(Click on the mind map image for a bigger view)
I get bothered when there are details that I used to know and can’t recall anymore. People greeting me but can’t remember their names. Take for instance my YahooGroups, LinkedIn, Facebook, and mobile phone contacts where no less than 90% met face-to-face before.
After reading Tony Buzan’s Brilliant Memory, I learned that using both sides of the brain can help in sharpening one’s memory. Principles include:
- Having a key image (word or number also applies)
- Imaginative whenever creating a mental picture of the concern that must be remembered using senses, exaggeration, colors, and rhythm. Use a story line to piece the information together. Seeing things positively (with fun) aids in memory retention too.
- When there are fixed details to remember such as delegation members name, codes, train stops, among others, there are many ways that information can be associated to another. This includes using numbers, rhymes, alphabet sound-like, memory room, and social means.
In order for this to be effective, according to Buzan, it must be deliberately observed.