I don't know about you, but I used to loathe having to do exams because of the work you had to put into them to get good results.

I did the work of course but I always slightly resented the fact that I had to make that effort.

Now when it comes to doing tests that I don't have to prepare for - well I love those.

These are tests that tell me who I am and how good I at things that I do naturally.

Psychological and psychometric tests are typical of these and given my interest in developing our remembering and recall abilities, I love trying out memory tests.

I found a great test on the BBC website that is part of a long term study in memory performance and development.

I will give you the link at the end of the post but first I want to tell you what the tests are about (without giving away too much crucial information of course).

It only takes 20 minutes to do and you will need a flash installed on your computer (don't worry about that, if you have a modern computer and not one from the ark the chances are you already have this but the site does give you the relevant downloads if needed).

There are 10 stages to the test, a couple of which are simply questionnaires to find out about life style choices and some common memory related challenges most people face.

Here is a list of what is tested:

1.   Visual Recognition Memory - you are presented with a scene and have to decide later on whether the picture has changed - a sort of spot the difference.

2.  Memory Binding - This is your ability to put things into your working memory and then update them when they change.  You need this ability for everyday activities.

3.  Numbers - Digit Span - One of the classic psychological tests is to see how many numbers you can hold in your short term memory.  It is believed that we generally have a capacity of 7 + 2.

Now in the World Memory Championships I held a 122 digit number in my short term memory and recalled it, becoming only the third person ever to break 100 digits at that time.

So the effective use of the appropriate technique can in fact distort psychological "standards" to quite a significant degree (most people will just try and repeat the number over and over again which is only effective up to the 7+ 2 range)

4.  Visual Working Memory - The capacity of this part of our memory is the limit to whcih we can hold visual information and the test they use here is actually quite fun - I did really well in this one and achieved a standard that less than 3% of the population ever achieve.

Scientists believe there is a limit to our visual working memory because we would probably be overloaded if we were able to remember everything we saw in a particular day.

5.  Long Term Memory - Everyday objects - This was a very simple test that asked just a a couple of questions about every day items we encounter just about every day and goes to show that just because we see something every day does not mean we will remember it - I got them both wrong!

6.  Delayed Recall - This is similar to the visual recognition test but spread over a longer period of time.

As human beings our ability to recognise pictures we have seen before is very good indeed -  the BBC quotes research done with people shown up to 10,000 different images with a recognition accuracy of 90%

7.  Working Memory Span - this was a very interesting test that looked at your processing time and your memory capacity and was quite a good mental workout - Women tend to do better in this test than men.

8.  Spatial Manipulation in Working Memory - now this sounds like a really difficult test but it wasn't (in terms of the concept at least).

Men are statistically better at this sort of test than women and there is no real answer as to why there are these differences with these two tests.

After working through all of the tests (which do take about 20 minutes) they give you a quick summary of the results and explain what each test means.

The only thing lacking is an indication of how you are in relation to the rest of the population.

I think this is its only short fall because you do get a sense of how good you are (or not) by how well you feel youhave done in the tests.

It is definitely worth doing, if only for the mental stimulation and workout you will get.

So just head on over to the BBC Memory Test and let me know how you got on.

Do you speak to call centres?

I speak to call centres alot.

And today over 2 separate call centres I spoke to 4 different people.

Now that is a quiet day because it was only a computer and internet connection problem I had today.

If I have to speak to the bank, check an insurance policy, deal with a utility problem or chase up the phone company (which seems to be quite a lot just lately) then I might be dealing with 4 or 5 different call centres and possibly double that amount of operators (given that inevitably I get put through to the wrong department).

I wouldn't want to do their job and I take my hat to each and every one of them, especially the tech support folk who keep me connected via the internet and telephone networks.

They do a vital and difficult job dealing with idiots like me (and you too?) on a daily basis.

I would imagine that in the course of their work they must have the best handle on the how society is these days from the huge range of different people who they deal with.

It doesn't matter if you are unemployed and pulling a fast one on the social security, a stay at home parent bringing up a young family or a high flying executive managing multi-million pound accounts because when you have to talk to the bank about your account, you have to talk to the bank.

And so these wonderfully resilient people on the end of the phone will certainly get the full spectrum of the social experience.

I don't know about you but I want a swift response and great service from them and in return I think they deserve respect and politeness from us.

And if both sides of that bargain are kept then we are all happy.

So one thing you can do when you are on the phone speaking to someone locked away in a dark and dingy call centre somewhere (don't believe the white walled, red carpeted, acres of room myths you see on TV) is to remember and use their name.

But what usually happens?

Well we are so impatient to have our issue sorted out and sorted out NOW that we forget the pleasantries and dive straight into demands.

A good call centre operator will tell you who they are when they answer the phone so the information is there to use.

So why don't we use it?

Well the reason is we forget it because we never heard it in the first place because we were not listening.

It is so easy in those circumstances to simply continue the conversation to this faceless operator and get what we want.

These are real people with real lives just like you and I and so why not try and use their name.

You will be amazed by the results you get.

To use their name you have to know it and you will only know it if you listen at the start of the conversation.

But there is also more you need to do.

When you get the name, repeat it, check you have got it right and then use it.

Example:

Them:  "Hi this is XYZ company my name is Naveed, how can I be of assitance to you today?"

You:  "Hi.  I am sorry I didn't catch your name could you repeat it please?"

Them:  "Sure it is Naveed"

You:  "Hi Naveed - did I say that right?"

Them: "Yes sir you did, how can I help?"

You: "Well Naveed, I am having this problem with……"

And then throughout the conversation, you use their name and then at the very end you say something like:

"Naveed thanks for you help today"

It is that easy and not only will you have remembered their name for the duration of the conversation, you will have made someone feel that little bit more special than the average caller and guess what, you are more likely to find them favourable to your cause.

You could of course write their name down to help you remember it.

That would work, but you would be denying yourself the practice of getting people's names the first time you meet them for real because the number 1 reason people forget the names of those they have just met is that they never got the name in the first place.

So here are the steps:

1.   Listen for the name

2.  Hear the name

3.  Repeat the name

4.  Clarify the name

5.  Use the name

6.   Use the name again

7.   Keep using the name

So practice on those poor call centre operators, get your name remembering skills up to scratch and who knows you may even start getting better service from those valient guys and gals.

The UK Open Memory Championships takes place in London this coming weekend (Simpson's in the Strand 16-17th August).

26 competitors will attempt to memorise lots of cards, numbers dates, images and other seemingly rather meaningless data over these two days with winner going on to compete in the World Championships in Bahrain later this year.

"Why?" or "What's the point?" I hear you ask.

The more cynical and maybe hard-nosed of you might remark "No friends eh?" or "Should get out more!"

So let's look at the point of competition.

When someone discovers they can do something really well (or indeed learns to do something really well) it is only natural to show off their talents to others.

Others watching might see what is being done and they may think "I'd like to try that, let me have a go".

So they try it out and discover they too can do it.

The competitive gene in our make up naturally encourages people to compare their abilities and so these get into competition to see "who is the best".

At the moment the Olympics in Bejing is probably the most developed set of competitions that pitches the best in the world against each other.

So can and should there be a memory championships?

If you do a quick google for obscure sports you will find there are some very strange ones indeed.

How about the Extreme Ironing World Championships (!), or the Underwater Hockey World Championships or perhaps the recent Sudoku World Championships?

How these sorts of competitions start is that a group of friends discover a new skill or sport, compete against each other and agree to do it all again next year.

The more enterprising start to take it a little more seriously, give the sport a title, rally those interested and if they are the only ones doing it on the planet, call their regular competition the "World Championships"

That is pretty much how it started with Memory competitions.

In the early 1990s, a few followers of Tony Buzan (the inventor of Mind Mapping) inspired by his revelations on memory decided to try out the ideas and see who could memorise the best.

A quick look around and they realised they were the only ones doing it and so the World Memory Championships were born.

Ever since they have grown and developed, stuttered a little in the early part of the millenium and now are a well established albeit somewhat niched event.

In the early days the World Championships were essentially a UK based competition but now as interest has grown around the world with more and more national events, this is probably the first true UK national championships.

It still begs the question though…why would anyone enter this sort of competition and what sort of people take up the challenge?

Well there is no simple answer to the first part of that question because each competitor has their own unique motivation.

According to the Times Body and Soul supplement this weekend, Katie Kermode, a translator from Cheshire, does it for the mental challenge of expanding her mind and the buzz of the competition.

Dominic O'Brien, 8 times World Memory Champion, does it because that is his profession - a memory expert who runs courses and writes books - he is quite good at it too.

I did it twice (The World Championships that is) and my motivation was to demonstrate what could be done with training (I historically had a poor memory) so I could then help business people develop their thinking abilities across a wide range of skills to improve their performance.

Having the Silver medal from the World Championships does bring a certain degree of credibility when you are helping people to discover what is possible for them too.

There are a mix of people who do enter competitions like this and in my experience the numbers who do are still too small to stereotype them into any distinct group.

Yes there is the odd geek or two but there are many more "normal" people from a variety of of different backgrounds who give these competitions a go.

What is clear though is that these people have taken the time and energy to discover how to train their memory and have done so to a very high standard indeed.

The effort and dedication required to perform at this level requires mental toughness, physical and mental stamina and a desire to succeed.

Whilst not as glamourous as the events in Bejing, there is as much spirit and dedication for those who excel in this sport and just like those pounding the streets of China, pedalling past the Great Wall or throwing themselves across the finish line in the Olympic Stadium, this competition offers hope to us all that we too can improve what we do in that area of our lives.

So many people think their memory is poor and much of that is because they are ignorant of what they can easily do with it to make it perform much better for them.

Now you might not want to learn how to memorise hundreds of numbers in one sitting or commit a shuffled deck of cards to memory in less than 30 seconds (yes that is possible and you could do it too if you were committed enough) but if you want to sharpen your memory , learn things faster and retain them for longer, then the strategies being employed in Simpson's in the Strand this coming weekend can and will help you too.

When asked "How Can I Improve My Memory?", there are a number of answers I could give.

It really depends what mood I am in, the needs of the person asking the question and specifically what they want help with.

The trouble with most people who ask the question is they only have a general and vague notion that they want their memory to be better.

They rarely come to me and say "Michael I want to be able to meet 17 people only once, spend less than 15 seconds with them and then remember their names and what they look like for the rest of my life….and I want to do that 3 times a week with 3 different groups".

Now to get something that specific would indeed be a rarity and I usually have to dig a little deeper to get anything even closely resembling something specific.

So many of the requests are quite general.

And so over the years I have developed a set of "general" things that anyone can do to help improve their memory.

Things like a good balanced diet of healthy and brain friendly food, regular exercise, lots of mental stimulation are regular answers.

More recently, and one I have been exploring myself is that of meditation.

At the weekend there was a feature in the Sunday newspapers about a teenage girl, stranded at a Bhuddist monastery in Thailand, who was forced to meditate (by circumstances I hasten to add rather than actual coercion).

Initially she rebelled and struggled with it but after a few days she settled into it and began enjoying the process.

She also started to notice many improvements including being happier, less stressed, peaceful and an improved memory.

Her increased abilities to recall the Bhuddist chants were the most notable feature of her improved memory.

So what is it about meditation that gives an improvement in memory?

Well first of all lets look at the wider benefits of a good dose of meditation.

It really depends on the meditational practice you subscribe to but a general slow down and deepening of the breathing will be one of the first effects.

This will slow down the heart rate and induce a greater feeling of relaxation.

Now if you are like the majority of highly active and stress threatened individuals in this day and age, just that process alone will create a better mental environment for your memory to function.

But in addition, that state will also start to induce more alpha brain waves - the relaxed alert state that in accelerated learning terms, is the ideal learning state.

So the relative effects of starting to meditate will be the transition from a stressed and agitated state to a more relaxed and calmer condition that is more conducive to proper memory functioning.

But what of the longer term effects?

Well a continued practice of meditation will induce greater clarity of thought and a calmer mind with an increased capacity for concentration.

If you read my post on short term memory loss you will see that poor concentration is often one of the conditions that creates events we call "memory lapses" when really it is not a problem with recall at all.

I am sure there is a wealth of research on this somewhere, but my experience and the anecdotal experience of others seems to point to meditation being a good thing for the memory.

So how do you meditate?

Well I am no expert on this and a good Googling on "meditation and concentration" will give you better advice than I can offer but seeing as you asked, here is what I do:

1.   I kneel on the floor (because I can - you might want to sit in a chair) with my hands cupped in my lap, eyes closed, facing east (seems like a good thing to do - rising sun and all that)

2.  I then focus on my breating trying to smooth it out and slow it down, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth

3.  Slowly I consciously relax all my muscles and body parts working from head to toe

4.   Once relaxed I count down from 20 to 1, breathing slowly all the way and imagining a sinking and melting sensation throughout my body with each number

5.   Once I have counted down to 1 I then bask in the glory of spiritual enlightenment and ponder on the majesty of the creation of the universe…….NOT

6.  Whilst trying to focus on my breathing I keep trying to shut out the everyday thoughts that keep cropping up and if I get a millisecond of peace, it is a good result.

7.  After an indeterminate time, I count back up from 1 to 20 becoming more aware of my surroundings as I get closer to 20.

Then it is the groan of stretching my legs after crushing my knees for 20 minutes and then off to do my daily efforts.

Does it work?

Can't remember …oh if only I had £1 for every time I hear that sort of joke!

Seriously I feel much better in myself when I meditate (and exercise, and eat well and think positive thoughts and stimulate my mind etc etc) and do notice a clearer state of mind which does contribute to me thinking far better which includes a sharper memory.

So try that out and let me know how you get on or if you have any suggestions from your own practice.

This question of age and its relation to an apparent decline in memory performance is one that I get asked a lot.

Well that is not strictly true because I don’t get asked that very often but I do get TOLD that is the reason why people’s memory is getting poorer.

1.  Keep physically active and take some form of moderate exercise to oxygenate your blood (medical advice always recommended before starting any exercise regime of course)
2. Eat a healthy balanced diet (use your commonsense to choose the foods but my rule of thumb is that the fresher and greener it is, the better it will be for me).
3. Stay appropriately hydrated
4. Challenge yourself to learn something new – a foreign language, a musical instrument, learn to dance salsa
5. Stay mentally active by reading, doing puzzles, playing chess etc
6. Stay socially active and surround yourself with stimulating people
7. Start thinking positively about your memory
8. Set learning goals to focus your attention
9. Learn a few memory techniques to help with those day to day things like lists, phone numbers and peoples names

So is there such a  thing as a photographic memory?

Many of the people I speak to would love to have the ability to see something once and then remember it for the rest of their days.

The ability to be able to absorb everything that we have ever read, every conversation we have ever had and everything we have ever seen or experienced seems to be the Nirvana of memory improvement.

And to be able to do that effortlessly would make our lives so much easier.

I am sure you have heard of people who have that ability and have marvelled at their achievements.

My late step-father's mother was able to recall the weather from any day in her life from the age of about 3 (which is when she had her ealiest memory).

Now unless you are a meteorological historian, that is hardly a useful skill to have however it is still a feat to be admired and indeed respected.

So how is it that some people can have that ability and most of the rest of us can't?

Well there is an assumption in that statement that it is an acquired ability - you either have it or you don't.

I personally believe that we all have a photographic memory…what we don't have is perfect recall.

There are a number of accounts of people exhibiting out of character photographic memory abilities under extreme conditions.

One story I read told of a woman who was having a particular form of brain surgery that required her to be conscious throughout the procedure.

The surgeon accidentally touched a part of her brain that was not being operated on and the woman suddenly had a rush of sensations and memories from a time when she was a small girl.

The experience was so vivid across all of her senses that it felt to her that she was actually reliving that particular moment as though she was there again.

Probably the more popular stories regarding photographic memory are those told of people recalling events from the past whilst under hypnosis.

Taking that one stage further, I have even heard of people being given a book, asked to flick through it so that they at least "see" every page and then under hypnosis being able to recall the entire contents word for word.

So I think that it is safe to conclude that it is just possible our amazing brain might store absolutely everything.

So why can't we access it all then?

That is probably the million dollar question.

However, whilst we might not suddenly be able to develop that ability of recalling EVERYTHING, we can develop our skills to the point where we can remember things that are important to us.

Memory development techniques, of which I am an exponent, can be used to produce seemingly remarkable feats of memory.

I say they are remarkable because by comparison to what is considered "normal" they are indeed amazing.

But the key thing is to have absloute clarity on what it is you want to remember and then use a technique appropriate to that.

But aside from that, are there any things we can do to get closer to having a photographic memory?

Well often the desire to have such a thing comes around when your memory has let you down in some way.

So one thing we can do is look at the causes of the so called "memory failure" because often it is nothing to do with memory at all.

Often it is the fact that we were not concentrating (see my last post about short term memory loss).

So perhaps being more in the moment is one way of getting towards having a perfect memory.

There are other things we can do too that are related to our diet and exercise regimes, how much we use our memory and stimulate our minds and of course what we believe about our memory's ability.

However I would question whether we really need to get to the level of a perfect photographic memory.

Do you have any experiences of either having or wanting a photographic memory?

If so add a comment to this post to let me know your experiences.

I was running a seminar just recently where I was helping a group of medical professionals understand effective learning techniques.

Their profession has just implemented a process of Continuing Professional Development and so they wanted so help with their studying strategies and how to improve their memory.

We had a great session and at the end of it I was surrounded by people who wanted to ask me questions.

Hanging back from the group was a young woman who clearly wanted to ask me a question but didn't want to do so in front of the rest of the group.

After 20 minutes or so, I finished answering the questions and then got on with packing up my things ready for the long drive home.

It was at this point that the young women approached me.

She seemed a little embarrassed but wanted to share something with me about her memory.

She explained she used to be a notoriously bad speller, that her handwriting was dreadful and so as a result she always typed anything she wrote.

What she wanted to know though was whether or not there was something wrong with her!

I wasn't sure what she meant so I asked her to explain.

She said that although her spelling over the years had improved to the stage where it was no longer a problem, she could not remember how to spell longer and more complicated words unless she was sat at a keyboard.

"If someone asks me to spell an unusual or difficult word, I simply cannot remember how to unless I am sat at a keyboard"

She went on…

"The only way I can remember the word is if I put my hands on the keyboard and pretend to type it out…then it is easy"

"Is there something wrong with me?"

 I had to laugh at her suggestion because this poor woman felt that it was a handicap that she had to do this.

I quickly apologised for my apparent insensitivity and explained that what she was doing was perfect for her because a) she was able to remember the spellings and it doesn't matter how we get there and b) she was just harnessing her natural tendencies for thinking.

Let me give you a quick lesson in learning styles.

If we take our five senses, what we see, what we hear, what we feel, what we taste and what we smell we have the different ways that we "make sense" of the world.

These five senses are the inputs to our brain that also allow us to learn.

If we discount taste and smell for now, the main ways we learn new skills and knowledge is through sight, sound and touch i.e. what we see, what we hear and what we do.

In learning style speak these are called the visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles.

In a simple world, each of these senses would be evenly balanced with each as strong and as powerful as each other.

However this is not always the case and what we find is that the majority of people have a preference from the three styles.

For some that preference is slight, for others it is so strong that information coming via the other two learning modes is pretty much a waste of time.

So in this woman's case, her kinesthetic sense was so strong in her that to remember spellings of words, she needed to rely on the mechanical movement of her fingers on a keyboard in order to recall that information.

I went to great length to explain to her that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her and complimented her on being able to use her unique thinking style to help her address the spelling challenge that we all face.

Now different people will use a different blend of the three styles to recall spelling. 

I myself will listen to the sound and of the word AND I will try and visualise it.

Once it is written I will know if I have got the correct spelling if it LOOKS right to me.

So I use an auditory approach and a visual approach to come up with what I think the spelling is and then confirm it visually.

This woman's approach was used her kinesthetic preference to achieve the same aim.

Some people also remember telephone numbers in the same way because the unique pattern their thumb makes (if using a cell phone of course) helps them remember the number.

I told this woman that I bet that was how she remembered numbers and she was amazed at my insight and seemingly superior intuitive powers.

Unfortunately for me, whilst basking in this artificial glory, I tripped over my bag and looked like a real idiot…

That will teach me  

Do you suffer from short term memory loss?

If the answer is a loud and clear "Yes I do!" then I have some news for you….

It might not be a memory problem…it just seems like one.

Let me explain.

In my work helping people improve their memory and develop their skills to be able to remember and recall just about anything they want, I am often confronted by people who are convinced that their short term memory is not working very well.

Now there are medical conditions and injuries that affect people's recall of recent events, but though I do get the occasional enquiry from people suffering from those, the majority of my work is done with normal healthy people.

This post is not about those sorts of challenges because I am not qualified in those matters, I merely help people by showing them a variety of memory improvement techniques that I have found work for me.

So when I am approached by someone who claims to have a problem with their memory, I always try to get to the bottom of exactly what it is they are struggling with (identifying the problem is a good two thirds the way towards a solution).

What I have found is that someone who is struggling with their memory often cites occasions where they have "forgotten" where they have put their keys/wallet/bag/car (yes even the car!).

I get e mails constantly from people who have successfully used different ways to help them remember all sorts of information. Of course many of the e mails are from students who are struggling to remember all sorts of wierd and wonderful things. It is always a delight when I hear from a student who has found a way to remember something important to their studies. Often they have used a device known as a mnemonic. Now a mnemonic is simply "an aid to memory" and so anything you use to help you remember something is technically called a mnemonic. If you tie a knot in your hankerchief to remind you to do something then strictly speaking that is a mnemonic. Even using tools like Mind Mapping should be considered as a mnemonic device because it can be used as a very powerful memory aid. But over the years, the term mnemonic has come to mean those little tricks that don't fall into a memory techniques in their own right but do have a play to part in helping you remember stuff. Examples are using rhymes - "Remember, Remember the 5th of November…." or strategies like taking the first letter of what you are trying to remember and use that for an easier word. For example the most "mnemonic'ed" set of information must be the order of the planets in our solar system from the sun:

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto

If you take the first letter of each planet (now I know Pluto has been de-categorised so just imagine it is still a planet for now) and then create a new sentence with words starting with those letters, but in the same order, then we get something like:

My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming Planets

Most people can remember what the planets are but struggle with the order. A simple sentence like this (or similar variants using the same first letters) allows us to recall the order much easier than simply reciting the planets over and over again.

Now just recently, Lyndsey (a medical student) contacted me to tell me how she used a mnemonic to help her remember some information concerning anatomy. She had to remember the 12 cranial nerves which are:

Olfactory, Optic, Occulomotor, Trochlear, Trygemenal, Abducens, Facial, Vestibulocochlear, Glossopharangea, Vegas, Acessory, Hypoglossal Now I don't know what this lot does or its importance but I do know that medical students have to remember this because I have had to work with people before to help them remember this information. I once worked with the daughter of a very wealthy family and we ended up creating a wacky visualised story that involved the pump room of their swimming pool, a large nose and the towels in their sauna (don't ask). Anyway, Lyndsey like all good students (not!) was revising in front of the television (now I won't go into detail here but Lyndsay, really, do you think that is a good idea - OMG! I am sounding like my mother!) Anyway Lyndsey tells me she was watching Oprah at the time, the episode about soldiers returning from Iraq and was inspired to come up with a mnemonic to remember the 12 cranial nerves which was:

'Old Oprah Occupies Troops Trying Abnormally Fast Vessels Going (to) Vegas (with) Accesories (in her) Hair'

Nice one Lyndsey - and it works too. She said at the end of her e mail:

"Helped me in the exam anyway!!Who said T.V was a distraction to studies!!Ha ha… Hope you let other Anatomy students know about this one!"

Well I have shared it and if you are a medical student I hope this helps you too.

I am always looking for examples of how people use mnemonics and I have found a really good one from the internet marketing fraternity.

A mnemonic is an "artificial way" of remembering something.  When you remember something just because you remember it you are relying on natural memory and recall.  When you need to do a little mental trickery to put it into your memory then you are using a mnemonic.

The term mnemonic comes from the Mnemosyne, the Greek goddess of memory and refers to any artificial device that you use to assist your memory and help you remember anything.  When you park your car in a very large car park and you remember that you have parked it next to the lamp post with the big number 4 on it then technically that lamp post is a mnemonic.

All memory devices such as the journey technique, any of the peg systems and tools like Mind Mapping are all forms of mnemonics because they are artifical aides to memory.  However these days when someone refers to a mnemonic, they are generally referring to little tricks that are not quite memory techniques in their own right, but do go beyond just repeating something over and over again to remember it.

One of the most common examples is how to remember the order of the planets in our solar system.  Now that poor Pluto has been downgraded from a planet (so I am told) and that Sedna may be a new planet in our Solar system this following example is probably a bit out of date:

My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Naming Planets

This easy sentence helps us remember that the order of the planets from the sun is:

Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto

And the way this works is that the first letter of each item we want to remember is then used as the first letter in each word of an easier to remember phrase.  Of course this relies on remembering that the "M" in "My" means Mercury so the main use for this particular mnemonic is to remember the order assuming that we know what the 9 planets are.

So that is the principle at work here.  Many people will probably remember that mnemonic (or one very similar) and may have considered them useful for stuff at school but have probably not re-visited the concept since their days sat in the classroom.

But today we still have to remember lots of stuff and lets make it easy for ourselves by using techniques like this.  I am always impressed by good teachers and the ones that stand out the most are those that not only put their topic across really well so that it is accessible and understandable but also that they do it in a way that helps their students remember.

Just recently I came across an example of such a teacher in the internet marketing industry.  This industry is all about helping business promote and sell their products and services more effectively on the Web.  One of the principles of good internet marketing is writing good "Copy" which means all of the sales literature that we read that persuades us (or not as the case may be) to buy a product or service.

It really is an art form and one of the best copywriters on the internet is a chap called Michel Fortin.  He has just written a post on his blog about how to remember the essentials of copywriting and he uses mnemonics to teach his students how to remember the key points.

I will share with you one of his mnemonics and recommend that you do read his entire post to see how he creates his to make it more memorable.  Like the example above, he takes the first letter of what he wants to put across to his readers, but he makes a word rather than another sentance.  For example:

Universal picture words or relatable, descriptive sentences."  becomes UPWORDS where "Up words" are picture words, mental imagery, metaphors, analogies, examples, etc so that all people in a given target market can easily relate to and understand, in their minds, your message and its meaning.

It is a very simple approach but it does work.  Using other people's mnemonics is powerful but the ones that have the greatest impact are those that you create yourself.  I still remember the categories of levers from my engineering apprenticeship 23 years ago because I created my own mnemonic for it.  I could give you a dynamic and engaging presentation on the three categories of levers if you want all from stuff I learnt 23 years ago and have not covered since.  It is not one of my most requested keynote speeches for some reason but at least I am prepared if ever my agent is asked for that topic

Do you have any mnemonics that you use?  If so let me.