This method is very unlikely to bring about any amazing results. So let’s take another approach to memorization.

First, let’s see which things are easy to remember and which are not.

Things We Remember and Things We Forget About

Basically, we remember things that concern ourselves. If we got strong emotions during a situation, we’ll remember it afterwards. If we don’t feel anything about a certain fact, we’ll probably forget that fact.

Things that concern us only indirectly, like the exact numbers of a telephone number, are very hard to remember if you use the wrong technique. The problem is that we often want to remember such things. We don’t want to forget the birthdays of our friends for example.

The Right Technique To Remember Things

If you want to remember something, convert it to something that makes you feel. Something of personal importance. Something that is easy to remember. This could be something funny, strange or even perverted.

There are different techniques to do just that:

• Using mnemonics: You probably used a few mnemonics at school. Most of the time, a mnemonic is a sentence or a word that is easily remembered and can be converted back to the things you want to remember.
• Remember similar sounding words: This one can be used to memorize names for example. Instead of trying to remember the exact name, memorize a similar sounding word and associate this word with the person who’s name you want to remember.
• Using peg words: Peg words are a way for memorizing lists by learning another list of words first and then associating the words of the new list with those of the list you already know. The pre-memorized list should be comprising of words that are easy to associate with numbers. I don’t want to go into great details here, as I plan to write an article about it soon.
• The phonetic alphabet: The phonetic alphabet is a way to transpose numbers in words and words back in numbers. See my article The Phonetic Alphabet for further information about this.
• Conversion to mental images: This one can be used well to remember words or sentences that are easy to imagine. Involve as many senses as possible. Try to see the facts, touch them, smell them, hear them. Visualize them in detail. Form strong mental images.

You can also combine the above methods.

Other Techniques to Improve Memorization

There are some other techniques which don’t really convert the facts but help you to remember them as well:

• Repetition: This one is well-known. It’s the only technique most people use frequently to remember things. Unfortunately, it’s not very effective on its own.
• Exaggeration: Make things seem funny or strange. Make important details of your mental image appear huge for instance. This way you’ll remember them a lot easier.

Short Example: Remembering Passwords

Passwords only concern us indirectly. We usually don’t associate the password with anything that makes us feel. So we easily forget it.

But why not convert it to a sentence? Sentences are way easier to remember than mere combinations of symbols.

You could do it like that:
PEccT2mP+A could be converted to Pink Elephants can cause Trouble to many People and Animals.

Imagine in detail how a pink elephant is causing trouble. Be creative. Use as many senses as possible to do that. See the elephant, smell it and hear it.

It’s easier to remember the password this way, isn’t it?