First, we will play a memory game with you through which you will understand how properly do you see your brain, and how much do you utilize your brain the game is very simple.I will be giving you 10 different words you need to read it once very carefully and have to remember it.
If you are ready, let’s begin.
Start Pencil, Stamp, Rainbow, Carpet, Apple, Cock, Planet, Magazine, Gold, Watch.
Now close your eye and try to remember, how many words do you recollect out of 10.
OK, then if you are an average person like me then you will remember 5 to 7 words and it must be difficult to remember it in the proper order.
When I tried this, I could remember only 6 of them, now this thing is little wired because we all know that our brain is capable of storing huge amount of data than this.In fact, study says, that our brain can store data up to 2.5 Petabytes (approximately).To let you know,1 Petabyte(PB) is equal to 1024 Terabytes (TB), and 1 terabyte is equal to 1024 Gigabytes (GB), and 1 Gigabyte is equal to 1024 Megabytes (MB).
If our brain can store that much data, then why it is that we are not able to remember simple words, numbers or paragraphs, our brain cannot memorize it easily, or after sometime We quickly forget what we had remembered. Reason for this, mostly the techniques and ways we use to remember things, are not proper or correct.
Most people try to remember things by mugging or by repeatedly memorizing it but the reality is our brain is not made to remember things in such a manner after sometime We quickly forget what we had remembered.
Dominic O Brien has become world memory champion for eight times, not because he was born intelligent, or he was very smart in fact he was the weak student and also the dyslexic child. Still, he became the memory champion because he knew the proper techniques and ways of remembering things and proper ways of utilizing his brain.
Now, I will tell you some of the principles, with the help of which even you all can remember things easily and properly, just like Dominic or like any other world memory champion.
Principle no 1: Imagination:-
William James said in his book, that Imagination and memory are strongly connected to each other.
Ex-if I ask to share some of your old beautiful memories with me, you will start IMAGINING that experience in your brain, then you can easily tell me the experience if you can easily recollect those memories.
In different words the things which you can easily imagine,if you will more likely to remember it, when I ask you all to remember those 10 words, like me most people have not remember it properly, and those who have to remember will not be able to keep it for a long time, because we have not connected those words with the Imagination. Meaning, when I said the word Apple then you should have imagined and visualized, that you are holding a big red Apple, which tastes really good and has a good fragrance. After imagining something like this, there would have been a higher chance of remembering the word Apple, here if you have noticed, I have used many human senses in the Imagination like, how the Apple was looking, it’s colour, it’s smell, it’s taste etc. I did this because including senses makes the work more memorable.
Principal no 2:-. Association
Here association means a connection between two things, we are more likely to remember things which we are connected to each other,
Ex- we listen and see something so we start remembering stuff related to it. It happens because our brain remember things easily when it has a connection between each other or an association, but when we can’t see the connection between two things, then it becomes difficult for us to remember it. Again some example, when I told you those ten ( 10) words, they all were different, because of that you find difficult to recollect it, but if I would say the words which have a connection to each other, then you must have remembered it easily, like, if I said Pencil, then eraser, then ruler, sharpener etc, then you must have remembered these words easily, because most of the people can see the connection and link, easily between these words . So, if we want to remember different kinds of stuff, then we must use our Imagination and need to make an Imagination between them.
Now using these two principles,a technique forms which is known as a story method using this technique we can increase our memory capabilities,to understand this practice,again we will play a word game , but this time we will not remember it normally, Instead in a story form and we will see how different results do we get.
You can try this by closing your eyes, Just follow my words and imagine it properly in your mind. Let’s begin
Cycle– Imagine that you are going to somewhere, riding a deep red colour bicycle and feeling fresh air while pedalling, feeling very much relaxed because this cycle is very comfortable and smooth.
Chocolate– While riding that bicycle you feel hungry so you stop near the store and purchase your favourite chocolate and start eating.
Guitar– While eating the chocolate, you suddenly hear something when you listen to it attentively, you understand that it is the sound of a guitar, you find the sound so soothing that you start following it.
Soldier– When you reach near the guitar player you see that he is a soldier, tall and muscular, he is looking at you with a smiling face.
Suitcase– You see an old suitcase near soldier’s leg in which people are giving money.
Necklace– Then a woman comes, she finds soldier talent so attractive that she puts shining Simone necklace in his suitcase.
Football– As she starts weakling, suddenly a football hour her.
Kids– when you see from where the football has come, you found out, that from the short distance, some kids were playing games, you understand it must be there football.
Mask.-When you start looking kids fatefully, Among them, you see a kid is looking different from the other kids reason, he is wearing a white colour mask on his face you find that mask attractive, so you start walking towards that kid.
Rose– You see something red on the white mask as you walk closer, the fragrance of the ride start coming reason, on the kid’s mask rose was mounted.
Staple-When you reach almost very close to that kid, you see that the child has stapled on his mask.
Road-Then the child suddenly starts running towards the road full of vehicles.
Tomato-while running suddenly tomato comes under his feet due to which he loses his balance and falls on the ground.
Rocket-After, he falls, he looks towards the sky, he sees a big fire rocket going into the sky.
Diwali:- Then suddenly the rocket burst, with the huge sound, and with different colours or Happy Diwali Appears in the sky.
Now again close your mind and calibrate your self. how many words do you remember by remembering every single words by recreate the entire story on your mind this time I have not told you 10 words, instead I have said 14 words, now if you all imagined the story properly, then you would have remembered all 14 words also in the proper order do comment your both times scores. This story was my Imagination so there is a possibility, that maybe you all have not memorized it properly or easily if you make a story of as per as your Imagination, then this technique will work much better.
You can make story whichever way you want to, just try to use different senses, use in your Imagination and try to keep a logical association between them this was only one technique which memory champion uses.
This technique which I have shared with you all is from the book “you can have an amazing memory” by Dominic O’Brien this book contains many other techniques which can help you to increase your memory capabilities.