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THE ROOM
This technique is based on what the Romans used over 2000 years ago. They chose objects in a room and memorized their relative locations. They then “mentally attached” other things to those objects, forming a bond or association between the two. Because they knew their room well, they could easily recall whatever was now associated with those room objects.
Below is a room we made up a number of years ago. It has 20 objects, arranged in four groups of five. Think of it as a mental filing system. Instead of putting pieces of paper in a file folder, you are associating something with a room object. That association will allow you to easily recall the item in question.
First, memorize the objects in order. You will always use this scene as your foundation. (Or you can create rooms of your own design)
Once designed, he room never changes, and is always there for you once you’ve committed it to memory.
HOW TO MEMORIZE IT:
I suggest using “spaced repetition.” Spend two minutes going over and over the first five objects. Learn them forward and backward. Wait an hour or so and do that again. Then again. Next time add the next five objects. Go over it and over it, just like you learned the multiplication table.
Keep practicing this until you know it completely. See the objects in your mind and say them. Drive them deep into your mind so they can never escape. After that, whenever you need to remember lists, you simply merge the item with your next object.
ONLINE FLASH CARD SYSTEM:
You can go to the Room Practice pages where pictures of the above room will come up randomly and stay visible for 3 seconds. During that time, shout out the number of the room object. Try to do this before the next object is revealed.
HOW TO MERGE:
The idea is to use images and motion to capture your imagination. Make the thing to be remembered INTERACT with whatever object is next in the room. TALK to yourself as you do this, like a commentator in a sports event.
“I’m putting the flower pot on the recliner and the flower is relaxing with its arms behind its head. It’s stretching its roots out and taking a nap.”
The sillier your imagery, the more likely you will recall it. As you describe it, act out whatever you can. Put YOUR arms behind your head. Feel YOUR legs stretch out. The more ways you send an idea to your brain, the more likely that you will remember it.
HOW TO REMEMBER CONCEPTS:
Recalling objects is easy. What if you need to remember a concept? Concepts are difficult to associate with a room object. We handle this by assigning a SYMBOL to an idea or concept. That will make it easy. For example, you could be using the Room to remember the topics of a speech you are giving.
Perhaps one of your topics is The Economy. The word “economy” does not immediately lend itself to a strong visual connection. The way around this is to choose a SYMBOL to represent the concept -
In your mind, it would sound like this:
“Okay, from now on a big, solid gold dollar sign means “The Economy.”
That’s all it takes! Your brain will now respond to that whenever you drop it into a memory tool. Think of it like shorthand for concepts.
HOW TO EXPAND THE ROOM
Most rooms have 20 objects. If we think of those as representing topics instead of facts, then we can expand the number of individual facts at least ten-
Example:
The longest river in the world is the Nile. We would associate the Nile with the Chair, as the Chair is Room Object Number One. We could make our initial association as follows:
The Nile runs through Egypt.
What object(s) remind us of Egypt?
Pyramids.
VISUAL: We imagine a pyramid falling from above and landing on the Chair. The Chair is smashed.
FACTS:
1. The word “Nile” comes from the Greek word “neilos” meaning valley.
2. Lake Victoria is the largest source of the Nile.
3. The Nile used to flood every year.
4. Ancient Egyptians called the river “Ar” which means black (because of the black sediment left by the flooding).
5. Hapi was the ancient god of the Nile.
A STORY TO RECALL THE FACTS:
Visualize the Chair. The seat part is like a valley between the arms. We see a Greek temple there in the valley. Worshippers are kneeling in front of it (Neil-
Walking up to them is Queen Victoria. She is holding a watering can, which floods the valley. Sailing in on the flood is Blackbeard the Pirate. His black beard is like the black soil left from the floods. He is a pirate, who says “ARRRR!” -
He likes it, and sticks a big Happy Face on the temple (Hapi).
REPETITION
By repeating that story again and again, while recalling the facts as we go, will make it a more permanent memory of those Nile facts.
You can have as many facts in your story as you can remember! When studying, simply repeat your story.
MAKING YOUR OWN ROOM:
It is best practice to keep to the principle of 5 objects per section. You may have as many sections as you like. Keeping it to 5 objects making counting more standardized.
You may go clockwise or anti-
If you have loads of objects on a wall or section, choose the 5 that are most interesting (moving parts, good for merging with other things). If you do not have enough objects per wall or area, then do what we call “Mental Redecorating.” Simply imagine another object there. Your mind will accept that and use it as if was really existing there.
WARNING: If you have two objects which are the same (like 2 stereo speakers), only use ONE of them. Merging different things with two objects can get confusing.
WARNING 2: IF you have more than 20 things to recall on your list (which is rare), then let your “spill over” go into a different room, DO NOT go “around the corner” back to Object Number 1. That will only confuse you having two things associated with the same Room Object from the SAME LIST.
OVERLOAD: People ask about having too many lists associated with a Room. You can have dozens of different lists associated with a single Room. Your mind will keep them all separate. Whatever CATEGORY you are focusing on will be the imagery you bring up.
