Transcripts
1. Welcome: Welcome to improving your memory. I've taught memory techniques to students and professionals around the world. And in this course, we'll go over proven techniques to help you improve your memory. Before we get started, think about all the times you've been told to memorize something. Maybe it was something you needed to memorize for a test in school, or maybe you had to memorize something for a presentation at work. But how many times have you been taught how to memorize? That's what this course is all about. It's about improving your memory. We'll cover a variety of principles and techniques that can be used to enhance your memory. Will go over topics that include how to remember names, how to remember more of what you read, how to remember presentations, how to remember important dates like birthdays, anniversaries, or historical dates, will discuss ways to remember numbers, equations, and even the meaning of words and foreign languages will also go over how your memory works and how you can apply specific techniques to enhance your memory and a variety of situations. So with that, let's go ahead and get started with improving your memory.
2. What you should know before watching this course: Before you begin this course, I want you to know that your memory is not some fixed capability that's either good or bad. Just like anything else that you practice, you can train yourself to have a better memory. You might feel like your memory isn't that great, but I want you to know that there's no such thing as a bad memory. There are only trained and untrained memories. If you know certain techniques like the ones we'll cover in this course, you can train yourself to have a better memory with practice. So I encourage you to take active part in each exercise. There'll be points where I might ask you to pause the video in order to practice something on your own. If you're serious about improving your memory, you should take part in these exercises. I think you'll find them not only to be useful, but also pretty fun. I've also included exercise files for all lynda.com members that will give you more information and resources as you follow along. So with that, let's go ahead and begin.
3. What is short term memory: We know that our short-term memory is somewhat limited. But how limited is it? Think about this. If you are going to the grocery store, how many items would it take before you decide to make a list? Because if you are just going to get two items like bread and milk, you'd probably remember it without a list. But there's a certain tipping point, maybe 456 or seven items, where you decide that you need to make a list so that you don't forget. Now before this course is over, in a future video, I promised to go over a technique that will help you remember a 10-item list with no problem. It might be a little skeptical, but this technique will help you memorize a list in order. And the technique can also be used in a variety of other situations, like remembering presentations or things that you've read. We'll get to that technique soon. But before we do, we need to have a firm understanding of all the memory principles involved. So what is that tipping point? Where we have to make a list? How limited is our short-term memory is? Kind of question was the subject of in 1956 paper entitled the magic number seven plus or minus two. The paper was written by George Miller, one of the founders of the cognitive psychology field. This paper discovered an average limit of about seven for short-term memory capacity of humans. This is why it's difficult for most of us to remember without a list 78 or nine grocery items. This is also part of the reason why phone numbers in the US without an area code or seven digits long. This idea is sometimes referred to as Miller's Law or Millers magic number seven. The number seven is not a hard limit. Since 1956, we've learned so much more about the brain and our memory. It turns out there are ways to increase the short-term memory limit beyond seven. So in this course we'll focus on improving your short-term memory and more importantly, how to turn short-term memories into long-term memories.
4. 4Repetition: Repetition helps you remember. I'll repeat that. Repetition helps you remember. One of the easiest ways to remember anything is through repetition. Think about songs. How do they get stuck in your head? There's probably a song I could put on right now that you haven't heard in years, but you remember the lyrics of the song. How does that happen? It's all about repetition. You heard that song a number of times and that's how you memorized all those lyrics. Nobody hears a song once and memorizes all the lyrics. Unless it's one of those songs that just repeats the same thing over and over again, but again that's repetition. Do you remember a teacher at some point in the past sing the words, repeat after me. Class, teachers know very well the power of repetition. And most people are already familiar with the idea of repetition, so we won't dwell on it here. But I did want to make mention of it because we're going to use it as a foundation for improving our memory. So if you want to remember something, you need to find ways of repeating or rehearsing that information. That could include writing it down, repeating it to yourself, or recalling the information later in the day by quizzing yourself. Believe it or not, the mental effort you make to try and recall something is actually a form of repetition. And that helps reinforce that information in your memory. So keep in mind that repetition is a good way to improve your memory.
5. Exaggeration: Do you remember how many days are in the month of May? How about August, July, or April? It's sometimes easy to forget if there's 30 or 31 days in a month, but which month is the easiest to remember for most people, that would be February. Why? Because February is that one weird month that only has 28 or sometimes 29 days. The fact that it's out of the ordinary makes it easier to remember. Think about this. Why do certain celebrities dress in a way that's over the top? Wire commercial, sometimes outrageous, strange or just plain funny. The goal in all of these situations is to be more memorable. This leads us to our next memory principle, exaggeration. If something is exaggerated, absurd, or just ridiculous, it's much easier to remember than something that's just ordinary or an everyday occurrence. Do you remember what you had for lunch yesterday or last Tuesday? That might be easy to forget. But if you ate at a place that gave you food poisoning, you'd probably remember that meal. And you probably remember not to go back to that place. Things that are uncommon or exaggerated are always easier to remember. So we need to find ways to implement exaggeration when we're trying to remember things. The easiest way to exaggerate anything is to make it really big or really small, or to come up with something in your mind that's just impossible in real life. This is a very important memory principle. And when we combine exaggeration with other memory principles that we'll discuss in this course, you'll find yourself better able to remember information much more effectively.
6. Chunking: Let's say I gave you a number to memorize, like the number 1776. How would you remember it? Well, you could probably implement what we discussed in earlier videos in this course, you might apply the principle of repetition by simply repeating 1776 yourself. But this number is simple to memorize. It's only four digits. What if I gave you a ten digit number to memorize like 3,128,574,747. Now let's say I gave you another number like 3.1.2, 8574747. Which number is easier to remember? I think most people would agree the second number is easier to remember. Why? Because it looks like a phone number and it's broken up into parts. Now if you haven't noticed these ten-digit numbers are exactly the same. They're just formatted differently. One is a number in the billions, which is at first appears difficult to memorize while the other is a phone number and seems easier to memorize. Why is this? Because of a memory principle we're introducing here called chunking. Chunking information always makes it easier to remember. Sometimes we chunk information without really realizing it. If you had to get nine items from the grocery store, what would it be easier to remember? A mixed up grocery list of nine items or items that are categorized are chunked into three areas of the store. Look at the two options you have. Notice how chunking makes things more manageable for your memory. Now let's do a little exercise here. I want you to try and memorize the chunked nine item list on your screen. In a moment, I'm going to ask you to pause the video so that you can focus on repeating the three items under each of the three categories. Start with produce and repeat yourself, tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries. Do this several times. Then move on to Delhi and repeat turkey, HAM, salami several times, and then move on to dairy and repeat to yourself, milk yogurt eggs. Milk yogurt eggs. Are you ready? Go ahead and pause the video right now and repeat the list yourself in the manner that we just discussed. When you're done, unpause the video. Okay. I'm assuming you've repeated the list yourself a number of times. Now I want you to do one last bit of repetition. Repeat the following. Produce Delhi Dairy Produce, Delhi Dairy Produce Delhi dairy. If you want, you can pause the video if you need additional repetitions. Now, do you remember the list? Go ahead and pause the video right now if you want to quiz yourself, I think you'll be surprised at how much easier the list is to remember when it's chunked into parts. And guess what? This list would be even easier if you were actually going to the store. Because you'd be reminded of produce, Delhi and dairy just by setting foot in the store and seeing those areas. The main takeaway of this video is to show you how the memory principle of chunking allows you to organize information. It makes it easier to retrieve later on. If you're able to memorize the night item list, Great job.
7. Association: When I say the word Katrina, what's the first thing that pops into your mind? It might be hurricane or it might be the name of someone you know. Either way you already have the word Katrina associated to something or multiple things in your brain. Association is a very powerful memory principle. And it's one of the main ways we learn things. If you don't associate a new piece of information to something you already know, it will easily be forgotten. This reminds me of something psychologists called the baker baker paradox. Here's how it works. A researcher shows two people a photograph of a man. One is told the person's last name is Baker, and the other is told the person's occupation is Baker. A few days later, each person has shown the photograph again and they're asked to recall the word associated to the photograph. The person that was told the man's occupation is much more likely to remember it than the person that was given the man's last name. In other words, names are easily forgotten. That's not surprisingly to most people, but what's interesting here is that we have the same word Baker. We have the same photograph of the same man. But in one situation with the occupation, it's easier to remember. And another situation it's easy to forget. Why is this? Well, there's a different amount of remembering going on in these two situations. Remembering the occupation of a baker invokes other memories to be triggered automatically and unconsciously, such as how the baker might look, the Pillsbury Doughboy like hats or an apron or flower on the baker's hands. You might even think of the pleasant smell of freshly baked bread. All of these memories may be triggered by being told this person is a baker. But contrast that with being told the persons name is Mr. Baker, that stands alone. If no other associations are made to the name, it'll easily be forgotten. And that's what usually happens. We're discussing the baker, baker paradox because it involves association. And association is a principle of memory that will be included in a number of techniques we discuss in this course. For now, just keep in mind that if you want to make something memorable, you need to start by making it meaningful. And that happens through association.
8. Pictures: Have you ever heard the phrase, a picture is worth 1000 words? And this video will introduce the power of pictures and how they affect your memory. By the end of this video will try to double your short-term memory capacity. Instead of being limited to seven things, Miller's magic number, you'll remember up to 14. So let's discuss why visual information like pictures are so easy to remember. Have you ever forgotten someone's name? We all have. But what if you ran into that person later in the week or later in the month, you'd probably remember their face, right? You might forget their name, but you easily remember their face. Why is that? It's because the human brain remembers visual information much better than abstract information. A face is very visual. You can picture it in your mind, which makes it easy to remember. A firstName is more abstract and harder to remember unless we include some sort of repetition or association with it. Now this is very important to realize that you're very good at remembering visual information. Because we can leverage this idea to improve our memory. Let's go over an example. Here's a 14 letter combination that I want you to memorize. We have the letters x, I, B, M, ph, DAC, TM, TV and acts. I want you to apply what we learned earlier about chunking and association. Look for a pattern than this 14 letter combinations, see if you can chunk it. Now the nice thing about the human brain is that we're very good at finding patterns. Sometimes we find patterns and completely random information. So what do you see here? If you look long enough, you see the acronyms I purposely placed there. You probably noticed the acronym IBM and PhD, along with ACT and MTV. Oh, and the x's. You've probably noticed that there at the beginning and end of this 14 letter combination. So we can see a pattern there too. To memorize this 14 letter combination, we're going to imagine some pictures in our mind and you'll see how this helps you remember things. Let's practice by taking the first part, we chunked IBM. I want you to imagine a guy that works at IBM. What would he look like for me? I'm imagining a guy wearing a blue shirt because IBM's corporate colors are blue. But you can get even more detailed here. Imagine him wearing thick, dark rimmed glasses. Of course I do realize this is just me stereotyping people that work in the IT field. But let's go with it. Imagine a guy at IBM wearing a blue shirt with thick black rim glasses. Next, I want you to imagine that this guy at IBM has a PhD. Imagine it hanging on the wall of his office. Now in order for this to be effective, you actually need to picture the PhD hanging on the wall. Do you see it in your mind? Next, I want you to imagine that this guy at IBM, who has a PhD is studying for the ACT. And I know, I know that sounds weird that a guy with a PhD is studying for the ACT, a high-school test, but just go with it because exaggeration helps us remember things. So this is precisely the reason I want you to imagine that this guy at IBM, who has a PhD is studying intensely for the ACT. And lastly, let's add the MTV part. Imagine him studying for the ACT while watching MTV. Not the best way to study. But just imagine MTV is on in the background. Review the sequence one more time for repetition. There's a guy at IBM picture him. What does he look like with a blue shirt, darkroom glasses. He has a PhD hanging on the wall. And he's studying for the ACT while watching MTV. A terrible way to multitask. Now, what about those x's at both ends? Let's just imagine them as bookends to the story we just created. Now let's recap here. Earlier we talked about the importance of repetition, and we also discussed how exaggeration and chunking helps you remember information. Next, we discussed how association in pictures can also be useful to your memory. And now we just combined all of these principles to remember a 14 letter combination. Take a moment to stop and think. Can you still remember those 14 letters we just covered? Pause the video if you want to take a moment to write it down, or just think of those 14 letters in the right order. See if you can do it. If you are able to recall all 14 letters and order, congratulations, you've just doubled your short-term memory capacity. Most people are limited by about seven things they can remember over the short term. But as we mentioned, if you know a little bit about how your memory works, you can increase your memory capacity. Tried testing yourself later on today or tomorrow, see if you can still remember that 14 letter combination. If you're able to remember, I want you to remember why it is. You remember that information. It's because of repetition, the exaggeration, the chunking, the association, and the pictures that we created in your mind.
9. Using mnemonic devices: A mnemonic devices memory technique that helps you remember information. You may have used one before to remember topics that relate to music, math, or geography, or a variety of other subjects. For example, one type of mnemonic device related to music helps you remember the lines of the treble clef. Every good boy does fine. Another type of mnemonic device helps you remember the order of operations and mathematics. Please excuse my dear aunt Sally. Here's a geographic mnemonic to help you remember the great lakes homes. Each letter stands for one of the lakes, Lake Huron, Ontario, Michigan. Erie, and superior. Mnemonic devices come in a variety of formats. They can be acronyms, rhymes, memorable phrases, songs, and can even take visual forms. For example, to remember the number of days in each month, you can use the knuckle demonic going from left to right on your knuckles, you can figure out which months have 30 versus 31 days. Each knuckle represents 31 days, and each valley before you get to the next knuckle represents 30 days or in the case of February 28 or 29. You can do this from left to right across your knuckles to figure out how many days are in a month. The same information can be conveyed in a popular mnemonic rhyme which states 30 days have September, April, June, and November. All the rest have 31, except for February alone. And that has 28 days clear, and 29 in a leap year. The word mnemonic is derived from a Greek word, which means of memory and is related to the goddess of memory in Greek mythology. You can think of mnemonic devices as special techniques or strategies for improving your memory. Creating a mnemonic could take a little bit of mental effort, but there's a smart way to utilize the combined intelligence of the internet. Next time you have to memorize something, try doing a search for the topic you're trying to memorize plus the keywords, mnemonic or mnemonic device. And most of the time you'll be surprised to find that someone has already created a mnemonic device for the information you need to memorize. Mnemonic devices simply leveraged many of the memory principles discussed earlier in this course. And you can use them to recall information more effectively.
10. Note taking techniques: Why do we take notes? Usually it's to refer back to the information. But I've ever taken notes and never looked back at them. You might have notebooks upon notebooks of notes you've never bothered to refer back to. Was this a wasted effort? According to research know, this effort of taking notes was not a waste of time. Researchers actually find that the very action of taking a note strengthens your memory of that information even if you never bother to look at it again. Now why is that? It's because the action of taking notes is a form of repetition. Now if you happen to review your notes, that's another form of repetition. But it's important to realize that note-taking does improve your ability to remember information. Some people already know this just naturally. They know that if they write something down that are more likely to remember it. Let's talk about different ways of taking notes. Let's say you're reading something and you really need to know it well for work or for school. If that's the case, it's very important that you take some sort of notes. But how should you take notes and when should you take notes? Have you ever bought a used college textbook and notice ridiculous amounts of highlighting, how does this happen? Here's how someone is reading the chapter and they maybe need to know it very well for a test that's coming up. They read a sentence and realize that's really important. So they highlighted, then they read the next sentence and realize that's also kind of important. So they highlight that as well. And they read the third sentence and now they realize this sentence is way more important than the previous two. Maybe they'll use a different color this time around and you already see where this is going. Have you ever heard the phrase when you get caught up in the details, you lose sight of the big picture. This is one of the biggest issues when it comes to note taking people get caught up in the details. A better way to handle this would be the finished reading the paragraph first and then decide what you're going to highlight. And keep in mind that you don't have to highlight full sentences. You can highlight just a word or a short phrase. And that would remind you of what that section was about. Now, obviously highlighting is just one way to take notes. There's no one correct way to take notes, and much of it comes down to your personal preference. Some other options might be taking notes in the margin, underlining, or taking notes on your favourite note-taking app. But it's also important to realize that the format of your notes does matter. Have ever taken notes that ended up looking like a jumbled up mess? It's very difficult to review notes like this. How do you find specific pieces of information? A more organized approach to note taking that you may want to consider involves mind-mapping. Mind-mapping is a note-taking technique that helps you visually organize information. A general mind-map looks something like this, with a central idea in the middle. If you were taking notes while reading, this might be the title of your chapter with nodes extending out from that central idea. The surrounding boxes or bubbles would be your headings and subheadings within the chapter or main points from the material that you were reading. Mind-mapping can include color and other visuals to help you remember even more effectively. The reason why mindmaps are so effective at helping you remember things is because they reflect the way your mind works much better than linear bass notes like outlines. Outlines put information in a specific order, but not all topics are meant to be presented in a linear fashion. Outlines are great for sequential information like history, but most topics or non-linear. For example, the topic of physics we can talk about Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion, Einstein's theory of relativity. Or we can talk about quantum mechanics or electromagnetism. All of these topics are very much related to physics, but they don't have to be in a set order. The same goes for a lot of other topics like law. There are many types of law, contract law, labor law, constitutional law, international law, but they are all involved in a non-linear way around the topic of law. So mindmaps are a great way to organize information, but is not sequential. If you're taking notes on history or any other topic that involves a linear thought process. And you should probably use outlines, but otherwise try taking your notes in a mind-mapping fashion. Regardless of how you end up taking notes, The most important thing to remember is that note-taking aids your memory. And if you really need to remember something, you should probably be taking notes in a manner that you feel is most appropriate.
11. Using songs, rhymes, and alliteration: Have you ever had a song gets stuck in your head? How about this one? A, B, C, D E, F G, H I J K L M N O P. You know this song, it helped you remember the alphabet. You learn the alphabet as a song because it's easier that way. In fact, research shows that text associated with music is more easily remembered when it's learned as a song than when it's learned as a speech. For example, a study published in the Journal of memory and cognition showed that people can learn a new language more effectively when they sang the words rather than speaking the words. Keep in mind that some of the world's greatest works of literature, such as the Odyssey or the Iliad, were originally read aloud as songs. So why is it that songs are so easy to remember? Much of it has to do with repetition. If the song was popular at the time, we heard it over and over again. But aside from that, songs have all sorts of repetition embedded within them. The beat or melody repeats, the chorus or hook repeats all of this repetition makes it very easy for songs to be memorable. Additionally, songs can be sometimes associated with special events in our lives. The song you hear could remind you of your high school prom or your wedding. Anytime you can link a memory to an emotion, it's more likely to be remembered. If you ever need to remember something rather than just repeat it, try singing it to yourself. Even though the information might not lend itself to a song of forcing yourself to create a song out of it. You'll find it easier to remember the information. Aside from songs and other powerful way to remember something is by using rhymes. Rhyming utilizes your auditory memory strength. If I say the name Bob, you probably can come up with a few words that immediately rhyme with that word. Riming, rhythm and repetition can all aid memory. If you need to remember something rhyming, it can be an easy way to retrieve it from memory. And alliteration can also help. Sometimes companies will include alliteration in their promotions to make them more memorable, like a summer sale or spring sale. Or sometimes companies will name themselves with alliteration all in the effort to make the brand more memorable to the consumer. Think of companies like Coca-Cola, Dunkin Donuts, Best Buy, American Airlines are Krispy Kreme. There are many other examples, but the fact remains, alliteration makes it easier to remember something. Adding alliteration to things you need to commit to memory will make it easier to remember those things. For example, rather than just hoping I'll remember Tim's name, I might think to myself, tall TIM OR talkative Tim, to remind me of the person. This way I'm using the memory principle of association combined with alliteration to remember Tim's name. Songs, rhymes, and alliteration all fall into a category of memory called verbalization, which relies on your ability to remember auditory information. How that auditory information is packaged as a song rhyme or with alliteration makes all the difference as to whether or not you remember it.
12. The story method: The human mind is wired to remember stories. In fact, before many old, ancient books were written, they were shared as oral traditions are stories through the generations. When you're reading a nonfiction informational piece of material, you'll sometimes notice that authors will present you with a story to illustrate a point. They could have just told you the moral of the story, but instead they provided you that information in a form of a story. Why is that? It's because authors know that their readers are more likely to remember information if it's presented in a story like fashion. You need to remember a specific set of details. You may want to try memorizing it in the form of a story. Try starting off in the classic way of saying once upon a time, and then add any information you need to remember within that story. Don't forget to make it exaggerated as we know, that exaggeration helps us to remember things. You may recall from an earlier lesson that we created a story from a 14 letter combination of letters. We imagined a guy at IBM that had a Ph.D. that was studying for the ACT while watching MTV. And the Xs on both ends served as bookends to the made-up story that we came up with. Notice how much easier that story is to remember rather than just the letters x i, B M P H D a, C T m T v x. Don't worry if the story doesn't make sense, as we mentioned earlier, stories that are exaggerated or weird or just don't make any sense, are easier to remember. So next time you need to remember something, try turning it into a story. Regardless of whether you need to remember a list, a recipe, or a set of directions, creating a storyline with what you wish to remember is an easy and powerful way to cluster ideas together to make them easier to recall.
13. The link system: The link system for memory is given its name because it requires you to link one item to another, creating links and a memory chain. Each item should link you to the next if you're associating it properly. Link system is most useful for remembering things in a sequence. And there are many things that need to be remembered in a specific sequence. A speech, for example, or maybe an eight step process that you need to remember for a test, or maybe nine things that you have to get done in a specific order. Let's try out an example. Here's a list of items we're going to memorize using the link system. We start by creating our first link. As you can see, the first two words on our list are Penn and shoe. We have to link pen and shoe together in a visual manner. Most importantly, the image we create in our mind must be exaggerated. We already discussed why exaggeration is important in earlier lessons. So we need to make sure we implemented here. For the purpose of this exercise. Imagine you're wearing gigantic pens instead of shoes. Picture how they would look under feet. Imagine yourself walking around and your pen shaped. Choose. Visualize yourself walking around in a pen, in your pen like shoes and ink as being smudged all over the floor. Now that we've created that image, we need to move on to the next link. The next link needs to be Shu and book. So I want you to imagine a large book walking around wearing some BIG shoes. As we mentioned earlier, these images don't have to make sense and it's actually better if they don't make any sense. But again, imagine a big book walking around with giant shoes. The next link we need to create his book, an airplane. So imagine a huge book flying on top of an airplane. How would that look in the sky? Picture it in your mind, a large book on top of an airplane. Now we need to create a link between airplane and eyeglasses. As you can see here, we're just taking the previous image and linking it with the new image. So now I want you to picture an airplane flying with large eyeglasses in front of the plane. Imagine what that would look like. Imagine a plane wearing glasses. Next, we need to link glasses and fish. So imagine a fish wearing eyeglasses. What would that look like? A fish with glasses. Once you have that image, we move on to the next link, fish and coffee. Imagine a pond of coffee with over caffeinated fish jumping in and out of it constantly. The fisher of jumping in and out of the pond very energetically, imagining what the pond of coffee might smell like. Imagine how energetic these fish might be once you have that image in your head. We move on to our final link, coffee printer. Imagine you just clicked print on your computer and your printer has cartridges that contain coffee as Inc. imagine the coffee ink cartridges printing out a document. As a document is being printed, you can smell the scent of coffee in the air. Each one of these images should be pictured in our mind in order for the memory to take hold. So let's recap. Pennant shoe, you're wearing pens as shoes, shoe and book. There was a large book wearing shoes and walking around. Book an airplane. There was a book on top of an airplane. Airplane and glasses. There was an airplane wearing eyeglasses and we had eyeglasses and fish. We imagined a fish wearing glasses. We had fish and coffee. We imagined a fish jumping in and out of a pond of coffee and coffee and printer. We imagined a printer that printed with coffee as ink. As you can see, one exaggerated image leads to another in the link system. So long as you can come up with exaggerated images, a system like this will help you link and remember information very effectively.
14. Memory palaces and the method of loci: The memory palace, also known as the method of loci, is a memory technique developed in ancient Greece over 2 thousand years ago. It was used widely by the Greeks and later the Romans to memorize lengthy speeches. Back then before you could digitally record something, it was very important to have a trained memory. And strategies like the method of loci were widely used. These strategies are still used today by competitors and memory contests to remember digits, faces, decks of cards, among other things. Low side, by the way, is the plural of the Latin word locus, which means place. This strategy is based on the idea that you can best Remember places that are familiar to you, like your home or workplace. According to Cicero, the method of loci was developed by the Greek poet Simonides, who was the lone survivor of a building that collapsed during a dinner that he attended. He remembered who was sitting where to identify everyone. He realized that through this, it would be possible to remember anything by associating it with a mental image of a location. This method, which is also come to be known as the memory palace technique, is very easy to implement. Here's what you do. Try to picture a place you're very familiar with. Let's start by having you imagine your home. Next, visualize a series of ordered locations within your home. Make these locations in the logical order. So the first place could be your front door. The next location within your home might be the living room. The next could be your kitchen. Picture yourself walking through your home in a particular order. Pieces of furniture can also serve as locations within your memory palace. The next thing you need to do is place each item you need to remember at different locations that you've decided on. These could be items on a list or topics for a presentation, you might be doing. Whatever these things are. You need to make sure you visualize them and add some exaggeration, as we discussed earlier, exaggeration makes things more memorable. So here's an example. Let's say I was trying to remember a grocery list and item number one was carrots. For me when I use my home is a memory palace. The first logical location for me is the mailbox because it's one of the first things I check before I walk in through the door. So I would imagine a bunch of carrots sticking out of the mailbox. Next, let's say item number two on our list was broccoli. The next logical location that happens for me is my two dogs greet me at the door as I walk in. I'm going to picture them bringing me large pieces of broccoli in their mouths. And I would continue from there with item number three and location number three. Be sure to exaggerate your visuals and make an effort to actually picture them to get the full effect. Once you've placed all the items you need to remember in their appropriate places. Don't forget to rehearse the order several times in your head. You want to rehearse because repetition is still one of the most effective ways to remember anything. The great thing about this method is that you can have multiple memory palaces to help you remember various things. One memory palace might be your home, another might be or office. Another could be a friend or family member's home. If you take the train every day to work, you might use that route as a memory palace, putting different items at different stops along the way. The memory palace technique can be used to remember a list of almost anything. Or you might use it to remember the important points of your presentation you have to deliver. Or maybe the names of people and an event. You can even use this technique to remember your to-do list regardless of how you implement it. Memory palaces are effective because they are places you are already familiar with. Even if you had a 50 item list, you can use a memory palace. You can place five items in each of the ten locations. Just make sure those five items are somehow interacting with each other in that location. And make sure you turn these things into concrete visuals that include exaggeration. Now that you know the basics of how memory palaces work, try practicing it. Pick the location, figure out the order of locations within the memory palace, and then apply it to something you need to remember. For example, think of today's to-do list items and try to memorize them using the memory palace. Like anything, the more you practice, the better you get at it.
15. The similar sound technique: In this video, we're going to discuss a technique that will help you remember the definition of words you aren't familiar with. It's called the similar sound technique. And it builds on principles we've been going through over this course to show you how the similar sound technique works. Let's start with a simple example and then we'll move on to a more complex one. Let's take the word claustrophobia. I, you probably already know that what this word means, it's the fear of closed spaces, especially very narrow or crowded spaces. But if you had to teach this words meaning to a little kid that wasn't familiar with it, how would you do it? You could use the similar sound technique and here's how it would work. You start by looking for a similar sound in the word that a little kid would be familiar with. If you look at the word claustrophobia, you could take the initial part clause and associated to Santa Claus. You would then try to link the word Santa Claus visually to the meaning of fear of closed spaces. So we can tell this little kids imagine Santa Claus being afraid of tight chimney spaces. Why? Because Santa is a big guy and he might get stuck. Or maybe Santa is afraid of getting burned by the fire at the bottom of the chimney. Regardless, we reinforce the image that Santa Claus is afraid of tight chimney spaces. Later on, when asked to recall the meaning of the word, what's the first thing this little kid would notice about the word claustrophobia. They would see claws. And then they would immediately, that would remind them of Santa, which would remind them that Santa was afraid of tight chimney spaces. Linking them back to the meaning of the word a fear of tight closed spaces. Now let's try this with a word you probably aren't familiar with belonged phobia. This is the fear of sharp objects like needles, knives, or even pencils. To implement the technique start by looking for a similar sound in this word. Since you probably already know that phobia means fear of, Let's focus on the initial part of the word balloon. What does that sound like to, you know, it could sound like a number of things. For example, baloney like Bologna, or baloney kind of sounds like balloon. It doesn't have to sound exactly the same as another word. It just needs to have a similar sound. For the purpose of this example, let's go the balloon route. I want you to imagine, visualize in your head a balloon. And now we need to link it back to the meaning, the fear of sharp objects. I want you to imagine a needle coming slowly towards the balloon. And the balloon being afraid of being popped by that needle. Now you really need to picture this and also exaggerate the image. If you'll recall from an earlier lesson we talked about exaggeration helps us remember things. So imagine the balloon freaking out that this needle is coming slowly towards it. The balloon is sweating. It's screaming for help as the needle gets closer and closer to popping it. If you can visualize a scenario like this, what will happen later on when you see the word balloon phobia, you'll search for a similar sound and immediately come upon balloon. Then you'll remember that the balloon was afraid of the needle that was coming towards it. And of course at this point you'll make the connection back to the fact that balloon phobia is a fear of sharp objects like needles. Do you see how this works? Now let's try one more example with another word, anthro phobia. This is the fear of people believe it or not. And it's an actual documented phobia. Now you could have picked that up through the prefix anthro as it relates to anthropology. But what if you didn't make that connection? What other, what other similar sounds can you find within this word? How about the sound ant? Now that could be talking about an ant's the insect or an aunt, a relative. Regardless of the route that you choose, we need to visualize something that will link us back to the meaning, a fear of people. Let's go with the insect. And aunt, I want you to imagine a whole village of ants from their perspective, being afraid of people. Imagined the footsteps of people crashing down upon the village of ants and the answer in a panic, running around to escape their fear of people. Later when you see the word anthro phobia, you'll be reminded of the ants and their fear of people linking you back to the meaning, a fear of people. The similar sound technique can be applied to help you memorize the meaning of technical words you're not familiar with, but you can also use it to memorize words in a foreign language. The same idea would apply if you add a word in Spanish that you were trying to memorize, search for a sound in that word that sounds like something in English. Make sure it's something you can visualize and then try to link that meaning of the word and in a way that's visual and exaggerated. This technique takes advantage of the fact that humans are very good at remembering visual information and things that are out of the ordinary.
16. Linking numbers to pictures: In this video, I'll show you how to memorize a 10-item grocery list. You might think it's difficult to remember such a list, especially in order. But I want you to know that your brain is more than capable of memorizing this list with the help of a memory strategy. That strategy is called the numeric PEG system. Numeric PAYG system can help you memorize a list of items. You can also use it to remember a presentation or things that you've read. The reason it's called the numeric peg systems because each number is going to get pegged to a visual, something you can picture in your mind. For example, the number one is going to be pegged to a pencil, something you can easily visualize. I need you to remember that right now. That number one is associated to pencil. Why? Because it has the same general shape as a pencil. Before we worry about memorizing the 10-item list, we need to visualize each number. So remember that one is a pencil. Number two is going to be a swan. Again, this is simply because the number two has a similar shape to a swan. Before we proceed, I need you to make sure you've committed to memory. Let's move on to number 33 is McDonald's. You have to look at it sideways, but I want you to associate the number three with the golden arches of McDonald's. Number four is a chair. It's upside down, but I need you to remember that for as a chair. And let's move on to number 55 is a hook. This one's a little tricky, but picture the number five is a hook. The horizontal line at the top is the handle. And notice the pointy part of the five, that would be the pointy part of the hook. Remember five is a hook. Before we proceed here, we need to make sure that we're familiar with the first five. I'm going to review them for you right now. One is a pencil, two is a swan. Three is McDonald's for is the Chair, and five is a hook. Now let's move on to six through ten. Remember that six is a cherry because the number six has a similar shape to a cherry. Seven is a lightening bolt. Picture a lightening bolt as a series of sevens. And eight is a race track, even though it'd be kind of weird if the racetrack had an actual intersection unless there was some sort of bridge. But I need you to picture that eight is a racetrack and number nine is a balloon. Do you see a balloon there? Keep in mind this memory technique will only work if you make the mental effort to visualize those images in your head. So make sure you visualize the number nine as a balloon. And the last one is tetanus. Ten is going to be associated with a plate and silverware, like a place setting, or it can be a bowl and silverware, whatever you want. Now let's do a quick recap of six through ten to make sure you have them. Remember that six is a cherry. Seven is a lightning bolt. Eight is a racetrack, nine is a balloon. And ten is a place setting like a plate or bowl and silverware. Now that we've pegged numbers one through ten to visuals, we can start implementing the numeric PEG system to memorize the list.
17. Memorizing ten items: In this video, we're going to use the numeric PEG system to memorize a 10-item list. Before we proceed, you need to make sure that you've memorized the picture that's associated with each number, you should know that one is a pencil, 2's a swan. Three is McDonald's for as a chair, and five is hook. Sixes, a cherry. Seven is a lightening bolt. Eight is a race track, nine is a balloon, and ten is a plates or bowl and silverware. So here's the list you need to memorize. Here's how this is going to work. We start with the number one, which we remember is a pencil. Now the item we have to memorize in disposition is bread. So what we need to do here is come up with a visual that includes pencil and bread. Why pencil? Because the number one is associated to a pencil. Now it's very important that the visual you create as something exaggerated. If you'll recall from our previous lessons, exaggeration helps you remember things well. So you need to exaggerate all of the visuals we create. You'd create these visuals on your own. But for the purpose of this exercise, I'll provide the visuals for you. I just need to make sure that you picture them in your mind. For number one, imagine yourself holding a pencil. And on top of the pencil is a large loaf of bread. Picture it like cotton candy on a stick, except it's a loaf of bread on top of a pencil. Here's how this will work later on, when I asked you what number one is, what's the first thing you'll remember? You'll remember that one is a pencil. And that should remind you of the visual that we created. That you were holding a pencil with a large loaf of bread on top of it. To make these images even more memorable, you can implement some of your other fives senses into the memory. Were already imagining what it would look like, our sense of sight. But what would it smell like a freshly baked loaf of bread? What would it tastes like? Your five senses help you remember things. Now let's move on to number two. You remember is associated to a swan and we have to get milk. So I want you to imagine a swan swimming in a lake of milk. Number three is McDonald's and we have to get tomatoes. So picture yourself walking into a McDonald's. You order a Big Mac and instead of a Big Mac with beef patties, you get a Big Mac with very thick slices of tomatoes. Make sure that you picture this in your mind, a Big Mac with thick slices of tomatoes. Now we're on number four, which represents a chair. The item on our list is soda. So I want you to picture a chair with legs made out of soda bottles. Think of those two liter bottles of soda. And what a chair with legs made out of soda, what would that look like? Let's move on to number 55 is a hook. The item we need to remember is Turkey. So imagine this for a moment. It's Thanksgiving Day and the doorbell rings. There's a pirate at the door. Turns out at some long-lost uncle you've never met, you invite them in for Thanksgiving, even though it's kinda weird that you're letting a pirate into your home. I want you to imagine the Thanksgiving turkey on the table. And your uncle, the pirate is the one that gets to carve the turkey. And because it's a pirate, he's carving the turkey with his hook of a hand. Meanwhile, you're sitting there just disgusted because you don't know where that hook spin. And that's not the most sanitary way to carve a turkey. But imagine this weird scenario later when you're asked to recall what number five was. You'll start by remembering that five is a hook, because five looks like a hook. Then you'll remember the pirate that showed up at Thanksgiving that was carving the turkey with his hook of a hand. Now we're halfway through the list. Let's finish it up. We're on six. Six is a cherry. We have to remember chips. I want you to imagine cherry flavored chimps. What would they look like? What would they taste like? Imagine that for number six, cherry flavored chips. Seven now is a lightening bolt. You need to remember strawberries. So I want you to imagine a strawberry getting struck by lightning. Imagine a very large strawberry next to an open window. There's a thunderstorm outside and all of a sudden lightning strikes. A strawberry. Strawberry explodes and there's red strawberry Gu all over the walls. Some of it hits you in the face. What would that experience look like? I want you to imagine the strange scenario to remember number seven, the strawberry getting struck by lightning. Now we're on number eight, the race track. Now remember I told you they would never make a race track with an actual intersection like this? Well, imagine that they did. And each time the race car driver goes and approaches that intersection, they get a little nervous because they might crash. And when you get nervous you start to sweat. I want you to imagine some sweaty, stinky racecar drivers going around the race track and they're in dire need of deodorant or you're hoping they put some deodorant on that morning. That's what will remember for number eight. Now, number nine is a balloon. We have to remember cucumbers. So I want you to imagine a really big balloon. Actually, let's imagine it as a blimp. Now it's not your typical Goodyear Blimp. Blimp, is it? If you're thinking what I'm thinking, it's a cucumber blip. Imagine a giant cucumber floating across the sky. How confused would you be to see a giant cucumber floating in the sky? What would its smell like outside of an actual cucumber was floating around there? You know, that smell of fresh cucumbers. Imagine that for number nine. So when I ask you to recall what number nine is, you'll remember a balloon. And you'll remember it was a very big balloon, the blimp, and you'll remember the cucumber blimp. So we're on our final number, number ten. Remember ten is a place setting like a plate or bowl and silverware. Now the item we need to remember is serial. So I want you to imagine a giant bowl in the middle of an intersection causing all sorts of traffic. Next, I want you to imagine that it's raining cereal from the sky. What's the first serial that comes to your mind? Imagined that serial raining from the sky into this giant bowl that's in the middle of an intersection. Now we finished up our 10-item list. And if you've played along here and actually pictured all of those exaggerated images, you should be able to recall all ten items. Go ahead and pause the video right now to see if you can recall all ten items. If you're able to do it. Congratulations. Notice how exaggeration in imagery helps you pull the information out of your brain. Tried testing yourself later today or tomorrow to see if you can still remember the list. I think you'll be surprised to find that you'll probably remember the whole list with no problems. This numeric PEG system can help you remember the list, but it can also help you remember a presentation or topics that were covered in the chapter that you read, you simply put each topic in the position in which it needs to be remembered, and then come up with your own exaggerated visuals. Rehearse them a few times and I think you'll find it very easy and fun to remember just about anything.
18. Memorizing more than ten items: In the previous video of this chapter, we learned how to memorize a 10-item list using the numeric PEG system. But what if your list was 14 items long or what if you had to remember 37 different things in a specific order? You can actually use the numeric PEG system to remember more than ten items. Here's how it would work. You need to come up with a theme or a rule for the numbers 11 through 2021 through 3031 through 40 and so on and so forth. For example, my theme for anything between 11 through 20 is black oil. So let's go over an example of how that might work. Let's say our list was more than ten items in length. And instead of number one being bred, let's say number 11 was bread. The picture you imagine in your mind obviously has to include bread, but it also has to include pencil because it's the last digit on the right of the number 11. And your picture also has to include black oil. Why? Because we decided that would be our rule for 11 through 20. Again, keep in mind you can create any kind of rule for these numbers so long as it's something you can visualize. So we have to combine bread, pencil and oil, bread, pencil and oil. We can borrow from what we did last time and imagine holding a pencil with a large loaf of bread on top. Now, we need to somehow include oil. So imagine the loaf of bread is smothered in black oil. You might even imagine yourself taking a bite out of it. What would it tastes like? Probably not that good. For number 12, we would do the same thing. We have to imagine a swan because of the number two and the number 12, along with oil, because oil is the rule we established 411 through 20. In the previous video of this chapter, we memorize that number two on our list was milk. What if it was something else? Let's say number 12 on our list happened to be milk. We could still imagine a swan swimming in a lake of milk, but we also have to include black oil in this picture. So maybe we imagine a swan covered in oil. Maybe there was an oil spill or something and this black swans swimming through a lake of milk while leaving a small black trail of oil as it swims. So later on, if you were asked to recall what number 12 was, you would have two clues. You know that a swan is involved because of the number two. And you know that oil is involved because that's the rule that you set. From there, you'll make the connection to the image that you pictured earlier. For numbers 21 through 30, you would have to come up with another theme. Again, this can be anything that you can easily picture in your mind. And you keep going from here with 31 through 4041350 for however many items you might need to memorize. Now clearly memorizing 47 different things in order is definitely a challenge and it may take a little bit of time and mental effort using the numeric PEG system. But this system is a lot more effective than just staring at a page and hoping that somehow the information will sink into your brain. This method is also more effective than just mindless repetition, because you're utilizing a combination of memory principles here, not just repetition. So try this out next time you need to memorize a list of more than ten items. In fact, you might want to try it out right now to practices right away. Take any kind of list of unrelated items and see if you can memorize more than ten using the numeric PEG system.
19. How to remember names: We've all experienced the awkward moment of forgetting a name we should have remembered. In this video, we'll go over five tips that will help you remember names more effectively. Many of the most successful people in the world have developed a habit for remembering people's names. And you can learn this too. It's not as hard as you think. You just need to learn some simple tips and tricks that can be developed into habits. Once you develop a good habit for remembering names, you'll automatically commit new names to memory. Learning the skill will enhance your personal and professional relationships. Start with tip number one. Pay attention. This sounds obvious, but many people forget to pay attention when hearing someone's name. You'll easily forget a name if you don't start with the simple principle. In fact, none of the following tips in this video, we'll even matter if you don't start by paying attention. We've all been there. Someone says their name and we've almost immediately forgotten it. We're left wondering what their name was and frustrated when we don't remember it. The problem in this situation is a lack of attention. Paying attention to someone's name is easier said than done. But if you get into the habit of paying attention to the moment the person introduces themselves, you'll find it much easier to remember their name. Here's tip number two. Repeat the name we've already discussed in earlier lessons that repetition helps us remember things. And the same goes for remembering names. When you meet someone, repeat their name immediately. Get into the habit of doing this. For example, you might reply, nice to meet you, Cornelius. And it gives you a chance to rehearse that person's name by repeating it. You may even repeated again during the conversation, but you obviously don't want to repeat a too often, otherwise you'll come off as socially awkward. One of the side benefits here is that you'll find people are more likely to pay attention to what you have to say when you include their name and the conversation. Another way to get repetition is by quizzing yourself. When the person walks away, immediately quiz yourself to see if you can remember their name. Quiz yourself here and there throughout the day and you'll find that it gets easier each time because of the repetition and the mental effort it takes to recall the name. Let's move on to tip number three. Make a connection to the name. You want to hook that name to something you already know. The way we learn new things is by associating new memories to those that already exist. You can make a connection to that person's name by linking their name to someone you already know or to someone that's famous that has the same name, try to develop the following habit. Whenever you hear someone's name, things to yourself, okay, sara, same name as and then think of a friend or celebrity you're familiar with. Try to picture them standing next to that person. Getting into this habit will help you associate the new name to someone you already know. And by imagining the celebrity OR person you know, standing next to them, you're using visualization and location to remember that person's name. As we mentioned in earlier lessons, human beings are very good at remembering visual information and location-based information. So even if there's no existing connection, you just made one. And because of that, you're more likely to remember the name. Tip number four involves linking your first impression of the person to their name. What is the first thing you notice about this person? It could be their eyes, it could be their hair, their heights. Maybe it's their outfit. It could even be something about their personality. Maybe you noticed they're very energetic or they're always smiling. Find a way to connect your first impression to their name. And easy way to do this is to come up with an adjective for the person. For example, if a guy named Bob was wearing a blue tie, I might repeat to myself, blue tie Bob, blue tie Bob. I'm linking My first impression, the blue tie and repeating it in order to remember the name. Or if there's someone named Allie and she comes off as very energetic, I'll repeat to myself, energetic alley, energetic ALI. Again, I'm linking something about them, My first impression to their name and using repetition. Let's move on to tip number five. Find a word that rhymes with their name. Advertisers know the power of a good rhyme. You probably know that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Rhymes are a part of the reason we remember songs, in addition to hearing them repetitively, if it rhymes, it sticks. Now I do realize that some names are very easy to rhyme, like Bob job, Matt, bat, and ten. But some games are kind of difficult to rhyme, like Anthony. Now there's probably a rhyme for it, but not one that comes immediately to mind, at least for me. So what do we do then? We try to implement one of the other strategies we've been talking about. Keep in mind that you don't have to use all of these tips at the same time. If you use one or a combination of them, you'll usually be fine in Remembering someone's name. Now we've gone over five simple tips, but what if you forget to implement them? You need a backup plan. Here are a few suggestions for backup plans. One idea is to always keep records, curious small notepad with you and take note of the person's name in there whenever it's appropriate to do so. You might also want to take other notes about the persons such as where you met that maybe something interesting about them or a visual identifier like the color of their shirt. Or if you don't want to carry around an actual notepad, just use your favorite note-taking app on your phone. You can refer back to this physical or digital notepad as your backup plan in case you forget the name. Here's another backup plan. Have a sidekick and work with them as a team. Let's say you're at a company party of conference or any other event. You're going there with a coworker or a friend or maybe your significant other. You know, you'll be introduced to a number of people and it might be difficult to remember all their names. So you and your sidekick have to come up with a visual signal. That means I forgot this person's name. This signal should be subtle. And it could be a quick rub of your eyes or a quick scratch of your ear. So when you get approached by what's his name, you'll immediately initiate the signal which lets your sidekick know that you've forgotten the name of the person that you're talking to and your sidekick will then walk over and instead of waiting for an introduction here, she takes the lead in the conversation and says, Hi, I'm Jim. To this person. Most people at this point will immediately respond with a high Jim, I'm William. Now you know his name, so try not to forget it. And if you use one or a combination of these tips we talked about in this video, I'm pretty sure you'll do a pretty good job at remembering names. And like anything else, this takes practice. The more you implement these tips, the more automatic they become and the better you get.
20. How to remember presentations: Presentations can be remembered by using some of the memory principles and techniques that we discussed in earlier lessons of this course. Before proceeding with this lesson, please make sure that you're familiar with all of the tips that we covered. First off, don't ever try to memorize an entire presentation word for word. Unless you're an actor, you probably don't need to remember it verbatim. Have you ever heard the expression when you get caught up in details, you lose sight of the big picture. This is what happens when you try to remember each word in a specific order. Instead think of your presentation as a series of talking points you need to cover. It's important that you chunk that presentation into parts. When I'm giving a presentation on the topic of speed reading, I chunk it into three parts. There's speed, comprehension and retention. From there, each topic has its associated subtopics. We discussed in an earlier lesson that chunking information makes it easier to remember. Well, the same goes for presentations. Chunking the presentation into parts makes it a lot easier to recall. Earlier in the course, we discussed two very specific techniques that can be used to remember a presentation. The numeric PEG system, and the method of loci, otherwise known as memory palaces. Either of these can be used to help you remember a presentation. If you're using the numeric PEG system, you need to start by writing out each topic you're going to cover in an ordered list from number one to three and through each topic that needs to be covered. Once you've done that, you start with number one, which you'll recall is associated to the visual of a pencil. And you need to create an exaggerated visual that combines pencil with whatever topic you'll be covering. If the topic is abstract, you need to find a way to visualize it or come up with some sort of visual that represents that topic. You can use a similar sound technique that we discussed in chapter three, less than seven, if you're having trouble with this. Here's an example. Let's say your presentation is on the topic of constitutional law. If topic number one is about the founding fathers and the writing of the US Constitution. You might picture Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers writing the constitution with a giant novelty pencil. The more exaggerated you make these images, the better. You'll recall that number two in the numeric PEG system is linked with a swan. Let's say topic number two in your presentation is about the court system in the US and how it's broken up into three parts. The federal courts or Supreme Court, the state courts, and the local courts. Here's what you might do. You picture three swans, one big swan on other medium-sized Swan, and a third smaller size Swan. These three swans will remind you to talk about the three courts in your presentation. And then you would continue going through each number and each associated topic. The name of the game here is association. Another way you can remember the presentation could involve the use of a memory palace. Your memory palace is a place that you're very familiar with, like your home. The place should have a series of locations where you can put things in a precise order. You'd put each topic in each place. But the important thing here is that you visualize some sort of action in each place that has a vivid piece of imagery that is exaggerated. If we go back to our example of a presentation on constitutional law and let topic number one discuss the Founding Fathers. You might picture yourself walking into your home and all of the Founding Fathers are gathered in your living room watching Netflix. You then precede the second place of your home, which could be your kitchen. And if you had to discuss the court system in the US, you might picture a judge in your kitchen pounding the gavel against the countertop. And of course you proceed from there to location number three and topic number three. And you do the same thing, come up with an exaggerated image that will remind you of the topic you need to discuss. Regardless of whether you choose to implement the numeric PEG system or the memory palace technique. Just remember that repetition is still important. You'll want to rehearse these things a few times in order for the memories to stick tried out. Next time you have to remember a presentation. I think you'll find these methods to be pretty useful.
21. How to remember what you read: In this video, we're going to discuss a reading strategy that will allow you to remember more of what you read. This three-step strategy is called the multiple reading process. It has a preview, an overview, and a read. The preview is the first step where you read the introduction and conclusion to your text. The overview is the second step where you read all the headings and bold-faced words, or if you don't have headings, the first sentence of each paragraph. This leads us naturally to our third and most important step, the read. In other words, let's read the material that we've been getting familiar with. Think about the way most people read. A lot of people simply start from the beginning and read in a very linear way, all the way to the end. But you don't have to read all information this way. In fact, reading this way as part of the reason why people read slowly. If you don't know what to expect from the material, you're going to have to read it slower. Imagine the alternative. If you start by reading the intro and conclusion and then proceed to read all the headings or first sentences. Then think about the advantage that you have. When you start reading the material. You should naturally be able to go a little faster since you know what to expect. But what about your comprehension? That too should be enhanced sense you, you're already familiar with the material. And there is a third area of reading that's very important to us, our retention. What you remember is largely a function of repetition. Look at all the repetition going on in this process. Those three steps are purposely set up to provide you with increased repetition during the reading process. Most people read something from beginning to end and they wonder why they forget everything the next day, the answer has to do with repetition. If you don't preview and overview of the material, and you've only had one repetition and you're likely to forget much of what you read. If you want to enhance your memory of the material even further, take notes while you're reading. Note-taking reinforces what you just read and is another form of repetition to help you encode memories even more deeply. This three-step multiple reading process is a simple way to remember more of what you read.
22. Remembering passwords: Strong passwords have a combination of upper and lowercase letters, along with numbers and special characters. But most people avoid creating tough passwords because they can be difficult to remember. This video will show you a simple way to create a strong password that can be easily remembered. Here's how the strategy works. You come up with a short phrase that you can easily remember. Let's take the following phrase. Hi, my name is Paul and I am 30 years old. Can you remember this phrase from the short phrase, we generate the following password. At first glance, this might not make any sense, but there's a method to the madness. All you're doing is taking the first letter of each word and also including punctuation, while also making sure that your case-sensitive. So again, the phrase was, Hi, my name is Paul and I'm 30 years old. Can you remember this phrase? We take the capital H from the word hi. The exclamation point, the capital M, the lowercase n, i, uppercase P, a, and the capital I. Then we take the a from m, three from the number 30, The y from years, and the O from old. We take the period from the end of the sentence and then continue with the next sentence, capital C, lowercase y, r, t, p, and the question mark at the end. So we end up with a very secure password that looks like this. But all we need to remember is the phrase, Hi. My name is Paul and I am 30 years old. Can you remember this phrase? Try coming up with your own phrase right now. See if you can replicate what we just did here. I'm sure you'll find it to be pretty easy to not only create, but also remember a password that is very strong and secure.
23. Remembering important dates: Remembering important dates can be made easier by coming up with rhymes. One very popular rhyme you may already be familiar with is about the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492. The rhyme goes like this. In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean. Blue. Rhymes like this still require a little bit of rehearsing, but they make it easier to remember dates. Here are some other examples. The date of the Boston Tea Party was 1773. You take the last part, 73 and try to rhyme it with something like heavenly t. So notice how 73 and heavenly t have a rhyming pattern. You then build an image based on this. I'm going to imagine t falling from the heavens into the Boston Harbor. Let's take another historical example. 1861, the start of the Civil War. Let's take the 61 part. And 61 could rhyme with sticky gun. Now imagine a Civil War soldiers struggling with a gun that is covered in honey, a sticky gun. So again, 61, sticky gun, little rhymes like this make it easier to remember dates. Another way to deal with dates is by realizing that we learned in a variety of manners. Some people are auditory learners. If this is you try reciting the date into a recorder and listening to it multiple times. If you're a visual learner, draw your dates onto a timeline using pictures and bright colors. These two methods, auditory and visual learning, rely on repetition, which is always important to remembering anything. You can also remember dates by utilizing what we learned in the numeric PEG system, which we've gone over earlier in this course. In that lesson, we linked each number from one through ten to a visual. For example, one was a pencil to, was a swan. And each one of those numbers was linked to an image. So if you need to remember a dateline 1843, you can create a visual that contains in that order a pencil, race track, chair and McDonalds. You could also include in your visual, whatever it is you need to remember that's associated to that date. As always, make sure your images exaggerated to some extent so that it's more memorable. Another way to do this is to combine both the numeric PEG system with the memory palace technique. Here's how that would work. If the number was 1672, I would picture a pencil. The first digit one in location number one of the memory palace, let's say my front door. I would picture the pencil nailed to my front door so I know the first number is one. Then location number two might be the hallway of my home. There could be a large cherries sitting in the middle of the hallway. As you know from the numeric PEG system, cherry is associated with six, since they both have the same shape. Then we move on to the third digit, which is in the third location of my home, which is a seven, represented by the visual image of a lightening bolt that would go in position three. And the fourth position would take the last number which is two. The visual for two is a swan. Again, since they have a similar shape, I would put this one in the fourth location of my memory palace. You would then review this absurd placing of pencil, cherry lightening bolt, and swan in those four areas. And you know, the pencil equals one, the cherry equals six, lightening equals seven, and swan equals two. So we're left with the year 1672. Like a lot of memory techniques we are trying to utilize pictures, locations, associations, and exaggerations to remember these dates. You can apply the numeric PEG system, two dates that include birthdays or anniversaries. Let's say your mom's birthday is on June first. This translates to six slash one. So I need to remember the digits 61. In the numeric PEG system, a six is represented by a cherry, and a one is represented by a pencil. So you might picture your mom at her birthday with a cake that's topped with large cherries and candles that are pencils instead of normal candles. If you can remember that image of your mom with a cake topped with large cherries and pencil candle sticks, then it'll be easy to remember 61 or June first. Remember that repetition is also an important factor and how you remember things. So don't forget that writing down the dates can be helpful along with repeating them to yourself or out loud. And you should also test yourself because the struggle of trying to remember something helps you learn that information.
24. Remembering numbers: In an earlier lesson, we talked about how to remember dates. In this video, we'll talk about remembering other types of numbers. There are several ways to do this. If your number is seven or ten digits long, you could turn it into a phone number. Seven digit number might be 8574747, But you can turn that into a phone number, 8574747. Repeat that to yourself until it gets easier to remember or imagined yourself dialing that number on your phone. Or if you have to remember a number in the billions, like 3,128,574,747. You can turn this into a ten digit number, like a phone number with an area code. For example, 3.1.2, 8574747. This is a lot easier to remember than 3,128,574,747. Additionally, if you know that this area code is associated to Chicago, it makes it even easier. What if the number is four digits like one, 1.5.2? Try turning it into a time like 11:52 AM. You might even imagine that what you're doing at this time, possibly thinking of what you might be having for lunch. If the number was 1845, turn it into military time. 1845 could be 06:45 PM. Here's another trick you can use. Let's say you have to remember the speed of light, which is 299,792,458 meters per second. You have to come up with a sentence that starts with a two-letter word, followed by a nine letter word, and so on and so forth until you go through all the numbers. So to remember 299,792,458, you might memorize the following sentence. We guarantees certainty, clearly referring to this light mnemonic, you repeat this phrase to yourself a number of times, and then all you have to do is extract the number of letters in each word to retrieve the number you're trying to remember. This can work for long or short numbers. By the way, how do you go about finding these six letter words, eight letter words, or nine letter words? Quickly, just do a Google search and you'll come up with quick list that will provide you with many options. You can then create sentences in a Mad Libs type fashion. Try some of these techniques out for yourself. And I think you'll find yourself to be better able to memorize numbers.
25. Remembering formulas: In this video, we're going to discuss the memorization of formulas, something we've all had to do in school. Or maybe even sometimes at work. You might consider the memorization of formulas as difficult. But with a little mental effort, concentration and tricks. Memorizing formulas can be fun. We can apply some of the memory principles and techniques we've covered in this course to memorize these formulas. Just keep in mind that the best way to remember a formula, to fully understand how the formula was created to begin with. So if you end up forgetting that formula, you can backtrack and think of all the steps that went into deriving the formula. Understanding why the formula works the way it does is always better than simply trusting the magic of the letters and numbers in the formula. But there are situations where you might encounter difficulty in fully understanding how the formula was derived. Or maybe you don't need to know exactly how the formula works. Maybe you just need to be able to use it. Let's go over some techniques for memorizing these formulas. The traditional way to memorize a formula is through repetition. By writing the formula and repeating it so often that it gets fixed in your head. While repetition is somewhat helpful, self-testing is even more helpful. Getting your brain to remember something after you repeat the formula a few times by writing it or saying it, quiz yourself on it. If it's a very long formula, your first quiz will be difficult and you probably won't remember it at all. But that's okay. Look back at the formula repeated a few more times and then try to test yourself again. You keep repeating this process. Repeat and quiz, repeats. Then quiz. You'll notice that little by little, you'll do better on your self-testing of the formula. Aside from repetition and self-testing, You can also memorize formulas through mental pictures and exaggeration. Here's how this works. Each number, variable and operator must be represented by something that is easy to picture. Let's start with numbers. These can be remembered using the numeric PEG system, which we discussed earlier in the course. Here's a quick recap of the numbers in the images they represent. Now let's go over some of the most common operators we need to assign images to each of them as well. Since operators are kind of like actions that are taking place within the formula, let's make sure each of these operators is a mental image of some sort of action. The plus sign represents something being stacked on top of another thing. For example, one plus six, we can imagine a pencil with a cherry on top of it. Be sure to make these images vivid in your mind. So you might imagine the cherry had been stabbed by the pencil and the cherry juice is slowly dripping down the pencil. This would represent one plus six. The minus sign will represents something being taken away or stolen from something else. For example, three minus two could be a swan, the number two, stealing a bunch of Big Macs from McDonald's, the cilia or the image, the better. The division sign could be represented visually by picturing a home with two floors on the top floor, the numerator in your equation, certain things will be happening based on whatever numbers, operators, and variables are up there. And on the first floor to the bottom of the equation, otherwise known as the denominator, will have other things happening in the image we create. A multiplication sign would indicate things being duplicated. And the mental image we create. Exponents can be represented by something floating or flying. Parentheses could involve a hug happening in your image, or maybe things being tied together. And the equal sign could represent a magical proof of smoke with the resulting solution or whatever comes after the equals sign emerging from the dissipating smoke. Now that we have the most common operators visualized, we would have to come up with the images for each of the variables. The Greek letter for pi could be represented by an actual Pi. The variable x could be pictured as an intersection or crisscrossing airport runways. Now there are hundreds of potential variables out there. So rather than go through all of them here, come up with the images you feel are most appropriate. Once you have your images in place, it's time to start creating the visual story that will remind you of the equation. Rehearsing the formula by recalling the store you came up with is still very important and obviously requires some mental effort. But this is by enlarge, a much easier way to remember a formula than mindless repetition. Give us some practice and I think you'll find it to be a fun way to easily remember formulas.
26. Remembering your to do list: You can remember anything better by implementing mental pictures with exaggeration. In this video, we'll talk about memorizing your to-do list. Because your to-do list may need to be done in a certain order. We can use either one of two techniques we discussed in this course. You can use the memory palace technique or the numeric PEG system. Let's review how to apply these techniques to to-do-list. Earlier in this course, we went over the memory palace technique. This requires you to come up with a location you're familiar with, say, for example, your home. And then pick a logical order of sub locations within that place. For example, location number one in your home could be the front door. Location number two could be your hallway. Location number three would be maybe the kitchen, and so on and so forth. Location should be logical so that you can easily picture yourself walking through your home. To use the system effectively, you need to place what you need to remember at each location. So if item number one on your to-do list for today is to finish this course on memory. You would have to think of something that visually represents memory to you, For example, a brain. And then picture it at location number one, the front door or whatever location number one happens to be in your memory palace. Be sure to exaggerate these images. The easiest way to exaggerate anything is to make it really big or really small, or make it do something impossible. Remember that you need to finish this memory course. You might place a giant brain at the front door. Maybe it's holding a memory device like a flash drive and telling you not to forget to finish this memory course, then you would proceed to location number two, whatever that may be, and place the visual representation of your Second to-do item in that place and you continue doing this for your entire to-do list. That's how you would apply the memory palace technique. But you can also apply the numeric PEG system. We covered this earlier in the course. If you'll recall, the numeric PEG system associates each number from one through ten with a visually you can easily memorize and your head, here are the numbers in their associations in case you need to review them. Whatever is the first item on your to-do list, it needs to be associated visually to the image of a pencil. So again, to use the example from earlier, if item number one on your to-do list is to finish this memory course, we would use a visual for the memory course, something like a brain. And have to come up with some sort of exaggerated visual that includes pencils. Try thinking right now of the first thing that comes to mind when you think of brain and pencil, I'm imagining a giant pencil with a brain as the eraser. And every time the eraser is being used, the brain is getting angry because it's for getting information. We then proceed to number two, which represents Swan. And we would have to do the same kind of association with Swan and whatever thing number two on your list might be. Later when you need to recall your to do list, you simply go from one through ten, recalling that each what each number looks like. Once you recall that number one is a pencil, you'll easily remember the visual of a huge pencil with a brain for an eraser or whatever image you happen to create for yourself. Now I'm fully aware that most people take note of their to-do list digitally or on paper. But there might be situations where you can't write something down. And this is when the techniques will come in handy. For example, if you're driving a car and needed to remember multiple things to do later on. Implementing either the memory palace technique or the numeric PEG system can be a useful way to commit your to-do list items to memory.
27. How to memorize words in foreign languages: The similar sound technique was discussed earlier in this course. But in that lesson we discussed how the technique can be applied to technical terms you may encounter in English. But we can also use this technique for foreign languages. The same idea applies if you had a word in a foreign language that you are trying to memorize, you have to search for a sound in that word that sounds like something in English. When you find a familiar sound, tried to link it to an image, something you can picture in your mind. And then try to link that visual to the meaning of the word in a way that is exaggerated. This technique takes advantage of the fact that humans are very good at remembering visual information and things that are out of the ordinary. Let's take the Spanish word Barkow as an example. Particle means boat in Spanish. So again, we're looking for a similar sound within this word. The first thing I notice is the sound bark, which sounds like a sound a dog would make when it's barking. So you might imagine a dog on a boat barking the letter o out of its mouth. Or you may have linked the sound bark to something else, maybe the bark of a tree. You might imagine a large stump of a tree being carried out to sea by a boat. Later, if you saw the word motto, you would immediately remember these images that you imagined. Keep in mind that repetition is still important. So be sure to rehearse this visual multiple times in your head. Let's take another foreign language word. But let's try the Italian word Capella, which means hat. Now clearly there's the sound cap in that word, which is a synonym for hat. But this word also sounds like Jell-O. Well, it rhymes with jello. So you might imagine a person wearing a hat made out of jello. Or maybe you imagine someone played a prank on you and put jello and your hat, what would it feel like if you put the hat on your head? Imagined the jello getting in your hair and all of that craziness. So if you end up seeing the word Capella later on, you'll hopefully remember one of these images. We could go over countless examples like this, but the idea would still be the same. You need to look for a similar sound in the word. Link that sound to something you can visualize. And then try to associate that image with the meaning in some sort of exaggerated or silly way. Rehearse it a few times and I think you'll find this method to be very effective in memorizing the meanings of words in different languages.
28. Memorizing speeches or scripts word for word: Memorizing a speech or a script is definitely a challenge, but it can be done. Actors do it all the time. So what's their secret? Tip number one, you probably already know by now. Repetition. Repeat your lines again and again over and over. This tip is simple, but it works. Keep in mind that there are a variety of ways to get repetition. One way is to simply read your lines to yourself. Another way is to read those lines out loud. Once you've read the lines to yourself and out loud a few times, you can then try to recite the first part of your script or presentation without looking at the words. This will be hard at first, but each time you repeat, you'll get better. This is sometimes called self-testing, and it's a very powerful way to remember things, even though you'll struggle at first, trying to rehearse it over and over again while making mistakes will actually help you improve faster than just reading the lines from the page over and over again. At some point, you need to look away and quiz yourself. Another way to get your repetition is to walk and talk. There's something about light exercise of walking that will help you remember what you need to recite. In fact, if you're doing a presentation or acting, there's a good chance you'll be standing while reciting. So why not learn these lines while standing and walking around? But what else can we do to remember our lines? You can try chunking your lines into logical parts. You can try mastering one chunk of lines before moving on to the next chunk of lines. As you may recall, chunking is a powerful memory principle and you can use it to remember speeches and scripts to. Here's another thing you may find helpful. There's actually some neuroscience on this topic that seems to indicate that taking naps can help you remember your lines better. I know this might sound counterintuitive, but here's how it works. You work on memorizing a section of lines and then immediately take a nap. When you fall asleep, your brain processes short-term memories, in this case your lines. And those memories get processed into another part of your brain called the neocortex, which is actually better for longer-term recall. So although it might sound strange that taking naps could help you remember things, a lot of research is showing that sleep helps your brain organize and remember information more effectively. Now whenever I mentioned this tip, I get a lot of people that tell me they're worried that if they try taking a power nap for 20-30 minutes, it'll end up being a three or four hour nap. If you're worried about this, tried drinking some coffee first and then immediately taking your power nap, it takes about 30 minutes for your body to get the full effect of caffeine. Then it'll be easy to rise from your quick memory boosting nap. You can also try combining some of the tips mentioned here with the memory palace technique we discussed earlier in this course. The memory palace technique involves picking a location, you know very well, something like your home. You then decide on an order of sub locations. The door could be a location number one with the hallway location number two, the kitchen number three, and so on and so forth. You then practice chunks of your lines in each location of your home. When reciting your lines, your mind will mentally walk through your home and you'll find it easier to recall the information word for word. Again, like all memory strategies, this one requires repetition and should include exaggeration wherever possible. So how much time should it take to memorize a script or a speech word for word? This number can vary, but most experienced actors can memorize a six page script in about an hour. A six page script, by the way, is usually equivalent to a scene that's about six minutes in length. So if you're able to memorize a six minute talk and about an hour, you're doing pretty well. Since this is something actors can do. You can use this as a benchmark for your own progress. But keep in mind that memorizing a speech or script word for word is no easy task, but we can simplify it by implementing the tips we talked about in this lesson.
29. Next steps: So where do we go from here? First off, congratulations on finishing this course. A lot of people start things but never finish them. So if you've made it to this point, you've made it a lot farther than most people would. The most important way to follow up this course is to actually implement the techniques we discussed. On a weekly basis. You meet new people, use the techniques we went over to remember their names. I'm sure you've probably read things on a daily basis. Don't forget to apply the memory techniques we covered to improve your retention of the material. If you're learning a foreign language, you can apply the similar sound technique to remember the meaning of the words. There'll be many opportunities for you to implement the memory techniques you learned. Like anything else, you'll get better at these things the more you practice. And keep in mind that all the techniques we discussed have underlying principles that make them effective. The principles include the following. Repetition. You'll remember something better if you rehearse it and test yourself on it. Exaggeration, We all remember things more easily if they're out of the ordinary. Chunking. When you can chunk things into parts, it makes it more manageable for your memory association. We easily remember things we can associate to other things and pictures. The human mind is very good at picturing information and remembering those visuals. Always try to picture something in your mind to remember it more effectively. And to remember these five memory principles, all you have to remember is the mnemonic device, recap, repetition, exaggeration, chunking, association pictures. That's right. We created a mnemonic device to help you remember memory principles. It's like taking a picture of a picture. This way. You'll never say that you can't remember what you forgot.