People having strong and sharp memory are not much different from us. Neither there is any such thing that they all have great recall time by birth and are god gifted. The main thing is that they just use some combination of alphabet technique effectively that works well for them.
Such memory techniques will make them memorize things for a long period of time. Many times, you’ve faced the problem of forgetting things. You might have thought that it is hard to remember things like names, lists, formulas and equations, and many other such tasks you thought to remember.
That is where the memory techniques play their roles. Memory techniques make you remember almost everything you want. You can use these techniques to remember any kind of list or set of equations or whatever you want not to forget.
In this blog, I’m sharing with you a very effective memory technique that you can use to remember the ordered list properly in the defined sequence. Have a look at this effective memory technique!
WHAT’S IN IT?
What is the Alphabet Technique?
The Alphabet technique is a very effective technique that lets you memorize the lists of up to 26 items. Along with this, the more important thing is that it lets you remember the items of the list in the proper sequence.
Under Memory Techniques, there is a sub-head as the Mnemonic Peg system. This Alphabet system of remembering the ordered list comes under the head of the same Peg system.
In the Alphabet technique, each alphabetical letter is associated with some kind of picturized things. Such picturizing of things makes it easier for us to remember. In this way of associating the alphabets with different pictures and other visual mnemonics, you can memorize a sequential list of up to 26 items in it.
In this way, we use A, B, C, D, E, and so on alphabets to remember the things instead of using numbers like 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on. The main catch in this technique is that the things are associated and hence remembered in this picturized form. So That’s why things will remain in our minds for a very long period.
You can associate these letters with anything you want, or with anything that you think will retain in your mind much effectively. I’ll give you some hints by associating the letters A, B, C, D, E with different things so that you’ll get an idea that how you can make the things relatable with anything you find easier to remember.
Let’s suppose I’m comfortable with associating the letters with animals to remember. So, here’s the example.
A = associated with “Ape”
B = associated with “Buffalo”
C = associated with “Cow”
D = associated with “Dog”
E = associated with “Elephant”o …And so on
Now let’s suppose I’m comfortable with associating the letters with some daily objects to remember. So, here’s the example.
A = associated with “Ace”
Secondly, B = associated with “Balloon”
C = associated with “Chair”
D = associated with “Desktop”
E = associated with “Earring”
o …And so on
Now let’s suppose I’m comfortable with associating the letters with some food items to remember. So, here’s the example.
A = associated with “Apple”
B = associated with “Banana”
Third C = associated with “Coconut”
D = associated with “Donut”
E = associated with “Eggs”
…And so on
After associating the words this way, you then have to relate the items of the list with these associated things, but in a posturized manner. Then, when you recall your associated things, the visualization of the related item of the list also comes to your mind. In this way, you can make yourself remember all the list items, even in the proper sequence.
How you can use the Alphabet technique? (My live example)
For remembering any list, I usually prefer to associate the letters with animals and picture them by relating all of the items with the corresponding animal. I’m now sharing with you my incidence, which can be a live example for you so that you can understand exactly how you can use this Alphabet technique in your daily lives.
I only go up to four letters, from A to D, in this example so that it’ll not take too much of your time and you’ll also understand the main concept of this technique.
For me,
Firstly A is associated with an Ape, and I picture a large Ape.
Bis associated with a Bear, and I picture a wild Bear.
Third C is associated with a Chimpanzee, and I picturized a huge Chimpanzee.
D is associated with a Deer, so I pictured a cute Deer for that.
And so on.
Now after associating the animals, I then connect them with whatever list items I want to remember.
One day, I have to go to the Supermarket. I have the entire list of items in my hand which I was thinking that I would forget while reaching the Supermarket. So, I used the Alphabet technique to remember the whole list. I just make some silly pictures of the animals with the item that’s in that place on the list.
The first thing I want to get to the Supermarket is Tomatoes, then I could have pictured an Ape eating the tomatoes to relate, but that’s almost natural and common. So, for making it a silly visualization, I pictured it as I take a Tomato and throw it at the Ape, maybe a couple of times hitting him with Tomatoes. Now that was a silly picture that will make that picture stick in my mind.
Then the next item on the list was Bread Buns. As I have the Bear on my list at number 2nd, so I would have to relate the Bear with those Bread buns. Again, I could picture it as a Bear having the Buns in his hands and enjoying it, but that again would be boring. So, what I did is that I took the whole Bear, shrink it down, and put it between the two pieces of my Bread buns. This stupid imagination makes that picture rememberable for me.
Likewise, the next item on my list was a Shoe polish, and the next animal for me was the Chimpanzee. For this, I’d pictured myself as I took the shoe polish and polishing that Chimpanzee’s feet. Now, this is something uncommon, and that’s made that picture stuck in my mind.
The next animal for me was the Deer, and the next item on the list was a Bathing Soap. So, I visualize it as a Deer running at full speed, midway in the Jungle. The day was Sunny. There was a pond alongside. The Deer was running, running and running and at last, take a jump and dived into that Pond. Then that cute deer took the soap, enjoys its aroma, rubbing it here and there on his body, and bath cherishingly. Now, this unusual and stupid visualization made that thing unforgettable.
I’m quite sure you got the idea about how you can picture a silly scene in your mind related to both the item on your list and the corresponding thing you’ve chosen. In the same way, you can also make the visualization of anything you want to remember, even in the order.
Conclusion
The way I made the things rememberable for me, you can also remember any ordered list of up to 26 items. All you have to do is just take anything you’re comfortable with, make it in alphabetical order as I made. Then just visualize the items in the list with each character you’ve chosen. That’s it, and ultimately you’ll remember the things in proper sequential order. This is a simple technique to remember anything you need. That’s the benefit of using this very effective Alphabet technique.
Also you can read our blog on How to Improve Concentration -Achieving Focus Amid Distractions