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You’d like a bunch of mnemonic strategies that help you learn faster, right?
Whereas nearly every article on the Internet is going to give you a bunch of weak techniques like “keywords,” here’s the thing you need to understand:
Using the keyword method as a mnemonic device is not a strategy. It’s a tool that you use strategically.
And one of those strategies involves how you design your life so that you can use memory techniques – like I did while getting my PhD at York University in Toronto. And later when I lectured at the University of Saarland in Germany.
So if you want proper mnemonic training, buckle up because I’ve going to give you some mnemonic device examples, and in a way that doesn’t muddy the waters. Everything is based on real-life uses that have led to substantial outcomes.
Here’s what this post will cover:
What Is A Mnemonic Device And How To Use One Strategically?
The Most Highly Effective Mnemonic Strategies & Techniques
What Is A Mnemonic Device And How To Use One Strategically?
As we got through the list of strategies and devices, keep in mind that there’s no particular hierarchy of importance.
I suggest you add each and every one to your mental toolbox.
Strategy One: Amplify Your Flashcards
A mnemonic device is anything you use to help you remember something. That includes everything from rote learning with flashcards to using a Memory Palace.
If you want to use flashcards strategically, then you need to add a mnemonic element. For example, instead of showing yourself the same card repeatedly and hoping the information will stick, to use flashcards strategically, you will combine a mnemonic technique like elaborative encoding with active recall based on a spaced repetition pattern.
For example, I’ve used elaborative encoding to make the German word Bereich (area) more memorable:
This approach uses Bender from Futurama as a mnemonic image and is strategic because:
1) I used my hands, colors and a non-digital tool I could easily revisit both physically and mentally.
2) I did not cheat by including the target information anywhere in the mnemonic device. This forces me to at least try to use active recall.
3) This drawing is linked to a Memory Palace that enables mental spaced repetition based on a few principles (Primacy Effect, Recency Effect, and Serial Positioning Effect).
Although I am not a great artist (and you don’t have to be), this approach is so much faster and effective than spaced repetition software. I was inspired to start drawing my mnemonic examples in this way by language learning expert Gabriel Wyner. His book Fluent Forever is incredible.
Why use Bender? Here, the alphabetical strategy is in use because “be” is in both Bender and the German word Bereich.
Strategy Two: Use Memory Palace Locations Strategically
Let’s extend this example to teach you another principle.
Bereich means “area” in German. To help remember both the sound and the meaning, I used a Memory Palace, but imagined that Bender was in Berlin’s Tegel airport (within my Memory Palace).
There are other ways to think about this approach.
For example, when I passed my test for permanent residence in Germany, I need to prove that I knew a lot about the country. So I used the map of Germany itself as a kind of Memory Palace. For more details on maps as Memory Palaces, check out this tutorial.
I’ve also used locations that are appropriate to memorizing poetry to create a meaningful association. For example, I used the Keats-Shelley House in Rome to memorize some Keats. I’ve also memorized scripture using a church, etc. The basic idea here is that you’re using the mnemonic device strategically by linking the content with the location based on themes.
You can take this further by memorizing only words related to cooking in a foreign language using your kitchen as the Memory Palace, etc. I would not overdo this because you should ultimately be able to use just about any location for any learning task. But it certainly can create an advantage for some learning goals and is well worth exploring.
Strategy Three: Use Multisensory Mnemonics
The next next device I’m using is association through imagery.
But it’s not “imagery” in the way we normally mean use that term. I actually don’t “see”a picture of any of this in my mind.
Instead, I’m operating more on the level of observation, sound and kinesthetic experience. As mentioned, “Bender” starts with ‘be” and so does “Bereich.” And if you look at my drawing again, you’ll see there’s a drummer in the image.
That’s Steve Reich, a very important drummer in the history of percussion. Be + Reich = Bereich. And to make the association even more multisensory, I just took a second to imagine what it feels like to hold drumsticks in my hand.
Easy, right! Yes, but most people fiddle around with the “keyword” method, an agonizingly inadequate approach when you’ve got real memory tasks to conquer. Please don’t underestimate this simple activity. Researchers have found that students enjoy learning vocabulary much more by using this kind of approach.
Strategy Four: Add Phrases Or Context To Individual Words
Sometimes people complain that memory techniques are only good for lists. I’ve addressed this issue in depth in this video:
People aren’t wrong to worry about this apparent limitation, but the reality is that every sentence is a list of words. And every paragraph is a list of sentences.
Not only that, everything we speak or consume comes out in a temporal order.
That means that we will always learn and memorize in the form of a list in one manner or another.
So in language learning, my strategy is to start by memorizing 5-10 words and then add phrases to each word. Or, if I’m learning facts, I start by establishing the fact in memory first, then add context.
By building upon established foundations, this strategy allows for expansion in a way that feels fun and rapidly scales.
Strategy Five: The Memory Palace Technique With Recall Rehearsal
Finally, the main device I draw upon is called spaced repetition – but a special kind based on findings in memory science. Basically, the technique involves how you revisit information in your Memory Palaces. I suggest different orders, such as:
1) Revisit the memorized words forward
2) Backwards
3) Out of order
There are more patterns you can deploy and I cover them in Memory Palace Mastery. Why not grab your seat now? I’ll show you exactly how to build a Memory Palace in the most effective way.
It might feel strange and even challenging to follow these patterns in your Memory Palaces at beginning. But it is truly the fastest path to developing an effective mnemonic habit stack.
And focusing on effectiveness is important because it’s the path to ease and efficiency. To help speed up the process, you do want to keep a record of what you’ve memorized, and you do that in a Memory Journal. Then, when testing your memory, you need to use active recall in order to generate the memories.
That means using a fresh piece of paper or a testing Memory Journal where you have no access whatsoever to the target material. (In this way, each of these two Memory Journals are also kinds of mnemonic devices.)
For example, when I have memorized long Sanskrit passages, I do it purely from the books I’m reading that feature texts like you can hear me reciting here:
Later, I write out what I’ve memorized from each session. I do my best and only after I’m finished do I check the record. That’s also how I tested my memory of the TEDx talk itself: I wrote it, memorized it and then wrote it out by hand without the original record anywhere in sight.
The Most Highly Effective Mnemonic Strategies & Techniques
This might surprise you, but it actually doesn’t matter which is the most effective for me or some other memory expert.
The best mnemonic strategies are the ones you’re actually going to use.
And to figure that out, you need to try a few on for size. To do that, here’s what I suggest:
- Do your research. The market is filled with all kinds of memory trainers. I suggest you find the one who has accomplished what you want to accomplish.
For example, I’ve learned languages, given speeches and completed a PhD. If you want to do those things, chances are, I’m your guy.
But, I’ve only done moderately well at memory competitions.
Personally, I like memorizing cards, but the idea of memorizing endless digits, words and abstract shapes I’m going to forget immediately after the competition is over… I just have no interest in that.
However, a lot of people love memory competitions and I’ve interviewed a lot of the best memory athletes on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast.
Seek them out. Many have books and courses of their own. Just be realistic about who has done what. There’s a big difference between using these techniques to forget what you’ve memorized after the games are over and the ability to hold on to the information for the long term.
- Stick with the program. Too many people get started and then fall off the horse. If that’s you, forgive yourself and then go through my mental strength free training. It will help you keep on track.
How long do you need to study the mnemonic strategies of the memory master you’ve chosen?
I’d suggest at least 90 days. I haven’t plucked that number out of thin air. Many studies show it is the bare minimum for lasting habit formation. Dr. Richard Wiseman has gathered a bunch of them in his book 59 Seconds, and you’ll see similar data repeated in any good book on the science of success.
- Have a vision. One reason people can’t practice the mnemonic strategy of their choice is because it isn’t embedded in a clear picture of what realistic accomplishment looks like.
Again, I have zero interest in competition but that doesn’t mean I don’t “compete” against time. For example, I was once invited to teach memory techniques in Guilin, China.
I had less than 3 months to study the language, but I made a very specific vision: That I would have a 300-500 word vocabulary and basic abilities in the language.
Because I was clear (and realistic) about the vision, I was able to study effectively from the very first moment I attempted learning the language. I wound up at the school filled with modest skills and my teachers were blown away! I even wound up meeting a beautiful woman who later became my wife. And then I rapidly memorized a song in Mandarin to sing at our wedding.
- Practice frequently.
Listen, I’m not the greatest singer in the world, and I don’t want to torture your ears. But there’s a reason why I recorded this video while washing the dishes. And that reason is to demonstrate how I take every possible opportunity to practice:
- Let go of the outcome.
This mnemonic strategy is counterintuitive, but it is the ultimate secret of success if you want to retain large amounts of information.
A lot of people try to “force” the techniques to work. Sure, that can create success sometimes, but we actually need to create flow around them.
So when I practice, I mentally give myself permission to make mistakes. I don’t try to get it right. I just visit the Memory Palace and allow the imagery to come back.
If I haven’t been specific enough with the associations or the Memory Palace creation was sloppy, I’ll definitely feel it.
But I don’t allow myself to get frustrated. I just note any mistakes or struggles and analyze what’s going on so I can improve it rationally instead of from a place of negative emotion or need.
Once you put these strategies together in one tight package (with frequent practice), you’ll find that the memory mnemonics you use make your mental life a much finer journey to experience.
Savor it and let me know in the comments if there are any strategies I missed.
