How to Improve Your Memory

Why is it that most people cannot find the time to improve their memories? It’s easy and the benefits far outweigh the effort required.

A more powerful memory can lead to greater success at work, at college, at home and in your social life.  Would you like to be able to remember the names and faces of people and their interests long after you met them for the first time?  Could you benefit from a better memory for numbers, such as PINs? With an improved memory your speeches, general knowledge, exams results, vocabulary and even your appreciation of art would be significantly enhanced. 

You may already have a good memory, but everyone from young students to those who feel that their memory is ‘not what it use to be’ can use memory techniques to develop a better memory.

To improve your memory you need to know a little about both memory and memory techniques. Consider the following two questions:- Could you remember the name ‘Aletha Edvinsen’, if you were offered £10,000 to remember it? Why can children remember the names and characteristics of ‘Pokemon’ characters more easily than multiplication tables?  You need motivation and interest to devote the time and effort required to memorise the information.

At school we were all taught the boring and inefficient memory techniques of repetition and re-writing.  Some people also learnt the value of grouping, reorganising and summarising.  You may have used rhymes such as “30 days has September….”, or ‘first letter’ systems such as ‘Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain’ (for the colours of the rainbow).  However, very few schools taught more effective memory techniques.

You can easily develop a more powerful memory.  Memory techniques, including the use of links, associations, imagination, images and various ‘peg’ systems are well documented in a large number of good books.  For less than £10 you could select one of the best sellers from an internet book shop. Alternatively, for less than £20 you could learn these effective memory techniques from an interactive CD, packed full of fun exercises and examples (see www.p2d.co.uk).

You now know the benefits and how to go about improving your memory. Is it worth your time and effort to develop this valuable life skill? 

8 Easy Steps to a Better Memory

Most people would like a better memory. Try one or more of the following steps to improve exams results or improve your memory for life:  

1. Think of a link or an association between what you are trying to remember and something that you already know.

2. Be active, write, speak or use your imagination.  Passive reading is neither efficient nor effective.

3. Use techniques such as reorganising, grouping and summarising the information to be remembered.

4. Develop an interest in what you are trying to remember, maybe by looking at an aspect of it in greater depth.

5. Don’t rush!  Allow sufficient time to remember the information.

6. Keep your levels of concentration and energy high by taking sufficient breaks.

7. Make sure that you understand the basics of a subject before trying to memorise related facts. 

8. Learn some powerful memory techniques from an interactive CD (for less than £5, see www.p2d.co.uk). These techniques are ideal for more challenging memory tasks such as names and faces, numbers and general knowledge.