Anthony Metivier's Blog, page 18

How to Remember The Planets: A FAST & Simple Method

The center of our solar system is the sun. Moving out, we encounter…

Mercury. Venus. Earth…

But wait. There’s more than one planet that starts with M.

What’s the difference between Uranus and Neptune?

And what the heck happened to Pluto?

If you find yourself wondering how to remember the planets, you’re in luck.

When you need to know how to remember the planets in order, there’s an easy (and fun) way to memorize them.

You can use an acronym or acrostic. But I recommend using the Memory Palace technique or method of loci.

Why?

There’s no perfect mnemonic for the order of the planets
You can use the planets themselves AS a memory palace!

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s look at what this post will cover:

Eight Planets, Or Nine?

Acrostic or Acronym to Remember the Planets?

What Else Can You Use as a Memory Palace?

Ways to Remember the Planets with Ars Combinatoria

Solar System Mnemonics

Make a Memory Palace With the Planets in Order

What Are the Best Ways to Remember the Planets?

Ready to remember the planets in order? Let’s get started.

Eight Planets, Or Nine?

Back in 2006, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet.

You might not think something as simple as a planet at the very edge of our solar system could be a source of outrage, but the reclassification ruffled feathers around the globe.

According to NASA, “Pluto isn’t considered a planet because it hasn’t cleared the neighborhood around its orbit of other objects.”

So let’s just say – whatever your opinions, thoughts, beliefs, or fantasies about what a planet is or isn’t – that Pluto isn’t a planet. We’ll leave NASA in charge of the classification and leave the Pluto question out of today’s discussion!

The good news is, the techniques in today’s post can extend to any and all astral bodies.

And if you want to go even further, you can combine the power of the Major Method and using Memory Palaces to memorize vocabulary to memorize anything in our sky.

These techniques will work for you whether you want to memorize:

The order of the planets in our solar system,
Stars, moons, and dwarf planets,
Spacecraft, astronauts, and astronomers, or
Celestial bodies in galaxies far away.

And if you want to learn more about our solar system, I highly recommend The Planets — a companion book to the BBC series. According to the publisher, “Andrew Cohen and Professor Brian Cox take readers on a voyage of discovery, from the fiery heart of our Solar System to its mysterious outer reaches.”

Now let’s look at one of the first ways people usually learn the planets in order.

Acrostic or Acronym to Remember the Planets?

For the purposes of today’s post, we’ll stick to memorizing the order of the primary planets in our solar system, in order from closest to furthest away from the sun.

What if you could take a “backpacking” tour of the solar system as part of your quest to understand how to remember the planets in order?

Or, you could use an acronym to remember the planets… but MVEMJSUN isn’t a very sensible one, right?

Instead, what if you used an acrostic? An acrostic is a poem or composition that uses certain letters in each line to form a word. So for our planets, we might see acrostics like:

My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles.

A fun brain exercise is to think of as many different acrostics as you can using the first letters of each planet.

Quite frankly, I think acronyms and acrostics are not good ways to remember the planets. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense, in my view. And I believe we can do better!

I think that we can do it in a way that allows us to turn what we do to memorize the order of the planets into a memory palace.

In fact, it’s not just the planets you can use to create a memory palace — let’s look at your other options.

What Else Can You Use As a Memory Palace?

In the image below, we supposedly see Giordano Bruno looking out beyond the known solar system to imagine all the stars that lay beyond.

Photo credit: Flammarion woodcut of Giordano Bruno

I particularly enjoy the work and writing of Bruno, and have incorporated him into a series about the Art of Memory on YouTube.

His book De Umbris Idearum and Ars Memoriae: On the Shadows of Ideas & the Art of Memory (as well as other works) talk a lot about the stars and the constellations, and how to use them as memory palaces.

If you go on to read The Hermetic Art of Memory by Bruno’s student Alexander Dicsone, you’ll discover a means of using the mansions of the moon as Memory Palaces.

In part two of the Art of Memory playlist, I show you the quote where Bruno essentially tells us (here I’m paraphrasing), “My solutions are just examples. Go your own way. Make your own mnemonic examples. You don’t have to memorize what I have memorized or use my tools…”

And if you really want to understand The Art of Memory you do need to understand something about the stars, what Bruno may have done with them, and what this practice is all about.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

Our takeaway from him is that we can use whatever symbols or objects we want in order to create a memory palace — so why not include the solar system as a memory palace to remember the planets in order?

As we’re preparing to use the solar system to create a memory palace, we also need to discuss mnemonic devices for the planets. And this requires a little bit of discussion of Ars Combinatoria.

But what’s that? Let’s see.

Ways to Remember the Planets with Ars Combinatoria

Ars Combinatoria translates to the “art of combination.” If you do a bit of research about it, you’ll find this definition on Wikipedia:

“All concepts are nothing but combinations of a relatively small number of simple concepts, just as words are combinations of letters. All truths may be expressed as appropriate combinations of concepts, which can in turn be decomposed into simple ideas, rendering the analysis much easier. Therefore, this alphabet would provide a logic of invention, opposed to that of demonstration which was known so far.”

We won’t dive too deep into Ars Combinatoria today, because it’s what I would call hidden-lost.

Bruno was fascinated with the Catalan philosopher and theologian Ramon Llull (c.1232–1316) and some of the apparent contradictions around Ars Combinatoria. But without a time machine to go back and talk to these great philosophers, we get to reconstruct how they came about their discoveries.

Instead, let’s look at something called the “coach effect” as an example.

You can see this in lots of realms — sports, screenwriting, etc. The coach effect is that sometimes people are experts at getting performance out of other people, but can’t do it themselves.

For example, when I was a story consultant it always amazed me how the best story consultants could get paid a million dollars to tell you what to fix about your screenplay… but they couldn’t write a screenplay to save their lives.

They’re story mechanics who understand the topic so deeply but can’t operate on the other side of the pen.

There is probably no other way for anybody to achieve the highest possible level except through Ars Combinatoria. If you’re feeling a bit lost with these concepts, be sure to sign up for the free memory masterclass to get the base knowledge necessary to be successful.

Next, let’s work on the first step of our solar system memory palace: mnemonics.

Solar System Mnemonics

In our efforts to learn the planets in order (and make a memory palace out of them) let’s start with the planet closest to the sun and work our way out into the solar system.

Mercury

The closest planet to the sun is also the smallest. And the sunlight there would be up to seven times brighter than we’re used to here on earth!

Buildings of the Campus Pierre & Marie Curie, Paris, France

So how can we use Ars Combinatoria to help us turn Mercury into the first station of our memory palace? What magnetic imagery can we use to help us remember?

One way is to think of Madame Curie.

Maybe they’re working on a cure. MerCURy.

Venus

Have you heard the current debate about whether scientists have discovered signs of life on Venus… or if it’s just a weird chemical reaction? Whichever side of the debate you’re on, let’s look at our mnemonic example.

“I’m your Venus.

I’m your fire.

At your desire.”

The song by Dutch Rock band Shocking Blue can help you remember the second planet from the sun.

Earth

Did you know that the Earth is the only planet not named for a Greek or Roman deity? Instead, the germanic word earth simply means, “the ground.”

When you want to remember our home planet Earth, how about visualizing an ear?

Who has ears? Turns out, most living things “hear” in some way or another. But one sticky way to remember an ear is to think about our friends with giant ears — the rabbit.

Mars

Here on Earth, we have earthquakes. But did you know that Mars also has seismic activity? They’re called – not surprisingly – Marsquakes.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

One of the first things that comes to mind when I think about the Red Planet is Martians. And one of the most famous Martians is… Marvin the Martian. If you can hear his voice in your mind, even better!

Jupiter

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is large enough to swallow the Earth — measuring about 9,800 miles across.

Let’s switch primary colors, from red to blue, and think about juniper berries.

Juniper is obviously not Jupiter, but it’s aurally similar. Plus, if you know Amphitryon (an early Latin play by Plautus) then you know that Jupiter comes down to impregnate Alcmena, and Alcmena’s child is Heracles — and this is the story of the virgin birth many, many years previous to the story of the other virgin birth.

But even if you’re not familiar with ancient Roman theater, it’s still easy to remember juniper = Jupiter, right?

Saturn

Titan is Saturn’s largest moon — large enough, in fact, to have its own atmosphere. The writers at Astronomy.com even went so far as to pose a thought experiment: since an airtight spacesuit is not a necessity on the satellite, what would Titan smell like?

Turns out, “a bouquet of musky sweetness, bitter almonds, gasoline, and decomposing fish would likely fill the air.” Yum.

The Arch of Titus, Rome, Italy

For our purposes, let’s turn to something closer to our home planet. In Titus Andronicus (a Shakespearian tragedy) there’s a character named Saturninus who is Son of the late Emperor of Rome. Saturninus is a gloomy, saturnine character, very full of “Saturn” visual imagery.

And if you haven’t read or seen Titus Andronicus, I highly recommend it. It’s wonderful for a mnemonist — full of dramatic imagery you can use for your memory palaces.

Uranus

Fun fact about the 7th planet… it’s tilted so far on its axis that it basically orbits the sun on its side. This odd orbit means seasons on the planet are extreme and last for about 20 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN_AC...

I know a lot of people might make jokes about Uranus… but for the purposes of our memory palace, we’ll think about Israeli-British illusionist Uri Geller and his spoon-bending illusion.

He’s a great example of mnemonic imagery because he’s larger than life and filled with conflicting emotions. You can have cognitive dissonance with people like him, which makes him perfect for your memory work.

Neptune

Our eighth and final planet (sorry, Pluto) is Neptune, which has one large moon. Triton appears to be an object captured out of the Kuiper belt — and it almost destroyed the entire Neptunian system in the process of getting captured.

While there are a few conceptual abstractions you could use to remember the final planet, let’s keep it simpler.

Remember the Nebuchadnezzar, the hovership Morpheus captains in The Matrix? You can use the Nebuchadnezzar (nicknamed the Neb) to help you remember Neptune — maybe the scene where the Sentinels are attacking the ship.

Now you have all your solar system mnemonics in place, let’s look at how to turn them into a memory palace.

Make a Memory Palace With the Planets in Order

You could make a memory palace with the planets in a number of different ways, but today we’ll put them into a two-room memory palace to keep things simple.

You can even turn each of the planets into what’s called an “eternal station” so that any time you need assistance to help you remember something, you have imagery ready to go.

In the Magnetic Memory Masterclass, I give you better ways to think about this and there are also some drills in the Card Memorization course based on this thinking. Although card memorization seems like an unrelated skill, it actually helps you develop a number of abilities that are useful across the board.

For example, it helps you deal with repetitive words and ideas, as well as information types that have several units of meaning gathered together.

In the image above, you can see each of the planets in their own corner of the memory palace. The whole point of the Art of Combination and memory techniques is your ability to get something going because you’re prepared in advance.

It’s a very fun and simple way you can learn how to remember the planets. When you have a memory palace (or two) you can keep your eternal memory palace open so you can work with it for the rest of your life. Whenever you want to memorize more things, you have images you can work with and tie together.

So where do we go from here?

What Are the Best Ways to Remember the Planets?

In the end, the best way to remember the order of the planets is to use the method that will work best for you — and the one you’ll stick with!

You might decide to use a memory palace or learn how to memorize playing cards. Maybe an acrostic will work best for you. It’s up to you to experiment and find out.

And if you want to learn more about how to create and use a memory palace, be sure to check out my free memory improvement kit. With the memory palace technique, you can memorize pretty much anything you want!

How to Remember the Amendments in 3 Easy Steps

If you need to memorize the 27 Amendments to the American Constitution, you’re probably thinking it’s going to be a lot of work.

Instead of indulging in overwhelm, consider the following fact:

For thousands of years, people have been using memory techniques to commit far more than 27 pieces of information to memory.

In fact, there are people alive today who have committed entire books to memory — including the Constitution itself!

So if you’d like an easy way to memorize the amendments, today’s your lucky day. There are at least three ways to do it, and I’ll reveal all on this page by covering:

1. The number rhyme system

2. The pegword system

3. The Memory Palace technique

Let’s get started.

1. How to Memorize the Amendments Using a Number Rhyme System

Number Rhymes are very basic and visual, which is why they work so well. Basically, you will associate each number with an object or person.

For example:

1 is a bun

2 is a shoe

3 is a bee

4 is a door

5 is a hive

The trick is to make sure you make each rhyme and image much more specific than an abstract old bun.

For example, I think of the buns you used to get with Kentucky Fried Chicken when I was a kid. (I don’t eat fast food anymore and haven’t for over a decade to protect my memory. I eat these foods that improve memory instead.)

To create a number-rhyme system, get out a piece of paper and make a rhyme for each digit. Make sure you think about specific shoes and bees that you have a special connection with.

Then, when you think of the first amendment, which discusses “Freedom of Religion, Assembly, Petition, Press, Opinion, and Speech,” imagine that specific bun you’re thinking of with a gag on it while it’s trying to give its opinion.

If “one is a bun” doesn’t work for you, try RhymeZone for ideas. You might choose the sun, or combine a bun with the sun. For example, you can imagine your opinionated bun having his rights burned up in the sun.

Let’s try the second amendment: “The freedom to bear arms.” You have to admit that it’s pretty unforgettable to imagine your favorite pair of shoes signing its application forms to purchase a new handgun.

What about something a bit more abstract, such as the third amendment: “No military in your home except in wartime”? Provided you have some specific bee or bees in mind, this should be no problem.

For example, I think of The Bee Movie, starring Jerry Seinfield. I have him and a swarm of bees dressed as soldiers trying to enter my home. I meet them at the door with the third amendment to remind them they’re not allowed here.

Is this method the best?

It certainly is effective because it tells you the number of the amendment, but it’s also a bit random. It’s also relying solely on the strength of two levels of association: a rhyme and an object or cartoon character.

But what if you have to memorize the exact amendment word for word?

We’ll get to that with the Memory Palace technique, but first, let’s consider a similar alternative to the number-rhyme approach.

2. How to Remember the Amendments with a Pegword System

Pegwords are very similar to number-rhymes. It’s just that there’s no rhyme and people tend to use the alphabet.

For example, let’s say you’re memorizing the fourth amendment, “No unreasonable searches or seizures.”

Let’s use the letter D and assume that we’ve covered the first three amendments with A, B, and C. With this approach, you assign a person or object to each letter.

For example:

A = Al Pacino (insisting he has the right to speak freely)

B = Ben Kingsley (registering for a firearm)

C = Cookie Monster (refusing the military entrance into his home.

For the fourth amendment, you might assign Dracula to the letter D and imagine him explaining to a cop that he has the right to be free from search and seizure without good reason.

If we assign E and Ernie from Sesame Street to the fifth amendment, you could have him almost incriminating himself and then catching himself just in time.

Can you spot the weakness with this technique? It has all the same problems as the number-rhyme approach — but in this case, you have to know the number of each letter of the alphabet.

That said, you could combine the two. In fact, if you did, you would quickly learn the number of each letter of the alphabet.

For example, if you decide that six is drumsticks, you could have a philosopher like Michel Foucault for the letter F in your association. He could be pounding away on drums and chanting that he has “the right to a speedy and public trial.”

If you would like lists of all my images for number-rhymes and the alphabet, please see my post on using the pegword method.

3. Using The Memory Palace Technique to Remember the Amendments

A Memory Palace is probably your best bet. It will allow for a few things:

It helps you have a “canvas” for leaving your images so you can find them later
You can remember the number of each station by using a number-rhyme
You can use Recall Rehearsal to harness the serial-position, primacy, and recency effect to get all of the amendments into long term memory rapidly

To create a Memory Palace, draw a home or office where you have space for more than 27 different items. This is important in case you need more space.

For example, if you want to memorize the amendments verbatim, you’ll notice that some are much longer than others.

Personally, I would probably link together two or more Memory Palaces for this task, as I have done in this illustration of one of my favorites.

This Memory Palace has more than enough room for all the amendments. I actually think of it as three separate Memory Palaces that just happen to be linked. Magnetic Stations 1-9 are one Memory Palace, 10-20 another, and 21-33 the final MP.

I know all of this can be a bit overwhelming to learn in one goal, so please consider getting my training program. It’s free!

Let’s take a look at a few more examples.

Memory Palace Example for the Amendments

We’ve already covered the first six in this tutorial, so let’s imagine that we’ve got them covered and start with the seventh amendment on station seven.

Station seven is the elevator in a building. It says that Americans have “the right to a trial by jury in civil matters of $20 and over.”

In this elevator, I would imagine Oliver Sacks handing a twenty-dollar bill to a jury of my peers.

Why Oliver Sacks? Because he’s my symbol for 07 using a 00-99 PAO (Person Action Object) system. It’s a bit more advanced than number-rhyme and alphabet memory systems.

It’s built from something called the Major System or Major Method. Basically, you pair every digit from 0-9 with a consonant. Then when you put two digits together, you make a word.

Here’s a handy chart that lays out the system:

Since 0 = s and 7 = k, I chose the word “sack.” Since that’s a bit limp and lame without an actual reference, I landed upon Oliver Sacks to make the association more concrete.

Then, when I needed to memorize the eighth amendment, I would simply proceed to the next station in the Memory Palace and use the symbol for 08 to memorize “The right to fair fines and bail. No cruel and unusual punishment.”

(08 = Shiva in my system but there are many other options.)

But what if you need ways to remember the amendments line for line?

How to Memorize The Amendments Verbatim

So far, I’ve described ways to memorize the amendments that will give you the gist of each one. But what if you need an easy way to remember the amendments all word-for-word?

No problem!

In fact, it’s with verbatim memorization that the Memory Palace technique really shines. Because you have a lot of space, you can make an image for each and every word.

For example, my image for 09 is memory expert Brad Zupp. The ninth amendment is “Individual Rights. Rights that are not in the constitution are still rights delegated to citizens.”

I might imagine that Brad is a Star Wars character who feels “individual” about his rights. To remember specifically that the next sentence starts with “rights,” I would imagine the Wright brothers from NoMeansNo playing on a knot instead of a stage to remember, “Rights not…”

Then I would have the Dell computer logo crashing down on a poster for the movie, Citizen Kane.

Listen, these images might make zero sense to you. Your mind is probably filled with a completely unique set of popular culture images.

But the principles behind these techniques are the same: You make a word-by-word association and lay out the mental imagery on a wall or along some kind of journey.

How to Remember The 27 Amendments For the Long-Term

Now you might be thinking, “Hang on, memory man! All that associating… it’s going to take forever!”

Actually, it won’t.

Studies have shown that using flashcards will get you about a 44% retention rate, whereas using the elaborative encoding process I’ve just shared should get you a rate of 85%.

That rate will go up or down depending on your willingness to experiment with the techniques.

But it’s not just about making these funny associations. You also need to actively recall each of the amendments. For that, the Memory Palace helps you do this in a highly refined way.

First, I suggest you encode only 5-10 at a time. Then, visit each one in a strategic pattern:

Forward and backward
Start at the end and move to the beginning
Start in the middle and move to the end
Start in the middle and move to the beginning
Skip the stations (i.e. recall 1, 3, 5, 7, then 8, 6, 4, 2, etc)

Why go to all this trouble? Because this harnesses the power of serial positioning, the primacy effect and the recency effect. Without it, you’re likely to only remember the first and last amendments you place in the Memory Palace.

FAQ: What About Flash Cards and Spaced Repetition Software?

You certainly can use these, but I would recommend you still have a Memory Palace and the association process in the mix.

One way or the other, the brain needs active recall to learn and it’s so much easier when you have a Memory Palace and associative imagery in the mix. You don’t have to take my word for it either. Memory expert, neuroscientist, and memory athlete Boris Konrad will offer you similar setup steps.

Now, we know from his autobiography that Benjamin Franklin sought out better forms of memory. And we also know that he was a staunch defender of the freedom to speak your mind.

And he also wrote this about how he committed certain styles of writing to memory:

“I took some of the papers, and, making short hints of the sentiment in each sentence, laid them by a few days, and then, without looking at the book, try’d to compleat the papers again, by expressing each hinted sentiment at length, and as fully as it had been expressed before, in any suitable words that should come to hand.”

This is an important clue to our final lesson:

If you really want to get all 27 amendments locked permanently in your memory, write them down from memory. Literally test yourself and use active recall.

First, call the Memory Palace back to mind.
Then call back the association you made.
Finally, allow the association to bring back the target information.
Then write it down.

You don’t have to recall it in order. If you can’t think of one immediately, simply move on to the next that you can and troubleshoot later.

Troubleshooting All The Ways To Memorize the Amendments

It’s very unlikely you’ll get through the process without making a mistake.

The trick is to learn from our mistakes.

If you miss a word, or an entire amendment, calmly assess the situation.

Were your associations concrete enough? Again, I suggest you always push yourself to make it more specific.

For example, if you use heaven for seven, ask yourself: Is “heaven” really a concrete image in your mind? Can you use characters from Highway to Heaven to make it more immediate? Or do you know a friend or celebrity named Evan you can use?

Likewise when it comes to a Memory Palace. If you can’t remember which spot comes next, you need to remove the self-criticism and dispassionately assess the situation.

Have you spent enough time creating a proper Memory Palace? Have you completed the free course offered on this site to help you through it?

Is Any Of This Really Quick And Easy?

Yes!

I’ve seen people memorize far more than this amount of information in just days. It just comes down to a willingness to learn the techniques in a spirit of experimentation.

Of course, some people get the knack for it faster than others. But anyone with skills enough to read this page can also memorize as much information if they want. And they can even learn to use memorization techniques to go much faster.

But even if it takes a bit longer, so what? It’s the amendments we’re talking about — well worth it!

In sum, it’s an incredible journey to memorize a list so central to the freedoms promised by one of the greatest nations on earth. My hat’s off to you for committing yourself to it and if you have any questions, just post them below.

Kevin Trudeau’s Mega Memory: A Complete Review

If you’re looking for a review of the Mega Memory program, you probably just want to know: Does it work?

The answer is yes and no.

If you’re a beginner, this book will almost certainly help you understand the basics of association and develop a peg system.

If you’re an intermediate user of memory techniques, it might give you a few insights.

If you’re an expert mnemonist, it probably won’t add much to your skillset. But you might find it useful and interesting for historical purposes. You can also consider it a chance to review core concepts and potentially think about the memory techniques from another angle.

But will it “work”?

No.

And that’s because memory techniques are not things that do anything. It’s people who put the techniques into use.

Just as no machine or dumbbell at the gym builds any muscle until the owner of the muscle puts the weight into motion, no memory technique does anything unless you put it to work.

When you put any memory training to work, you can almost certainly expect:

Better memory
Increased focus and mental clarity
Boosts in confidence

But it’s you who does the work to learn the techniques and put in the practice. (How could it be otherwise?)

With this core principle in mind (one that is true of all memory courses on the planet), let’s take a deep dive into what Mega Memory is and think about whether or not it’s worth your time.

Here’s what this post will cover:

Mega Memory by Kevin Trudeau: Everything You Need to Know

What is Mega Memory?

What Mega Memory Covers

Who is Kevin Trudeau?

Mega Memory Review: Can It Help You With Memory Improvement?

Let’s get started.

Mega Memory by Kevin Trudeau: Everything You Need to Know

First, we’ll clarify what exactly Mega Memory is (and is not).

What is Mega Memory?

It’s important to know that there are multiple versions of this memory training. These include:

Multiple print editions
Multiple audio editions (Mega Memory and Advanced Mega Memory)

Some of the audio editions may or may not include:

A workbook
A pocket guide

In this review, I’ll be referring to the print and audio editions.

For all intents and purposes, they are essentially the same. The audio program has the benefit of the speaker’s enthusiasm and asides, though some listeners may find these aspects tedious and even grating.

The book opens with a very important list of acknowledgments and thank yous.

I point this out because the creator, Kevin Trudeau, never claims to have invented or even innovated any of the techniques taught in the book. Instead, he places himself in the position of the learner, which is what all of us should strive to be for the course of our learning lives.

Unfortunately, many reviewers often state that there is “nothing new here.” Such assessments are problematic for two reasons:

If you don’t know these techniques, they are definitely new to you.
There are innovations to the memory techniques all the time. Individual readers might not be able to spot them due to a lack of context.

It’s dangerous to pay attention to such reviews because you simply don’t know what you don’t know.

This raises the question: What can you expect to know about memory after you go through Mega Memory?

What Mega Memory Covers

The program opens with tips on how to make the most out of the learning experience. You are given ground rules, which are generally good to follow for many courses of study.

These pointers include:

Go through the lessons in order
Study in short blasts
Take breaks
Schedule your practice
Remove distractions
Do not eat before reading or practicing

Trudeau also asks you to self-test your “teachability.” This is important because some people just aren’t willing to do what it takes to get results from memory improvement courses.

This point links to an insight given by David Berglas in A Question of Memory. In this book, Berglas describes memory not as a “unitary mechanism” or thing — instead, memory is a behavior. It is something we do and how we do memory matters a great deal.

Next, you’ll learn:

How to make associations
How to chain associations together (sometimes called linking)
Creating and using the pegword method
Creating various lists that amount to using your body and home as a Memory Palace
Applications for the memory techniques including , numbers, vocabulary, and spelling
How to memorize playing cards

You also get lists of words for stimulating what amounts to your own 00-99 object list based on the Major System.

You also get an extensive “name guide” to practice with — something that might be useful for even the advanced practitioner who wants to practice in a park without the distractions of a smartphone or other device that goes online.

Who is Kevin Trudeau?

Unfortunately, many people missed the opportunity to learn from this book due to a few colliding issues:

According to Wikipedia, the FTC required Trudeau to stop marketing Mega Memory using infomercials. He made claims about photographic memory that are obviously false because photographic memory isn’t real. (Many uninformed members of the public have learned a false definition of eidetic memory as well, compounding the problems of gullibility in the market.)
Trudeau was sent to prison for a variety of reasons, including contempt of court.
Many people make the ad hominem fallacy that because of these troubles, the memory training Trudeau produced must be suspect or in some way inferior.

As mentioned above, Trudeau hasn’t created any of these techniques or introduced anything “new.” It’s impossible for his behaviors to reduce the value of the techniques because they were never his in the first place.

Will Kevin Trudeau enter the memory market again when he gets out of prison? It’s hard to say, but a recent report tells us that he’s been in touch with a judge to try and figure out how he’ll survive once he’s a free man again.

Mega Memory Review: Can It Help You With Memory Improvement?

The beginner who reads the book or completes the audio program thoroughly should walk away with a solid set of memory skills to practice.

If you follow the program and bring your own information you need to memorize, the book should deliver what it claims. But if you struggle, that’s no reason to panic. The next book or program will help fill in any gaps you still have — as will practice.

When you’re ready for more, I’d suggest some of these Memory Palace books. Frankly, I don’t think anyone should hang their success on just one book or course.

In philosophy, you wouldn’t expect to understand Aristotle after reading just one book, and it’s not reasonable for most people to expect to understand everything after completing Mega Memory.

In fact, as you’ve seen, Trudeau himself lists several teachers he’s benefited from.

The fact of the matter is this:

Who you choose as your teacher does make an impact. You need to connect with their voice (written or spoken) and the level of detail they bring needs to connect with where you currently stand with your skills.

Whereas some aspects may be too pedestrian for you, others may be too challenging. This is normal.

Some people will interpret Trudeau’s enthusiasm on the audio version as “hype.” A more charitable interpretation is to recognize that these techniques do take some effort and many people lack initiative, energy, and even the courage to take action.

As one reviewer on Goodreads named Philip puts it, Trudeau “could charm a bird into paying for flying lessons. It is great to experience as rhetoric alone.”

This comment is apt because memory techniques have historically been connected to the art of persuasion. I demonstrate this with reference to the marketing of memory in detail in my analysis of Rhetorica Ad Herennium:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3rts...

Fortunately, memory is not as tough a sell as it used to be, given the success of the World Memory Championships, Moonwalking with Einstein, and various specials like Memory Games on Netflix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gve0Y...

But even with all of these wonderful and encouraging demonstrations of the absolute validity of memory techniques for each and every one of us, many still need the tools of persuasion to get started and keep going with the practice.

At the end of the day, Mega Memory is probably best considered as a product for beginners. But there’s no guarantee you’ll put in the effort needed to get the results. This means that the decision is not whether it “works” or not.

There’s an abundance of evidence going back thousands of years that memory techniques are effective. This means that the real question is whether YOU are going to learn and practice the techniques.

As I often like to say, carpe diem but caveat emptor. If you can get your hands on Mega Memory, I’d say you’ll do just fine and be able to spot patterns with how other memory training products can help you out.

Perceiving the patterns could itself be the boost you need to start applying the techniques consistently.

So what do you say? Is this a training you want to try? Or have you already gone through it and put its presentation of the techniques into action?

And if you want a more in-depth look at how you can use memory techniques to improve your memory, pick up your free copy of my memory improvement course today!

How to Visualize Clearly And Effectively: 7 Proven Tactics

If you want to know how to visualize clearly and effectively, you probably already have a vision statement written.

You have written out a vision statement by hand, haven’t you?

If the answer is “no,” then I’m here to tell you that your visualization is neither clear nor complete. And that means you’re still struggling to achieve your goals.

If you’re still not living the life you want, study this page carefully.

You’re about to learn how to visualize images in your mind that will make it impossible not to become the architect of your dreams and fantasies.

Better?

You’ll also learn how to be the builder of your success.

Here’s what this post will cover:

How to Visualize Clearly: 7 Tips For Success

1. Don’t Stop At The “Visual”

2. Have a Written Vision Statement

3. Mind Map Your Vision

4. Create a Treasure Map

5. Do a Visualization Meditation

6. Journal Daily

7. Plan Your Action Steps

Visualize Images Based On Existing Competence

Let’s dive in!

How to Visualize Clearly: 7 Tips For Success

Ready to learn how to visualize better? Here are 7 pointers.

1. Don’t Stop At The “Visual”

Far too many people think that “visualization” is about seeing clear pictures in their minds.

Not only is this single-sensory form of dreaming your way to success extremely limited — it also fails to really help you access all levels of your experiential brain.

Instead, you want to tap into every possible sensation you can muster. That’s why I want you to memorize this simple acronym:

KAVE COGS

These are the eight most powerful senses of multi-sensory visualization I know:

Kinesthetic

Auditory

Visual

Emotion

Conceptual

Olfactory

Gustatory

Spatial

Every time you visualize images, make sure you’re also feeling, smelling, tasting, hearing, and emotionally experiencing your goal.

2. Have a Written Vision Statement

A written vision statement is a simple, 2-5 page declaration of what you want to achieve in your own words.

Words are just as “visual” to your brain as images, with each word acting like an interpretable picture at the conceptual level.

Plus, by writing out your vision you symbolically and literally signal to your brain that you value your goals. You “see” yourself taking action and it becomes a lived experience.

Plan to write multiple vision statements. It is a repeatable activity and each time you it will serve you well. So too will these additional 5 visualization exercises.

3. Mind Map Your Vision

A mind map, on the other hand, is more visual in the traditional sense. Here, you will use a combination of words and drawings to let yourself conjure up your goals at a glance.

I was very fortunate to learn mind mapping directly from Tony Buzan. In fact, I mind mapped the Magnetic Memory Method mission under his personal tutelage back in 2016 and still follow the vision you see represented above.

I find this approach very useful because mind maps are big, colorful and you can place them in your work area.

This keeps you focused on the goal — and helps ensure you never forget what you’re working to achieve.

4. Create a Treasure Map

To use this technique, which is similar to mind mapping, open a Word document and search for images that represent your goals.

In the above example, I made it my vision to publish multiple books, travel the world, and play in a band. So I added images that represented these outcomes.

Within a few short months, using a combination of all the techniques you’re reading now, I was out on the road — and I’ve never looked back since.

The trick is to print out a couple of copies and keep them where you can see them.

5. Do a Visualization Meditation

To experience a visualization meditation, sit on the floor, on the side of your bed, or on a chair. Close your eyes and bring your goal to mind using KAVE COGS.

I like to go through each experiential mental image in that exact order because it’s easy to remember the stack.

For example, if you want to master playing a musical instrument and have learned how to memorize a song, start with kinesthetic sensations.

That means you might imagine the feeling of holding your instrument or the stage beneath your feet as you step in front of an audience.

Then hear the music flowing out of you. See the stage next, including the lights, the audience, and your fellow musicians. Let the emotions roll through you and carry on with the rest.

Powerful stuff, isn’t it?

Add a walking meditation to the mix and the other varieties I teach in The Victorious Mind: How to Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being and watch the results unfold.

6. Journal Daily

When I was learning how to visualize effectively, journaling was key.

In fact, I still journal a “Perfect Present” vision statement every day. It goes like this:

I wake up healthy and strong. The worth of my being is great. I live in joy and abundance. I meditate, exercise and eat well. My passive income exceeds my lifestyle by 10x. I write and play music every day in joy and abundance.

Again, writing things out makes your action visible to you. And you can run through KAVE COGS as you write out your goal.

Not only is writing out a vision statement scientifically viable, research groups at schools like Notre Dame have been using texts formalized by other scientists and researchers (like Janel M. Radtke) going back to 1988.

7. Plan Your Action Steps

I took a snap of this Japanese Proverb outside of a cafe in Vancouver, British Columbia:

Vision without action is daydream. Action without vision is nightmare.

In reality, there’s nothing wrong with daydreaming — so long as you’re willing to accept the suffering that comes from not achieving realistic goals.

That’s why we need to break our goals down into milestones and individual steps or micro-actions we can take. These need to be charted out over time.

As much as possible, these steps should be automated, or optimized, so they take place without the need for willpower or motivation.

For example, every week I release new blog posts, videos, and podcasts. There’s a system behind how everything happens. It’s not exactly flexible, but not rigid either.

It just serves the needs of my vision statement for the Magnetic Memory Method.

And I plan, and replan, as you should too — including the time to meditate and visualize using KAVE COGS.

Visualize Images Based On Existing Competence

One last power tip:

A lot of people visualize goals beyond their abilities.

For example, I am in no way accepting a “limiting belief” when I realize that I am not going to become a world-famous musician.

My musical competence was good enough to play on quite a few stages in quite a few bands and do some recording. But I’m just not going to put in the time and effort to reach that “next level.”

And that’s why when I worked to visualize clearly what I wanted to achieve musically, I placed it within the realm of what I could actually accomplish.

That way, my efforts to join a band and get out on the road were not wasted. I could learn songs quickly and perform them to a decent standard.

But my psoriatic arthritis flared while I was on the road. No amount of visualization was going to make my hands performance-ready for recording on the album with The Outside I’d been preparing to produce with them.

But I could help out with the lyrics and even write a short vocal cameo I had on the album. In other words, I didn’t give up on the vision: I pivoted.

Expand Your Existing Competence

Sometimes you can visualize beyond your competence. For example, I’m a decent writer and it was great that I could get The Victorious Mind to reach #1 in three bestseller categories on Amazon as an independent author.

But I don’t want to be independent forever. So I have to visualize with radical honesty my existing competence and my dream of having a traditional publisher help with a book that will reach a larger audience.

Then, I have to visualize all the skills I need to add in order to reach that next level — and write them out. Next comes the plan with all the milestones and individual micro-actions.

Finally, the 7 visualization steps listed above are needed to make everything as clear and doable as possible. And it’s clear to me that the number one thing I need to expand is reaching out to editors and mastering relationship building with them.

Sure, all of this takes mental strength. But it’s worth pursuing every ounce of grit you can get, and so I ask you:

What can you do to visualize your existing competence related to your bigger goals right now?

Never forget, every moment you aren’t taking action and visualizing based on the strongest possible multi-sensory models, you are leaving so much of life’s precious riches behind.

Hopefully, by now you have more than a few solid ideas that will make your visualizations clearer than ever before. And if I’m missing any, let me know. I’ll visualize them into the mix!

And be sure to pick up your copy of The Victorious Mind: How to Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being and put the meditations in the book to use on your journey to visualize clearly and effectively!

How to Use Guided Visualization to Diminish Stress and Anxiety

It’s hard to find a decent guided visualization, isn’t it?

That’s because too many people focus on the “visual” part, when really good guided meditations always include multisensory experiences.

Without integrating the visual with the kinesthetic, auditory, emotional, conceptual and senses of space, taste, and smell, using your mind’s eye on its own can never be as powerful as what I imagine you want to achieve.

So let’s look into this topic a bit deeper and give you a guided visualization and tips on how to build your own.

Here’s what this post will cover:

What is Guided Visualization?

The 3 Key Benefits of Guided Visualization

3 Guided Visualization Exercises That Reduce Stress and Anxiety

Other Forms of Guided Visualization You Can Try

Let’s get started.

What is Guided Visualization?

Humans have been guiding each other’s mental states since the dawn of language. Plato’s Dialogues are filled with stories like the Allegory of the Cave and the Tao Te Ching uses many metaphors to teach us how to live better in the world.

Although these texts are typically read (or heard as audiobooks), they rely upon similar techniques in order to guide us to certain conclusions.

Perhaps Franz Mesmer (1734-1815) is the person who really started working with guided visualizations. Mesmerism evolved from “animal magnetism” and the use of magnets on the body to a practice that involved the “mesmerist” staring, waving hands, and using language to try and induce healing for the sick.

We now classify mesmerism along with other pseudosciences like phrenology and alchemy.

According to Sabine Arnaud in On Hysteria: The Invention of a Medical Category between 1670 and 1820, it is possible that Mesmer’s greatest influence was on other practitioners, not patients. He was known to tell people, “Go forth, touch, cure.” This suggestion directly influenced the development of hypnotism.

Although discredited, to this day people still use pseudoscientific techniques that resemble Mesmer’s strategy, including bracelets, crystals, and forms of touch they believe to have an effect on the “animal magnetism” of the human body.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) later developed the hypnotism spawned by Mesmer and used mental imagery in psychoanalysis.

Inspired by his teacher, Jean-Martin Charcot, Freudian concepts of “free association” encouraged patients to generate and describe their own mental imagery.

They were typically guided by the analyst’s encouragement to speak “whatever comes to mind,” and overcome their inner objections or “resistances” to sharing their thoughts and fantasies.

Guided visualization really hit its stride with figures like John Grinder and Richard Bandler, who arrived in the world of hypnosis around the same time the mass production of audio and video distribution became possible.

As these men worked on developing neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), they drew heavily upon the ideas and therapeutic work of Milton H. Erickson.

One of Erickson’s main observations was that not all people respond to the direct commands of hypnosis. For example, direct commands will involve statements like, “When I end the count of three, you will close your eyes. One… two… three…”

As an alternative to this kind of command structure, Erickson developed a number of “passive” or “indirect” statements that led individuals to follow commands as if it was their own idea.

“Whenever it feels right, you may like to close your eyes, if you feel your lids growing heavier along with the sound of my voice.” These statements not only make you feel as if it is your choice to follow along, but they are multi-sensory.

For the purposes of this tutorial, guided visualizations involve a mixture of:

Direct suggestions (or commands)
Indirect suggestions (or passive commands)
Multi-sensory images and feelings (like feelings, the images of eyelids growing heavier and references to sound)

Now you have a brief history, let’s look at the benefits you’ll get.

The 3 Key Benefits of Guided Visualization

Given the questionable history of these techniques when it comes to real results, are there any benefits to practicing any kind of visualization?

Yes!

There’s a catch, however. There always is. Perhaps a personal story will help explain the benefits and encourage you to experiment with an open mind — but not one so open that your brains fall out.

1. Defining Outcomes and Creating Action in the Absence of Motivation

When I was completing my Ph.D., I absolutely did not want to write my dissertation. I spent a few years gathering research, but my graduate supervisor told me something that completely deflated my ambition.

Whereas I had big plans to become a professor who would teach my heart out and write many books, Jamie felt called to give me a wake-up call.

We were walking along Bay Street in Toronto on our way to a cafe. He told me that academic jobs were drying up, and even if I published dozens of articles, it was going to be nearly impossible for me to get a tenure-track job.

At that moment, I puffed out my chest and swore that I would build my own university if that’s what it took. Now, it turned out I sort of have built my own university on the Magnetic Memory Method website, but shortly after his talk, I fell into a slump.

Fortunately, I’d studied hypnosis and even gotten certified by the National Guild of Hypnotists through the Ontario Hypnosis Centre. (I didn’t take the course to become a hypnotherapist, but rather as part of my dissertation research on friendship.)

Thanks to the training, instead of moping around and doing nothing back in my Manhattan apartment, I recorded a guided visualization for myself.

My script included multi-sensory ideas, images, and feelings that helped me mentally experience the accomplishment of finishing my Ph.D. and visualization taking the specific steps that still needed to be done.

2. Increase Positive Thoughts

Day after day I listened to my own voice each morning before sitting down at the computer.

I no longer have the exact script, but it was written in the present-tense and went something like this:

As I sit at the keyboard, I feel the ideas and words flowing effortlessly through my fingers. With each keystroke, I can see my degree materializing in a frame on the wall. The sound of typing inspires electric energy as I look forward to submitting the finished document. The more I focus on the task at hand, the more my interest and energy grow and the taste of success fills my mouth. I enjoy the smell of victory as I continue to organize and refine my ideas, making sure to pay attention to the journey and cherish every moment.

This form of guided visualization helped me center myself, focus, and just get the job done.

I believe it works because it follows the immersive, multi-sensory KAVE COGS formula:

Kinesthetic – words like flow, feel, energy

Auditory – words like sound, typing

Visual – imagining the degree itself, phrases like “look forward”

Emotional – words like victory, cherish

Conceptual – reference to the ideas I was working on

Olfactory – phrases like “the smell of victory”

Gustatory – references to taste

Spatial – sitting at the keyboard, the act of organization

Would I have written my dissertation without all of this “self-hypnosis”?

Perhaps, but I doubt it. And if I had, it would have been a much more miserable experience than it was. But because I had a guided visualization to get myself started, I was able to immerse myself in the task with a positive outlook despite my supervisor’s grim outlook.

3. Reduce Stress

In reality, my supervisor was both right and wrong. I never did get a formal academic position, despite having many publications.

However, I did wind up winning a Mercator research grant that kept me very busy teaching Film Studies in Germany.

And that was not only on the strength of my dissertation and the fact that I got my doctorate done. It was also because I knew how to be calm, cool, and collected when applying for such grants.

In fact, I used a very similar guided visualization before going to defend my dissertation and before getting each and every teaching job I’ve had in the years since. It’s a very simple visualization meditation that involves a bench, a lake, and a bike.

There are many more benefits. For example:

Many athletes use visualization to increase their performance.
Entrepreneurs use business plans to help create vision statements for their companies.
Students use mental images of their future careers to help keep them moving forward.

The trick is that you need to visualize accomplishments that are within your current range of skills.

For example, if you have no skills in developing websites, you can visualize yourself as a millionaire enjoying the beach until you’re blue in the face. But it’s very unlikely to happen.

However, if you create a visualization that helps inspire you to complete a web development course, this simple and realistic practice can provide what amounts to a simple ego boost.

Exactly the kind I needed to shut up my monkey mind and its objections and keep my focus on the tasks at hand. I still use such visualizations to this day!

But please note that I also always catch myself when visualizing — I make sure that I have the competence to actually accomplish what I’m visualizing. If I don’t, I correct the vision so it’s within the realm of my current abilities.

Or, I make sure the goal involves taking a course or completing a practice regime that will get me the competence I need for the next milestone along the way to the goal.

3 Guided Visualization Exercises That Reduce Stress and Anxiety

Another form of visualization I’ve benefited from involves guided meditations that tackle discomfort arising from stress and anxiety. Unfortunately, I’ve had my fair share of both, particularly during high school and university.

Important Disclaimers:

Never use guided meditations while driving or operating any kind of machinery.

Use of the following exercises is not to be considered medical advice or as an alternative to seeking professional medical help. Even if you don’t think you need it, leaving stress and anxiety unchecked is not advised.

I personally have always sought proper, medical help even when I’ve explored alternative therapies.

To make the most out of these guided meditation examples, I suggest you:

Rewrite each script in your own words
Include as many KAVE COG elements as possible
Use the present tense
Add in your own goals
Record each script you create in your own voice
Listen to your guided visualizations while seated or lying down
Experiment with having your eyes open and closed

Here are 3 of my favorite guided meditations.

1. The Field and the Sky

As I breathe deeply, in and out, I center my mind on an expansive image of a field. I walk lightly along a path through its center, my hands brushing the soft tips of wheat. I feel each and every one, relaxing deeper and deeper as I move towards an opening in the field beside a tree.

I sit beneath the tree and feel a comfortable breeze. I lay on my back and stare into the wide-open blue sky. With each breath, I feel more and more connected with the earth, the wind, and the colors of the sky. I pull the cool blue into my body, and circulate the sky itself through my body. The air flows through my body, and as it does I clench my fists, hold and release them. Each time I clench my fists, my body relaxes and I feel more and more connected with the earth and the sky.

2. The Volume Adjuster

With each and every breath, I allow my ears to tune deeply into the sounds around me. I connect with each sound as a physical sensation. I notice the volume and feel the sound as sensations deep in my ears. Each sound and feeling relaxes me, flowing in synchronicity with my breath.

As I breathe and listen, I imagine a music recording studio form around me. On a monitor, I see a graphic readout of the sounds in the world around me. On a control station, I reach out and feel a volume dial beneath my fingers. I control each and every sound, and as I make the sounds around me louder and quieter, I feel more and more deeply relaxed.

3. The Mirror

In a room, I breathe deeply and walk towards a full mirror. As I look at my feet, they become deeply relaxed. With each breath I take, my eyes travel up my body. My calves, thighs, hips all become deeply relaxed. I realize that my body and the body in the mirror are becoming relaxed in uniform, and this realization relaxes me even more deeply. My belly, chest, hands, arms, and shoulders all relax deeply, just by looking at them in the mirror, twice as relaxed as I share the relaxation with my image.

The muscles in my face all relax as I allow the tension in my jaw and cheeks to release. All tension around my temples and forehead completely falls away, each breath melting the tension and stress out of my body. When the moment is right, I breathe deeply and step into the mirror, doubling my comfort and relaxation yet again as I fuse with the perfect realization of myself as a deeply and completely relaxed person, feeling whole and complete in every regard.

4. BONUS: The Infinity Visualization

As I breathe in and out, I become aware of my awareness. I notice my consciousness as a substance flowing through time. To become more intimate with it, I ask the following questions without expecting any specific answers. I accept anything that arises, including ‘I don’t know.’

When did my consciousness arrive? Where exactly is my consciousness? Can I find the easternmost point of my conscious awareness? The westernmost point? The southernmost? The northernmost?

As I breathe and relax, I imagine an infinite line projecting out into space in front of me. I imagine another projecting behind me, more to the left and the right and directly upwards from my head. Although I accept that infinity is impossible to imagine, I feel each of these lines extending outward without end.

On the line projecting in front of me, I place a hotel. In this hotel are infinite rooms, each filled with a relaxed version of myself. The more I think of each version of myself extending into infinity, the more relaxed I become. When I am ready, I make room for myself in the hotel by asking every other version of myself to move one room down. All of infinity moves to make space for me, and as I move into the room, a new me emerges from the infinite line behind me to take my place, making me deeper and deeper relaxed.

Note: The hotel part of this exercise is inspired by David Hilbert’s Grand Hotel Paradox.

Other Forms of Guided Visualization You Can Try

Not everyone finds guided imagery easy. Although I’ve always allowed myself to “go along” with visual suggestions, I don’t actually see images in my mind. Many people with “aphantasia” don’t.

But that has never stopped me. I’ve used recordings from others and watched videos. But ultimately, writing and recording my own has worked by far the best.

If you don’t feel confident about making your own recordings and want to buy programs from others, many will do. It’s just important that you align your goals with reality and take everything with a grain of salt.

There are a lot of sharks out there — and, as with my dissertation, all the visualization in the world wasn’t going to get it written. I still had to show up and turn my research into sensible sentences and paragraphs that fulfilled the requirements of my degree.

Other kinds of visualization you can try involve mind mapping. For example, set a goal for relaxation. Then, start by drawing a central image of what that state is like for you. From there, draw a number of branches and free-associate. The process itself is deeply relaxing – especially if you find task-oriented projects like language learning anxiety-inducing.

You can also seek out adult coloring books. I even created one for you called the Creativity Kickstarter. It’s a fun and easy way to throw on an episode of your favorite podcast and relax through a kind of visualization that is guided in a completely different way.

I highly recommend coloring while listening to any positive audio programming that relates to goals you want to achieve.

Just remember: Everything you visualize should always start from the basis of your ability to achieve the goal in question. That way, you simply cannot fail.

5 Memorization Techniques That Help You Learn Faster

Are you looking for the perfect set of memorization techniques?

Yet, you keep getting frustrated?

Well, don’t blame yourself. Because it is frustrating, isn’t it?

I mean… everywhere you go people are using different terminology.

Linking…

P.A.O. …

Mind Palace…

Roman Room…

Journey Method…

Mnemonic Peg System…

How Real Are The Promises Of Memorization Techniques

For Students And Mature Learners?

 

Very real!

But we still have to deal with a lot of different terms. I mean, lets face it:

All those terms sometimes make the whole memory improvement world feel a bit like a hoax.

After all, even if science backs up the memorization techniques  we talk about on this blog 100%…

Why the heck can’t people get their terms straight!?!

Well, let’s get the painful truth about the world of memorization techniques out of the way:

Whether you want to know how to memorize a speech fast or are desperate for memorization techniques for studying…

You’re going to come across a lot of different terms.

That’s just the way the world of memory improvement ticks (and other professions that rely on terminology). Things have been this way since humans started developing memorization techniques to help them survive.

And it’s only getting more complex!

But in reality, a lot of those techniques are essentially the same. 

Each and every one has a location-based element in one way or another.

That means that all memorization techniques are spatial.

And as Thales, the first person in the West to be considered a philosopher and scientist in the same body, said:

Megiston topos hapanta gar chorei

(Space is ultimate for it contains all things)

That’s the very cool thing about the discoveries here at the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast.

Once you understand this and practice with memorization techniques from this basis, your results will accelerate.

And the complexity eases down, even if there will still be ins and outs to consider.

And if you’re interested in more about the history of where mnemonics come from to help humans deal with complexity and how they used space to do it, please check out Lynne Kelly’s The Memory Code.

Just as we do here on this blog nearly every week, Lynne’s book will show you exactly how learning these techniques will help you deal with extreme complexity in modern life.

My course which you can subscribe to at the bottom of this post will take you through everything too. It’s free.

For now, let’s persist and do our best to get past all the confusing terminology.

Let’s talk instead about the…

 

5 Memorization Techniques You Can Use To Learn Anything Faster

1. The Memory Palace Technique

Ultimately, the memorization technique that will help most people the fastest is the Magnetic Memory Palace.

You’ll hear this technique called by different names, such as the “method of loci” or the Roman Room.

All you’re doing with this mnemonic device is turning a familiar location into a mental “journey.” You then place associative images along this journey so you can revisit them later according to a specific pattern.

This pattern is known as “Recall Rehearsal.” It lets you get information into long term memory quickly and with a high level of accuracy. This outcome happens because the Memory Palace technique lets you harness the power of:

The Serial Positioning Effect
The Primacy Effect
The Recency Effect
The Von Restorff Effect

Using all of these techniques combined can take a bit of practice, but if you’ve ever wanted to know how to to improve focus, this combination of techniques is the ultimate way to do it.

Of course, it helps too if you know about motivation in learning too, such as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

2. Multi-Sensory Association

Imagine walking into an exam that you know you will pass with 100% certainty.

It’s totally possible if you have the right memory techniques on your side. Like the Memory Palace technique.

(In this episode about Giordano Bruno, Scott Gosnell talks about how you can create a Memory Palace out of the examination room itself.)

But in order to use the Memory Palace well, you have to know how to place the best possible associations inside of them.

To do that, you need to look at the spellings and sounds of words and then creating links or stories in your Memory Palace.

This website is packed with mnemonic examples showing you how association works inside of a Memory Palace. Have a look at these details tutorials for a number of visual examples:

How to Memorize Anatomy
How to Memorize the Periodic Table
How to Memorize the Presidents
How to Memorize a Song
How to Memorize a Speech
How to Memorize Vocabulary

 

3. Acronyms

 

As one of the supporters of the Magnetic Memory Method once said:

Use the right memorization technique for the job or go H.O.M.E.

The acronym stands for:

Huge

Outcomes

Means

Exercising

And let me tell you, if you want to know how to remember things you read or learn a new language, you’ll want to use acronyms often.

4. Memory Techniques For Language Learning

Did you know that there are truckloads of proof that bilingualism is a brain and memory health strategy?

Not only is language learning an ongoing source of mental fitness, but you get the benefits of more socialization.

You can literally meet more people and get to know them more deeply.

This exposure to people enriches the brain with chemicals.

And the best part is that you can use the Memory Palace technique to help

However, you also want to add what I call The Big 5 of Learning.

This is based on the levels of processing effect, first identified in 1972 by Craik and Lockheart.

To benefit from it, you want to memorize vocabulary and phrases using the memorization techniques outlined above, and also:

Read
Write
Speak
Listen
From memory and into memory

Without using all of these levels, you won’t be getting enough of what scientists call “active recall.” It’s absolutely essential to making sure the techniques you choose work flawlessly.

5. The Major System & The Pegword Method

Start with the foundations of memorizing individual words and you will quickly learn to memorize entire phrases.

From there, you’ll want to add the ability to memorize numbers too.

The Major System is fun and easy to learn. It lets you turn any number into a word. Start by committing this simple system to memory:

Then practice turning two-digit numbers into words. For example 22 could be nun and 35 could be mail. It’s ideal to come up with a few words per two-digit combination.

After that, it’s just practice.

Next, add the pegword method. This memorization technique will let you have an association for each letter of the alphabet. You can also use the number of each letter of the alphabet for some “next level” learning at speed.

How To Benefit From The Abundance Of Memorization Techniques

Yes, there are a lot of terms out there as more and more people teach their favorite memorization technique.

But now you don’t have to get lost in the terminology.

Just find memory training and memory improvement courses you resonate with and trust.

Give those memory experts your attention.

Follow the instructions and recommendations.

Experiment.

You’ll be amazed by the memory improvement you experience.

Better:

You’ll be thrilled by the additional benefits using memory techniques brings.

Are you ready to be thrilled? Let me know in the discussion area below and then grab the Magnetic Memory Method Improvement Kit to get started today!

Scott Gosnell On Giordano Bruno And The Composition Of Images

Giordano Bruno wrote many fine books about the art of memory. Sadly, most of them were unavailable in English for the longest time.

Things are different now.

My guest today, Scott Gosnell, is the man to thank.

He’s spent the better part of a decade translating Bruno’s books for modern English readers. The latest release in a very fine series is Song of Circe and On the Composition of Images.

Scott is also the CEO of Windcastle Venture Consulting, a public speaker, part-time college lecturer and the author of Startup Geometry. 

In our conversation today, we talk about Bruno’s enduring importance for students of mnemonics. We draw out the core ideas of balance and how you can craft a relationship between imagination and memory and get the most out of Bruno’s theory of confabulation.

We also discuss Bruno’s techniques for the Memory Palace and just how advanced his approach was for his time. Thanks to Scott’s work, these “next level” approaches are even more relatable for the here and now.

So if memory techniques have you intrigued, but you want more, this episode is for you.

Or if you’re having trouble fitting into the mold of how you “should” be committing complex information to memory, you’re about to find encouragement.

Or if you’re seeking a fresh start along your career path and you’re overwhelmed by a lot of material to learn…

Why not give the advice of a “heretic” a try?

Want to know more? Just press play above and to learn more about:

The dual-role of student and teacher in academia…and the need for both
The reason learning language out of necessity, not desire, can be of greatest motivation
How variants of singular truth and dual, or even multiple, modalities can exist in harmony, and what this means for committing that “truth” to memory
Bruno’s philosophy of a three-level universe (and how it’s even more relevant today)
Why organization is subjective, and how you can make it work for you, even if to someone else it looks like a “jumble sale”
The differences between copying and composition, and the reason the latter can be both more beneficial and easier
Why memorization is not always a perfect recollection, but instead a simplified reimagination (and why it’s perfectly natural!)
Why memory benefits both judgement and decision making
How we simply break down Bruno’s ideas of subject, abject, and intention, to easily incorporate them into memory work
The proven method for describing philosophical ideas – where, if we’re honest, we all can get stuck trying to memorize them
Why Hermeticism is so attractive, especially to students of memory
The Clavis Magna, perhaps Bruno’s greatest mystery

Further Resources on the web, this podcast, and the MMM Blog:

Bottlerocket Science – Scott’s blog and his own podcast

Scott Gosnell on Twitter

Windcastle Venture Consulting

The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt – referenced in this podcast

Scott Gosnell Talks About Giordano Bruno – our previous interview 

John Michael Green on Giordano Bruno, Memory, and Time 

More Memory Palace Books You Should Read

The Art of Memory Playlist on YouTube

Nelson Dellis On Developing Your Memory Superpowers

My biggest mistake as a kid was asking for cliche abilities like x-ray vision instead of the memory superpowers I really needed.

And if you made mistakes like that too, it probably isn’t your fault. After all, we’re taught to daydream about easy solutions far more than to enjoy deep training.

The question is…

Why is it that our global societies don’t prioritize learning to use our memories better at a younger age?

To help answer that, and help all of us correct course for the future, I sat down today with Nelson Dellis.

Nelson is a four-time US Memory Champion and Grandmaster of Memory. He is an author, world memory record holder, co-founder of the Memory League competition, and founder of the Alzheimer’s awareness charity Climb For Memory.

Today we discuss Nelson’s latest book, Memory Superpowers!: An Adventurous Guide to Remembering What You Don’t Want to Forget.

This excellent follow-up to Remember It! is geared towards helping younger students enhance their memorization skills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF_vO...

 

In our conversation, we delve into the benefits memory training creates. These include:

Thinking freely through the lens of memory
Discarding the self-imposed filters we utilize in our daily lives to truly revolutionize our work
The joy of letting our imagination run wild and boundless

It’s been said that parents learn as much from their children as the child does from their parent along the journey of growing up and growing older…perhaps even those who aren’t parents can embrace those same lessons, viewing the world through the eyes of a child once again.

So if you’re searching for an out of the box way to grow your memory practice…

If you’re tired of the rules and the “shoulds” of how things should be done…

If you’re a student and think memory work is something only grownups with “bad memories” do…

Get this book, go through the interview and become the teacher of your children you need to be so you can learn from them a.s.a.p.

Ready to dive in? All you have to do is press play above and listen in as we explore:

The concept of “active” reading, and the more fitting title for anyone who turns the pages of a book
The importance of engagement and immersion in learning
How dialogue is an effective training method
Why creativity is crucial in memory work (and how anyone can be creative…yes, you!)
Perspective for memory training – because “easy and fun” is not always realistic
The usefulness of simplicity (back to basics using the alphabet) …and in contrast the case for the “complicated” modern video games as memory palace inspiration
The benefit of familiarity in constructing paths in The Journey Method
Possibilities for linking ancient memory practices with modern technology…benefits for the screen-oriented
An argument that mastery isn’t necessary for memorization, but instead, just the opposite! Yes, really!
The demonization of memorization in the educational system, and why we should be praising its virtues instead.

And so, so much more.

Further Resources on the web, this podcast, and the MMM Blog:

Nelson Dellis’s official website

Nelson’s YouTube Channel

Follow Nelson on Twitter

Find Nelson’s books on Amazon (including Memory Superpowers!)

Extreme Memory Improvement With Memory Champion Nelson Dellis 

How to Win the USA Memory Championship 

Memory Improvement Techniques for Kids 

Thomas Krafft On How To Craft And Deliver World Class Presentations

Do you want to give a presentation that everyone in the room remembers?

I know I sure do.

That’s why I did one thing first after getting the invitation to give a TEDx Talk:

I picked up the phone and called Thomas Krafft.

I’d seen Thomas give a presentation about a year earlier and knew he was good himself.

I also knew about his company and the help it offers people around the world through the Presentation Boss Podcast.

I learned a ton as a result of working with Thomas. Plus, it looks like my talk really hit it out the park, setting the stage for even better talks to come.

Now… if you’re a regular here, you might be thinking…

Hang on, Anthony! You’ve been speaking for years! What do you need a speaking coach for?

Good question. Here’s the low-down:

Although I’d been writing and delivering lectures at universities around the world for nearly ten years, not to mention oodles of videos and live streams, I was humble enough to realize that this particular stage was new to me.

It’s also a huge opportunity and I didn’t want to “wing it” as I’ve done so many times before. Thanks to the help I got from Thomas, it’s been a tremendous success, though ultimately you have to be the judge of just how successful…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvtYj...

It’s NEVER To Soon To Learn How To Present Better

Frankly, I could have used help  to become a better speaker during my earlier career too.

Speaking actually isn’t that difficult for me, and neither is writing talks or presenting based on notes.

What is difficult for everyone is being your own critic and seeing things from an outside perspective. For me, that is excruciatingly difficult… and all the more so as my meditation projects reduce the amount of thoughts in my head.

In other words, without the external feedback of an expert… just because you might be able to crank out lots of writing, memorize it and speak easily in front of a crowd doesn’t mean it’s going to be good.

In fact, without expert help, you can pretty much guarantee it’s going to be far from world class. And that’s what you want, right? To be understood, and above all, remembered.

A Good Presentation Changes Lives

You also probably want to know that you’ve touched lives too. You probably want to receive feedback like this:

Dr. Metivier,

I wanted to thank you for helping me release an immense amount of tension and negative thoughts in a manner of seconds. I was sitting on my couch two days ago with a heating pad on a massive knot in my neck. I don’t generally have physical manifestations of stress, and this was new. This knot came from stress related to the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and what that will mean for the US and the upcoming election.

My Youtube recommendations are mostly cooking or travel related and the very rare Ted talk mostly related to topics i can use in my classroom. Self-help is not a topic that I think of much or watch videos related to, ever.

Something made me stop at your TedX talk that appeared in my feed with an incomplete title “Two Easily Remembered Questions That Help Silence Negative…”

So I watched it, then watched it again. Then I tried it.

My stress and negativity released almost immediately. And then the tears started. a middle aged man, with a heating pad on his neck, bawling on the couch. It was glorious. It was so easy.

Thank you for that. Thank you so much for giving me this small tool, these questions and this mindset.

Stay Well and Stay Safe.

Chris Drake

San Diego, CA

USA

Do You Want Your Next Speech To Create An Impact Like That?

The important points in Chris’s email, and in many of the comments on the presentation video are these:

The content was good enough to go through twice
The content was good enough to create a response

My listener took action and got results.

There are rules that govern how and why good presentations create such results.

If you want to discover these simple rules, let me introduce you to my new “secret weapon” for giving world class presentations that reach and help positively transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of people:

About Thomas Krafft

Thomas Krafft is the co-founder of Presentation Boss, Australia’s premiere communications consulting firm, he has helped thousands of entrepreneurs and businesses refine their communication, specifically presentations, and, more specifically, the visual tools used in those communications, to share a message effectively, making it unforgettable.

Our conversation moves swiftly, as we cover such a wide range of areas of the art of public speaking, but, at the same time, it’s casual enough as a listen-anywhere, anytime topic. Thomas is a wealth of information, and in our time spent together the insight he delivered was both a challenge, and encouragement – the best of both worlds.

Having delivered hundreds of talks to thousands, with audiences big and small, he has mastered the art of balance, both in preparation (believe it or not you can be overprepared), and presentation (knowing how to truly cater to your listeners for maximum impact). 

Whether you have an upcoming presentation that you’re struggling to prepare for, racing to make a deadline for that first draft of notes.

Or you want to freshen up your presentation style because your last talk didn’t go as planned.

Maybe you just want to be a more effective communicator in your everyday life with your peers.

Whatever the motivation, Thomas can help.

So press play above and listen in as we discuss:

The secret to taking what’s inside your head, and with clarity and confidence, deliver that to an audience (very high level, I know, but it’s true!)
How speeches are really judged and evaluated – and it may not be as subjective as you think
The questions you must ask about your audience before even putting a pen to paper
The real purpose of any presentation you deliver, bridging a gap, and how exactly to construct that bridge
Where people “fall down the most,” in speaking
How to handle “blind dates” for your audience – without context – and how to avoid them.
Why you need to incorporate Aristotle’s Pillars of Rhetoric into every presentation you give, and why the right mix of the three elements is crucial
Rethinking the idea of audience participation and engagement – it can take many different forms
The reason using tools, or not using them for arbitrary reasons, can be your biggest downfall
The pros and cons of verbatim vs. topic based speaking styles (you might be surprised here!)
The keys to making good communication skills translatable to any medium
How comforting a reality check can be – understanding the process that skills are learned (bring on the learning curve as it’s perfectly natural)
Why being terrified of public speaking is okay, but the real reason overcoming it is necessary…and possible. For anyone.

Enjoy this episode and make sure to give Thomas a call before you give your next presentation!

Further Resources:

Presentationboss.com.au 

How to Memorize a Monologue: Your Quick and Easy Guide 

How to Memorize a Speech Fast (Without Sounding Like a Robot) 

The ancient art of giving persuasive speeches from memory is also covered in the Rhetorica Ad Herennium:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3rts...

Mnemonic Devices: Everything You Need to Know (And How to Use Them)

Instantly memorizing what you need to know is the ultimate dream for many people.

But for many, their inability to remember anything is the ultimate nightmare.

One reason people struggle is that there are so many terms. It can be confusing.

But the facts are that anyone can use mnemonic strategies to learn faster and remember more. You just have to find the approach that works best for you.

Here’s what this post will cover:

What Is A Mnemonic Device?

Mnemonic Device Examples

– Personally Created Flashcards

– Acronyms

– The Memory Palace Technique

– Associative Imagery, Linking, and Pegwords

– Story Method

– Major System and Dominic System

– 00-99 PAO

– Mind Maps

Mnemonic Techniques and Strategies for Remembering Things

So if you’re ready to dive in, let’s get started with…

What Is A Mnemonic Device?

The best mnemonic device definition we can start with is this:

Anything that helps you remember better is a mnemonic.

Even the dictionary says that a mnemonic device is anything: “assisting or intended to assist the memory.”

For that reason, it’s a highly adaptable term that works as an umbrella to cover a wide range of activities including:

Personally created flashcards
Acronyms
Memory Palaces (sometimes called a Mind Palace, the Method of Loci, Journey Method, or Roman Room)
Associative imagery, linking, and pegwords
Story method
Major System or Dominic System
00-99 PAO
Mind Maps
… and more

Given this adaptability, it’s little wonder there’s so much confusion over the term.

But here’s what I’d like you to notice:

None of these are really “devices.” They are processes.

As memory expert David Berglass made clear in A Question of Memory, memory is not a unitary mechanism or a “thing.” It is a behavior.

And that is how you use mnemonics. You understand them as processes and then you sprinkle them into your life so they become part of your behavior.

Let me make that more concrete:

When I gave a TEDx presentation, I not only memorized my talk — on that day, I memorized all the names of the people I met. I used a wide variety of techniques (see how to memorize a speech) and chose the specific mnemonic devices I used based on the circumstances.

With practice, using mnemonics happens almost on autopilot!

Mnemonic Device Examples

Let’s dig a little deeper using our list of mnemonic examples above.

Personally Created Flashcards

My friend and language learning expert Gabriel Wyner inspired me to give these a try after reading his book, Fluent Forever.

Basically, instead of downloading software put together by a stranger, get some paper and colored pens. (Obviously, you also have all the information you want to memorize organized too.)

Next, use the paper and colors to help you create images. These images should remind you of the target information you want to recall.

Flashcards as mnemonic devices for Chinese characters

Now, there’s a whole lot more going on in this example, so please keep it in mind. I’ll go deeper into it later in this post.

For now, if you’re worried about having a bunch of cards flying all over the place, don’t be. You can wrap them up in a Memory Palace drawing just like this:

I used simple and elegant combinations of mnemonic devices to pass level III in Mandarin last year

Next, let’s look at how abbreviations can help.

Acronyms

Have you ever asked… what is it called when you use letters to remember words? As usual, there’s no one answer, but the first method is called an acronym.

For example, when I teach memory improvement in a live setting, I usually talk about how following the rules will set you F.R.E.E.

“Free” is a word that helps me remember the meta-rules students need to make learning with memory techniques easy and fun:

Frequent practice in a state of…

Relaxation and a spirit of…

Experimentation so that you can be…

Entertained

Just follow those rules as you use mnemonics and you will truly be free to memorize as much as you want.

The best part?

You can lay out acronyms inside of a Memory Palace.

The Memory Palace Technique

The Memory Palace is an ancient technique. It essentially involves using space as a mnemonic device.

You do this by thinking about a familiar location. Then, you chart out a logical journey that does not take energy from your memory. If you have to memorize the journey, it is not a good Memory Palace, so pick something else.

For example, I visited a bookstore in Zamalek, a part of Cairo, Egypt. To keep it simple, I used only the parts of the bookstore I remembered.

To help my brain reduce the cognitive load even further, I made a quick drawing of the space:

A Memory Palace drawn on an index card to maximize its value as a mnemonic device

Notice I’ve actually drawn the Memory Palace on an index card (or flashcard). I do this because it makes it easy to store many of them for quick reference if I ever need them.

I also write down the number of stations and name them. I find this helps me “set and forget” the Memory Palace and ensure I’ve gotten it right the first time.

I believe scientists call this kind of activity a means of harnessing the levels of processing effect.

Associative Imagery, Linking, and Pegwords

Inside of these Memory Palaces, place a list of mnemonics you create. These will be a kind of mnemonic that are multi-sensory.

For example, think back to that first image I shared above with the flashcards for Chinese. Those colorful drawings help me remember the sound and the meaning of the Mandarin words.

But those mental images aren’t just on the flashcards! They’re also mentally situated on stations in the Memory Palaces I use.

(Some people call these stations “loci.” It’s basically the same thing, but “Magnetic Station” is my preferred term because recent advancements make them much more powerful than the ancient teachings suggest.)

To make such imagery, you will want to complete a number of exercises.

For example, go through the alphabet and think of an image for each letter. The pegword method is a great way to explore this technique further.

If you’re really serious about mastering the Memory Palace technique, you can explore having an image on each and every station.

For example, when I memorize cards, I always have images on the stations to help me “trigger” the row of cards I’ll be placing and later recalling on a Magnetic Station.

Basically, what I’m talking about is multiple levels of linking all at once. Some people talk about the linking method in a very weak way, that amounts to just “this links to that.” I don’t find that approach is strong enough.

What most of us need is for our association imagery to combine:

Sound and meaning links at the granular level of the alphabet
Multi-sensory links that are concrete and specific, not vague and abstract
Tied tightly to space so that we are working from the foundations of the strongest level of memory: spatial memory

Furthermore, the real trick with these associative images is that they must:

Actually associate in a way that triggers what you want to memorize (for example, the barber symbol I used on the card above triggers the ‘ba’ sound).
Help you get back the meaning of the content (where relevant).
Have a Memory Palace so you can mentally “find” the imagery. Some people don’t need the Memory Palace, but in my experience, they are few and far between.

And when you think about what mnemonic device means more holistically, each card is a kind of station in a Memory Palace.

Story Method

Using a story (with or without a Memory Palace) is not much different than using, links pegs or associations. The only difference is that with the story method you’re adding the extra step of creating a narrative.

For example, let’s say you want to memorize a list of names at an event:

Haley

Allan

Sharon

Andrew

Edward

Angela

Sam

If you were using pegs, you would look at “h” when seeing Haley and associate her with something like Halley’s comet or a hat. Allan could be associated with an Allen key.

You can also spontaneously produce associations or have stock characters. For example, every Sharon could be Sharon Osbourne.

The story method, on the other hand, requires us to add a narrative to the association, such as:

Halley’s comet is crashing into an Allan key in the hands of Sharon who finds it burning hot and hands it to Andrew.

The story method can possibly be used without a Memory Palace. However, stories have parts. And those parts exist somewhere in your brain which means they are inherently spatially located.

I think you’ll find it a lot less mentally taxing to lay out any narrative elements you use in a Memory Palace.

Another way to approach the story method is to use a movie or novel plot you know well.

For example, let’s say you have mentally reduced The Matrix series down to three scenes: the hotel, the desert of the real, and Neo’s cabin on Morpheus’ ship.

For the first piece of information you want to remember, you would use the first room and perhaps Trinity doing her flying kick. Then you would move on to the next location for the next piece of information.

This example shows how stories are always spatial in nature from another angle… after all, if they don’t take place somewhere… how can they be stories?

Ultimately, there is no right or wrong to this application. It basically comes down to your level of skill, the context, and the nature of the information.

I personally would not add a story step while memorizing names in a live setting — and tend to create my associations on the fly rather than draw upon stock images. But if a stock image makes sense, I’ll certainly use it.

Major System and Dominic System

When it comes to associative imagery, the alphabet is a great tool. But it can also be mixed with numbers.

The Major System (often called the Major Method) helps you associate a consonant with each digit from 0-9. This mnemonic device has been in use since the Katapayadi of ancient India.

A more common approach that has been in use since the 1700s looks like this:

A more recent innovation is the Dominic System. It has some key differences, so make sure to study both.

00-99 PAO

PAO stands for Person, Action, Object. Basically, you’re taking the Major System and using it to help you make words from numbers.

Here are some examples from mine:

01 – Sad (tragedy mask)

02 – Sun (from the movie Sunshine)

31 – Mad Magazine mascot (often dressed as a maid)

Notice that I’ve put some concrete indicators in parentheses. This is because “sad” is not very evocative. It’s just a concept.

But when I think of a tragedy mask, it still links to the concept of sadness. To make it even more specific, I think of the tragedy mask worn by William Shatner in Oedipus Rex.

Mind Maps

Tony Buzan is one of the greatest innovators of mind mapping, but he says in Mind Map Mastery that he abandoned this technique for improving memory back in the 70s.

He focused more on using keywords that help with creativity, problem-solving, and planning.

I feel that the conclusion to remove their use as a memorization tool was premature. If you would like to learn how to combine mind maps with Memory Palaces, for example, here’s a simple way to also add in the Major System for incredible results:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIhHK...

As you can see, it’s fun to mix keywords with the Major Method on paper in a way that turns the mind map into a simple Memory Palace.

And this is really just the beginning when it comes to learning how to remember things.

It’s not just that there are a TON of mnemonic devices to choose from. It’s that we get to delight in how they can be mixed and matched in so many ways.

Mnemonic Techniques and Strategies for Remembering Things

Now, you might be wondering… how do you apply all of these techniques strategically?

Good question!

The answer is that you need to explore on your own, ideally based on a clearly defined learning goal.

That said, here are some suggestions.

Mnemonic Strategy #1: How to Memorize Numbers

For learning numbers, you’ll want to have either the Major System or the Dominic System. Nothing will be lost if you develop skills with both. In fact, that is highly recommended.

You can even consider learning another version called The Shadow if you’re really ambitious. My friend and fellow memory expert Braden Adams talks about this technique here.

Mnemonic Strategy #2: How to Learn a Language

For learning languages, a solid Memory Palace Network is advised.

This means having one Memory Palace per most letters of the alphabet. (Skip x, y, z, etc. if you can’t come up with solutions. Just gather as many together as you can.)

If you have a Major System prepared, you can use this to help with memorizing words, such as using your image for 90 when you encounter a “bas” sound, etc.

Mnemonic Strategy #3: How to Memorize Names

For memorizing names, some people like to have prepared associations ready to go. For example, if they meet a Ron, they’ll use Ronald McDonald.

However, the world has evolved a lot and we’re increasingly in contact with people who have diverse names. For that, you’ll want to make sure your peg system is very robust.

Mnemonic Strategy #4: How to Memorize Music

For memorizing music, the Major System will be a must.

Here’s how to memorize a song — the post is very detailed and shows you how to turn your instrument into a Memory Palace to combine with the number system you choose.

Mnemonic Strategy #5: How to Memorize a Speech

For memorizing a speech, you can use acronyms or a Memory Palace. I’ve done a combination of both over the years, and sometimes will place acronyms in a Memory Palace.

Memory Palace using an acronym as a mnemonic device

For memorizing playing cards, most people take a Major System and develop it into a 00-99 PAO.

For example, in my system, the Ace of Spades is 11. Using the Major, the image is a toad. To make it more specific, I use the Warner Brothers toad. Each card has an image like this and then I lay them out in a particular Memory Palace I prefer for memorizing cards.

Guess what? there are even more mnemonic strategies you can learn (not to be confused with memory strategies). Treat them like missions and practice consistently. You will succeed.

Please don’t think all of this is too difficult or complex. Frankly, the problem with the memory world is that so many teachers out there dumb it all down.

But when someone finally shows how all of these mnemonic devices work together in unison, you wind up getting great successes like James Gerwing winning the 2019 Canadian Memory Championship — as a retiree!

I Love Using A Combination Of Mnemonic Strategies — How About You?

We’re incredibly lucky.

Although it can be confusing, the Internet has enabled dozens of memory competitors, memory athletes, and plain ol’ memory fanatics like me to create tons of free content for the world.

Even though it’s easy to get lost in the intricacies, remember: Memory is not a thing. It is a behavior.

Dive into each of the approaches you learned today.

Really dig deep into their nuances through practice.

Let me know if you found this guide helpful and comment below. If there’s a mnemonic device I missed, please share it so I can update this post. All of us will be eternally grateful.

And if you want to learn more about how to make the most of your new mnemonic strategies using a Memory Palace, pick up your free copy of the memory improvement kit today!