more interesting compared to static images, that is why I used action while visualizing the list.