Time-Old Techniques “How to Improve Memory Power and Concentration”
Are you having trouble memorizing a set for school or can't seem to remember what you wrote in that shopping list you just lost?
You'll be hard put finding someone who hasn't been in one of these situations and have found a way through or around it. Everyone has had some face time with this particular technique on how to improve memory power and concentration sets and lists. Now they are used quite often as one of the methods that improve memory.
Remember these?
My Dear Aunt Sally (Multiplication. Division, Addition, Subtraction)
Every Good Boy Does Fine (E, G, B, D, F - note on the treble clef stave)
Rhythm Helps Your Two Hips Move (R-H-Y-T-H-M)
My Very Elegant Mother Just Sat Upon Nine Porcupines (Order of the nine planets from the sun)
My Very Excellent Mother Just Sent Us Noodles (Order of the planets sans Pluto)
These are mnemonics - a memory tool that is composed of codes that are rather easy to remember. Once you decode these (usually the codes are self-made so there'd be less complications), you'll be able to remember what it is you have had a hard time memorizing.
There are different kinds of mnemonic devices that serve as clues to help us remember through an association of words and imagery. The most common method for a mnemonic device as seen in the samples above is using the first letter of every word in a sentence to stand for something else, or turning a word into an acronym. Usually the more vivid the sentence imagery is, the more effective the device. For example, you can use images to remember names of your acquaintances such as a rose for "Rose".
Another kind that improve memory is with the use of rhymes and alliteration. A common type of this is the number/rhyme mnemonic where you use words that rhyme with the numbers such as "one" and "bun", "two" and "shoe", and so on.
There is also the "Method of Loci", otherwise known as the Roman Room Mnemonic, which is most effective for learning a new language or a speech that you have to give. You just have to associate each word or part of the speech with a specific landmark (if you opt to use a route which is then known as the Journey System) or an object in the room (the more unique, the better). These objects in the room can be a scratch on a door or a bent pipe - as mentioned earlier, a vivid imagery is always more effective.
Jokes and off-color associations are also effective ways to remember things. Ever wondered why a lot of speakers opt for inserting jokes into their speeches and talks? Or why there are times when all you remember after a lecture is a funny joke or remark told by your professor? Or why you things suddenly trigger strange associations for you? It's because peculiar things are easier to remember as they don't have the tendency to blend in and get lost with everything else.
As you can see, mnemonic devices are sure-fire methods that improve memory and are quite indispensible - much like tying a piece of string to your finger.
You'll be hard put finding someone who hasn't been in one of these situations and have found a way through or around it. Everyone has had some face time with this particular technique on how to improve memory power and concentration sets and lists. Now they are used quite often as one of the methods that improve memory.
Remember these?
My Dear Aunt Sally (Multiplication. Division, Addition, Subtraction)
Every Good Boy Does Fine (E, G, B, D, F - note on the treble clef stave)
Rhythm Helps Your Two Hips Move (R-H-Y-T-H-M)
My Very Elegant Mother Just Sat Upon Nine Porcupines (Order of the nine planets from the sun)
My Very Excellent Mother Just Sent Us Noodles (Order of the planets sans Pluto)
These are mnemonics - a memory tool that is composed of codes that are rather easy to remember. Once you decode these (usually the codes are self-made so there'd be less complications), you'll be able to remember what it is you have had a hard time memorizing.
There are different kinds of mnemonic devices that serve as clues to help us remember through an association of words and imagery. The most common method for a mnemonic device as seen in the samples above is using the first letter of every word in a sentence to stand for something else, or turning a word into an acronym. Usually the more vivid the sentence imagery is, the more effective the device. For example, you can use images to remember names of your acquaintances such as a rose for "Rose".
Another kind that improve memory is with the use of rhymes and alliteration. A common type of this is the number/rhyme mnemonic where you use words that rhyme with the numbers such as "one" and "bun", "two" and "shoe", and so on.
There is also the "Method of Loci", otherwise known as the Roman Room Mnemonic, which is most effective for learning a new language or a speech that you have to give. You just have to associate each word or part of the speech with a specific landmark (if you opt to use a route which is then known as the Journey System) or an object in the room (the more unique, the better). These objects in the room can be a scratch on a door or a bent pipe - as mentioned earlier, a vivid imagery is always more effective.
Jokes and off-color associations are also effective ways to remember things. Ever wondered why a lot of speakers opt for inserting jokes into their speeches and talks? Or why there are times when all you remember after a lecture is a funny joke or remark told by your professor? Or why you things suddenly trigger strange associations for you? It's because peculiar things are easier to remember as they don't have the tendency to blend in and get lost with everything else.
As you can see, mnemonic devices are sure-fire methods that improve memory and are quite indispensible - much like tying a piece of string to your finger.
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