Short Term Memory : How To Be A Memory Whiz Is Really Fun

Article by Jim DeSantis

Sometimes it seems we go “brain dead” at the most critical moments. We meet someone for a second time and go blank on their name. We have to make a presentation and our memory leaves us embarrassed. It does not have to be that way.

Here are my top tricks to get you on the path to becoming a master of memory:

1. Use humor or exaggeration.

Information stays in memory longer if it is related to something novel and interesting. Make up something funny or exaggerated that ties into what needs to be memorized.

2. Focus.

If you’re in a situation where something is going on that you want to remember, focus and quietly tell yourself you will remember it. It takes eight seconds to process a piece of information and store that information in your brain. So, when you meet someone new, repeat their name silently in your mind several times while studying their face.

You can even ask them to repeat their name and then repeat it back to them: “I’m sorry, what is your name again?” Then, repeat it back as a question: “Bob Jones? Nice to meet you Bob.”

3. Think movies.

Let’s say you acquire new information from a documentary film. You were interested in the topic. Interest and focus are very important to committing something to memory. Then you consolidated it with similar memories. For example, you knew some basic information about the topic at hand and the documentary provided accentuating pieces of knowledge. You let those fall into place and connect with what you already knew about the topic. Then comes retrieval, which is self explanatory and where tips for improving your memory pay off.

4. Memory can be short-term or long-term.

In short-term memory, your mind stores information for a few seconds or a few minutes: the time it takes you to dial a phone number you just looked up or to compare the prices of several items in a store. Such memory is fragile, and it