15 Ways to Improve Your Memory

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4. Use mnemonic devices

Mnemonic devices are mental clues including pictures, rhymes, puns and acrostics. Some people are capable of creating a mental picture of an event or data as if they were using a standard camera. This picture is stored in the visual sensory memory and revisited when the information needs to be retrieved.

When first meeting a person, look for a clue that distinguishes them and commit this to memory along with their name. Child-like rhymes are often used as memory aids for remembering facts such as the names of people and places or the sequence and number of days in the months of the year. Likewise, acrostics help younger learners to recall the names and order of the planets.

Puns are more complicated to create. The play on words can be witty and amusing, but the pun itself could become an interference to smooth memory recall.