07/ 02/ 2007
What was her name?
I've tried and tried, but I can't remember what we verbally agreed to at our meeting last week.
I know that Mr. Jones is interested in four items, but I can't remember the third and fourth.
If you're having trouble remembering details like these, you're not alone. Almost everyone complains about loss of memory, and some people worry that this also means a loss of mental prowess.
Memory is a complex phenomenon. It’s not fully understood by experts. But scientists do have clues about the causes of momentary memory failure, which often range from common fatigue to overstimulation. Better yet, memory experts offer a variety of tips you can use to help remember important ideas. Here are some of them:
- Use mnemonic triggers. Link a simple word, code or symbol to names or ideas you want to remember. If you meet a John Smith who happens to be eating spicy food, you might attempt to remember him as “Spicy Smith.” The mental associations between the name and the person’s actions, appearance or habits aid in memory.
- Go back to the start. When you can't remember something, think about the original discussion that prompted the thought in question. Since memories are stored in a multiplicity of neural pathways, you may end up literally “tracing” the path of the memory.
- Remember ideas as organizational patterns. Impose a structure on an idea you're trying to remember. For example, if you're trying to remember product features, alphabetize them. Other organizational patterns include metaphors, contrasts and numbering.
- Focus. When you know you've got to remember something, ponder it. Don't let other information clutter your thoughts. You'll stand a better chance of remembering the idea later on.
- Write it down. Having notes readily available is always a handy backup aid, but the act of writing in and of itself often aids the memory process.
- Compose fables and stories. Develop fictitious “mini-stories” about ideas you're trying to remember. The novelty of the resulting story will help you remember the details. If you're trying to remember a conversation about a business opportunity, for instance, you might make up a legend placing the business opportunity in a mythical kingdom or the old West.
- Create visual maps. Visualize what you're trying to remember in a geometric shape, such as a circle, triangle or symbol. Many visually-oriented people find this technique especially helpful. Let’s say, for instance, that you're trying to remember five steps in a manufacturing process. Visualize the process as a five-step ladder. Whenever you want to recall it, imagine the ladder in your mind and the entire picture may come back to you.
- Create mental charts. The human brain has the ability to easily store and retrieve numerical and alphabetical sequences. That’s how we often remember telephone numbers, for instance. Assign a sequence of numbers or letters to pieces of a complex idea you want to remember. Later, simply recall the sequence, and the associated details should come back to you quickly.
- Review. Because individual memories “travel” down a number of neural pathways, repeat important information back to yourself or mentally rehearse it at the end of a conversation or lecture. Or silently repeat it from the perspective of another person.
- Use your senses. Ultimately, we remember things because we're able to build a connection between one of the five senses and an idea. If you want to remember what a person looks like, you invoke the sense of sight. But remember: The more senses you use in committing something to memory, the easier the memory will be to recall. If you meet a business person wearing a silk tie, imagine the soft feel and texture of the tie in addition to its visual appearance. You're using your tactile sense to help create a memory.
- Exaggerate. Assign exaggerated or humorous qualities to whatever it is that you're trying to remember. An arcane section of business law might, for instance, become filled with hilarious bureaucratic detail in your mind—a great memory tool.
- File and code. Just as the act of writing aids memory, so does the act of filing. By coding a piece of paper containing an important idea with a numerical or word code, you impress the “location” of the thought in your own mind, and promote recall.
- Stage an imaginary conversation. Talk to a fictitious person about the item you want to remember. If you want to recall the key points in a sales presentation, enlist the help of an imaginary sales coach, for instance. Converse with him whenever you have difficulty retrieving your thoughts.
- Note the importance of the idea. Most psychologists agree that motivation is a memory aid. By mentally rehearsing the reason for remembering an idea, you'll be in a better position to actually remember it.
Any one of these memory aids can make a difference in your ability to recall important ideas, dates and faces. As an experiment, why not try using one of these memory aids to help you remember several of the points contained in this article?
Once you master a few of these simple memory techniques, you'll worry less about memory loss. More important, you'll be in a better position to remember the flurry of details that help you manage your daily life.
