#memory champion

This is the first part of your guide to become a memory like an elephant. Memory-Sports.com will give you an insight in the amazing techniques of all mental athletes, starting with the famous Method of Loci. You will learn how to memorize numbers, cards, names and words and discover the fascinating world of Memory Sports.

Tonight I'm building my first proper elephant path. Part of improving my memory so I can live in the present and remember it without accumulating material memory joggers... 

Dominic O’Brien’s Methods

These techniques are from Dominic O’Brien — 8 time winner of the World Memory Championships. The techniques are described in the audiobook, Quantum Memory Power. Three principles of memory:

1. association — memory and creativity are based on associations location — there is something about placing mental images in a

2. specific location that makes them easier to recall

3. imagination — the mind remembers things that are exaggerated, so mnemonic images should be vivid and exaggerated

O’Brien said that mnemonic associations should be given a specific location. When someone’s name can’t be remembered, the first thing the mind does is say, “where did I meet this person?” As soon as the person can be placed in a location (e.g., “I met this person at a cafe last year”), all the other associated information about the person usually comes flooding back.

Mental locations for people can be artificially created. In Quantum Memory Power, Dominic O’Brien says always give a face a place.

Here is a summary of the four techniques for remembering names and faces from Quantum Memory Power:

1. You remind me of someone… If a person immediately reminds you of someone, they can be transported to a specific mental location. For example, if they remind you of a friend, picture the person at your friend’s house.

Then when they tell you their first name, use the name to create a key image that you then place with the person in your friend’s house. If their name is James (the most popular name in the US), you might have the person holding a gun and spinning around like at the beginning of a James Bond movie.

When you see the person’s face, you remember the mental image of the person at your friend’s house and the gun (symbolizing James Bond) which brings up the name James.

You can reuse key images. “Gun” might always mean a James. “Apple on head” might always mean a William (Tell). “Jay pecking at a corn cob” might mean a Jacob.

2. What’s my line… For this one you need their line of work, so it’s less convenient. If you know their line of work, you can get your location from their line of work.

Example: she works in a coffee shop, so place the person behind the counter of a specific coffee shop. Her name is Isabella which can be broken down into “is-a-bell-a”… you could picture her transforming into a bell. When you see her, it brings up the image of her turning into a bell at a coffee shop and you remember “Isabella - works at a coffee shop.”

3. The feature link This variation uses things like physical features, tattoos, or other characteristics. If your first impression is “pointy ears,” and that makes you think of Spock from Star Trek, place the person on deck of the Starship Enterprise.

When they say their name, place the key image with them on the deck of the Starship Enterprise. E.g., the name is William. Picture him with an apple on his head on the deck of the Starship Enterprise.

When you see the person the chain of associations is: pointy ears -> Mr. Spock -> Starship Enterprise -> apple on head -> William Tell -> his name is William.

4. First-name Places This is the easiest for remembering a lot of unfamiliar people at once. Get person’s first name. Transport them to a location based on the first name.

E.g., for the name Noah, you could picture him on an ark. Seeing the person brings up the image of them on the ark and the name, Noah. The name Samantha might remind you of the TV show Bewitched so you could place the person on the TV show.

Complicated names can be broken down. One example Dominic O’Brien uses is the name Walski. You can break it down to “wall-ski” or someone skiing up a wall at the location. So Samantha Walski might be skiing up a wall on the TV show Bewitched…

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Chester Santos’ Methods

Tips from the 2008 USA Memory Champion: http://www.chestersantos.net/blog1/?p=20

Summary from the blog post:

1. Repeat the person’s name right after hearing it: “Nice to meet you, John.”

2. Associate the name with someone or something: Alice -> Alice in Wonderland

3. Use visual images: Alice -> Alice in Wonderland -> rabbit. Alice has nice lips, so picture a rabbit kissing Alice. [Unusual images are more memorable. This is similar to the Dominic O’Brien techniques described above.]

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