Memory magic tricks

Yes, you read correctly- remember things easily! I have a lousy memory but I could walk into a party and be given a list of fifty objects to remember and then recall them in order, forwards, backwards or randomly- just by using a clever, yet easy to learn memory trick.

It's not only good for a party trick but you can remember shopping lists, peoples names and even numbers using mnemonics - which is the correct term for memory tricks.

Can you use your imagination to picture a sunset from your favourate holiday, or perhaps your front door?If you can make images in your mind, you can remember anything. Your mind remembers things by associating things with other things- mnemonics is a technique where you do this consciously.

What you will learn will surprise you the first time you do it- the thing you're trying to remember will simply pop into your head, and the more you do this the easier it becomes!

When you make a mental imagine- make it dynamic, in other words, make your images moving or reacting in some way-
eg. You want to associate a bun with a computer- you can imaging a computer being thrown at a giant bun squashing it completely.
The more dynamic your images, the easier they are to remember.

Images need to be exaggerated to make them easy to remember- so turn up the colour, add some noises and make movements big. The more you exaggerate your mental images, the easier they will pop into your head- and it's likely that they will entertain you!

This is really fun and makes your images very easy to remember- and no one will know what images you are making in your head so you can really have fun making them as rude as you like!

Obviously, keep within what you find acceptable as being rude- but, the ruder you find the images, the more easily they will pop into your head- trying not to laugh as you remember them can be a challenge!

If at all possible add as many senses for each image you create in order to really cement those associations.

If you are running a cloakroom- you'd need a system in order to be able to match up each persons coat to that person. One of the systems in mnemonics is called a peg system. In the peg system you have a set list of pegs where you hang each thing to be memorised, in this instance the pegs are within your mind and consist of an already memorised list of things that you "hang" your items to be memorised on.

This will become clear very soon! So, firstly, you need to memorise your "pegs" and you will always use the same pegs each time you have to "hang" a new memory on them. Now, you may say, "how am I going to remember my pegs"? This is both clever and very easy due to the fact that you will use a memory trick to help you remember them!

So- we'll start off with ten pegs for you to remember- and these will conveniently be remembered alongside the numbers one to ten so that you can recall them in order or in any order you like.

Ok- so to set up your pegs- you will be able to remember these very easily in just a few minutes- I promise!
One of the easiest tricks to use to memorise the pegs is using rhyme.

One is bun
Two is shoe
Three is pee
Four is door
Five is hive
Six is sticks (or sick)
Seven is heaven
Eight is gate
Nine is sign
Ten is hen

Now go through memorising this list - associating each "peg" with each number so that you can recall this list in order, backwards or forwards. It helps if you make these pegs as strong images in your mind- so, with eight- gate- picture a gate you know very well such as one on a house you visited as a child. Each of these pegs will need to be easily "seen" in your minds eye as you recall them in order for the memory trick to work.

You may be wondering how on earth this list will help you remember ten other things- well, all will be very clear soon and you will surprise yourself the first time you do this. Focus, for now, on getting these pegs firmly cemented in your mind.

So- you now know your peg list backwards, forwards and in any order. How do you use it?
Your mind remembers by associating one thing with another- you are going to do this consciously, using mental images associating the thing to be remember with each of your pegs.
For example- to remember ten items on a shopping list- if item one is washing powder- you need to associate it with your peg for one (bun)- so you create a mental picture of you trying to stuff a giant bun into the washing machine with suds coming out. Make this picture dynamic, exaggerated, rude etc- whatever it takes to make it stick.

Now when you need to recall the first thing on your shopping list you remember that peg one is bun and immediately the image of the bun being stuffed into a washing machine full of suds will pop into your head reminding you of washing powder!

So let's try this with the rest of this shopping list
1-washing powder
2-eggs
3-rice
4-pasta
5-bread
6-socks
7-cat food
8-orange juice
9-toothpaste
10-margarine

Here's how you could hang these items on your pegs (it helps if you can do the associations yourself here- these are just to illustrate how to do this).

1 (Bun) washing powder- we have already done this one.
2 (shoe) eggs- picture you wearing your favourate shoes but with large fried eggs stuck to the top of them!
3 (Pee) rice- Imagine going to the toilet and peeing out rice!
4 (Door) pasta- Picture opening your front door and as you open the door a massive avalanche of pasta pours over you.
5 (Hive) bread- You are looking at a beautiful bee hive and a swarm of bread with bee wings flies out.
6 (Sticks) socks- You are throwing sticks for a dog to catch and the dog returns the stick but is wearing large spotted socks.
7 (Heaven) cat food- You are floating on a cloud in heaven when a large tin of cat food lands on your head!
8 (Gate) orange juice- as you approach the gate of a well known relative to your surprise the gate turns orange and liquid
9 (sign) toothpaste- as you come to the beginning of your road the normal sign has been completely covered in toothpaste and is gleaming.
10 (Hen) margarine- You imagine a hen carefully trying to spread magarine onto the ground but getting covered in it!

So, you have memorised your "pegs" from number one to number ten- you need to ensure you know these off by heart- but this should be easy because you have used a memory system to remember them!

Ask a friend to test you by making a list of ten items for you to remember- ensure you learn them at your own pace and that you have formed a good mental picture of each item linked to your pegs. Ask your friend to call out a number and you will recall your peg first and the mental picture you created to remember the item will just pop into yo0ur head- it's really quite amazing- you have simply conciously done what your mind does when it remembers things! You should be able to recall the list backwards, forwards or even have your friend say an item and you can say which number it's at!

The more you practice this- the easier it becomes to make those mental image associations, in fact, it can become almost automatic and you will surprise yourself as much as everyone else with your new, powerfull recall.

Your memory needs exercise. In this book you will find 158 pages of entertainment incorporating three game sections; more than 500 puzzles with words (anagrams, fragmented words...), games of logic (numerical sequences, problems to solve...), games of observation (find the odd one out...); tests of knowledge, covering history, geography and culture; and questionnaires that help you discover your mental strengths and weaknesses. Do them at your own speed and find your memory improving. Your memory is always at work, creating images and associations and filing these away in order. There are 152 pages in this book that tell you all you need to know to understand how your memory works and find the best tricks and strategies to give it muscle, while always having fun! In a few weeks, you will have aquired a new ability to retain names, passwords, codes or telephone numbers...Thanks to this work, you will very quickly learn how to use the extraodinary resources of your memory, resources that have laid dormant until now.
101 Ways to Improve Your Memory: Games, Tricks, Strategies (Readers Digest)


This book by TV memory performer and mind reader, Harry Loraine is good if you're looking for proven methods to improve your memory and prepared to work for it, this is for you. He is a very good teacher. So, go and get it and enjoy building the power of your mind!

The Memory Book: The Classic Guide to Improving Your Memory at Work, at School, and at Play

Now you have perfected memorising ten items by linking them to your pegs- how would you like to double or tripple your memory without having to learn any more pegs?

Of course you do! Here's how, you've memorised your first ten items using pegs 1-10, now, imagine your second set of items frozen in a block of ice (in other words use pegs 1-10 again but forzen in ice)- simple! To further extend your list you could then imagine the next list of ten in fire.

be careful that you picture each set of ten very clearly in ice and in fire or you may get your lists mixed up or "erase" a list from your short term memory.