There are a few tips that help you improve your power of memorising. Simple as these are, you must practise them regularly to reap benefits.
The fact of the matter is that whatsoever we learn from our work experience, that ignites our mind and adds to our pool of wisdom. This ‘learning’ is what, in a manner of saying, triggers our mind.
Keeping this premise in view, below listed exercises have been crafted to help you memorise better :
Technique of magical numbers
It is a rather simple way of memorise a list of items in a given order. Here an analogy is stuck between number and item listed against it. So to say, the number and item must appear similar in formation. For example, 1. Candle 2. Duck 3. Beetle 4. Nose 5. Hook 6. Umbrella 7. Axe 8. Spectacles 9. Walking stick 10. Bat-ball.
Now, with the help of above, number-word pairs, try memorising the list of items given below :
1. Bottle 2. Bed sheet 3. Teeth, 4. Computer 5. Fan 6. Rain coat 7. Wood 8. Spoon 9. Medicine 10. Studies.
For this, all you have to do is to superimpose this test line into above stated standardised number-word pairs. You can do this as explained here.
Candle-Bottle
Imagine that all of a sudden there is electricity failure and you are scarring to find a candle. Just then in a flicker of candle light you see that your younger brother is trying to ignite a firecracker—lodged in a glass bottle.
Duck-Bed sheet
Try seeing yourself resting on bed with a white shroud covering you head to toe. And just then comes into your imagination, your little one playing with her toy duck which, in her innocent fiddle, falls on your feet. That wakes you up—frightening your daughter—who runs out of room in fear. The toy duck is then picked up by you and placed on nearby table.
Beetle-Teeth
Visualise that you are travelling in a train and your copassenger complains of toothache. Just then a drug hawker appears on scene and applies some medicine on to his teeth. The man’s denture, thanks to his habit of chewing beetle leaves, is all black and besmirched. Seeing this, you advise him to give up habit of chewing beetle leaf.
Nose-Computer
Visualise that you are playing a computer game. One of the games available is that of picture making. And as you press button to reach this option, a clown with long tapering nose flashes on screen—making you laugh uncontrollably.
Hook-Fan
What if you sit reading in a room where staccato of overhead fan forces you to look up. You find that the hook on roof shakes precariously to fan’s vibrations. Lest it may fall down, you get up from your seat and switch off the fan.
Umbrella-Raincoat
In your mind’s imagery, you are stranded on way by incessant rain. Your furtive glances then rest on a general store displaying rain accessories. And you enter that shop for purchasing an umbrella and a rain coat.
Axe-Wood
There you are in a virtual world hitting a piece of wood with your axe. The tool however slip off your hands falling on your feet, injuring it and forcing you to see a doctor and get it dressed.
Spectacles-Spoon
Imagine your younger sister having a crush on grandfather’s eye-specs. Ogling through oversize spectacles of elder, she devours a sweat dish with the help of spoon. Seeing her thus you burst into peels of laughter.
Walking stick-Medicine
Here your visual show cases your aged grandfather who is seriously ill and all alone in his bedroom. It’s time for his medicine but he doesn’t have energy to walk up to it. He tries nevertheless, standing upright and staggering forward—thanks to his walking stick—which he seems to clutch for his life. He thus reaches out to his medicine—gulping it down with a glass of water.
Bat ball-Studies
In the park facing your house a pack of children play cricket while you are engrossed in pages of book titled, ‘How to remain healthy.’ And just then a sixer hits you on the nose. The book slips out of your hands and you are seething with anger. But children feel sorry and you cool down—and busy yourself once again in the pages of book.
The number limerick technique
This is a delightful way of memorising host of items and informations.
Just recollect your childhood days, and the ease with which you memorised many a poems, ballards, stories. Most of them you remember even to this day. This technique helps you remember by way of number-word-rhyme as given below :
1. Fun, 2. do, 3. tree, 4. core, 5. hive, 6. fix, 7. heaven, 8. wait, 9. fine, 10. hen.
Now all you have to do is to memorise this number-word lyrical sequence. And it isn’t hard. For, doesn’t ‘three’ vibe with ‘tree’? Now to your imagination of ‘tree’ (three) you can add description of your liking. It may be a banyan tree, neem tree or mango tree. Solo or many of them. On desert, island or thick of forest. All this is left free to your sweet will and imagination. Likewise, you can jog your imagination for the rest of the number chain. Now, for exercise, try memorising the list of items given here below :
1. Bottle 2. Quilt 3. Spoon 4. Computer 5. Milk 6. Mouth organ 7. Film. 8. Candle 9. Lesson 10. Sugarcane.
Try dovetailing this into base line lyric given in foregoing, and weave thought patterns as explained below :
Fun-Bottle
Imagine you are partying and having lots of cold drinks. And, the end of your revelry leaves a trial of empty bottles in good number.
Do-Quilt
An advertisement for a popular soft drink goes like this : do the dew. But these are winters and you aren’t crazy for cold drink. You would prefer to be cozy. On a chilly winter night and do-the-quilt.
Tree-Spoon
You are sitting on a tree and enjoying a sweet dish in spoonfuls.
Core-Computer
Imagine yourself to be a computer wizard. And you love it from core of your heart. Also, it is an area of your core-competence.
Hive-Milk Till date you saw only honey come out of a beehive. What if you get milk-instead! Would you forget it?
Fix-Mouth organ
You are tired of your little one constantly blowing at his mouth organ. To teach him a lesson you apply quick fix adhesive to instrument. And lo! The musical slab is fixed to youngsters mouth, who, then, frantically tries to get rid of it.
Heaven-Film
It’s easy. Aren’t you, generally speaking, in heaven while watching a film?
Wait-Candle
Can you wait to buy a pack of candles on a busy shop? Sure you can—if these are niche products prepared by a famous bollywood actress herself.
Fine-Lesson
You are driving at break neck speed on a stretch of road where speed shouldn’t cross 40 Kms/hr. So, a police van cuts your way—forcing you to stop. A policeman alight from van and fines you Rs. 500, a penalty for overspeeding. As he charges fine, he warns you to take care. And that is a fine-lesson for you on road safety as well as on traffic rules.
Hen-Sugarcane
A hen strays from poultry farm on to an adjoining field of thick sugarcane crop. Harried farmer runs after the bird, searching for her in sugarcane plants, finding her there in the long last. Having gone through the above drill, it would be convenient for you to stretch such lyrical lines to a memorable format. No need to learn them by rote, or be dissuaded by their seeming irratinality. The idea is to give you a hint on how to help your memory power with rhyme and reason. Here are some more of lyrican lines which can assist your memory:
1. Fun, run, done, sun
2. Do, boo, sue, loo
3. Tree, free, curry, hurry
4. Core, whore, nor, yore
5. Hive, live, dive, archive,
6. Fix, tick, lick, mix
7. Heaven, leaven, driven, given
8. Wait, rate, gate, freight
9. Fine, wine, line, dine
10. Hen, when, then, zen
In this way you can add to your repertory of memory base, and improve your power to remember and recall at will.
