What is your “Memory Personality”?

Still having trouble remembering things?

It might help if you knew your ‘Memory Personality.’ The concept of Memory Personality isn’t totally new, but right now I’m working with neuroscientists to test, verify and document the theories I’ve developed out of my years of teaching memory skills to students and executives across the globe and not being able to reach everybody. Some were getting it and some just weren’t!

When teaching a memory technique and using things like memory pegs, it’s easy to say “If creating these images doesn’t work for you come up with your own,” to someone who is lost. Yeah, I know, easier said than done. But that’s as close as we (memory experts) have come to customization and most people would fail in the attempt claiming that the technique just doesn’t work for them.

In my attempt to capture those that weren’t getting it and teach to them directly I’ve divided ‘how we remember’ into the following five categories or personalities.

1. Action

What you are trying to remember has to be associated with some sort of action.

2. Irony

Also known as ‘oddities.’ The image you use has to have something o t of place or in a place where it doesn’t belong.

3. Exaggeration

That’s somewhat self explanatory, but people that are attracted to this technique will remember that which is exaggerated… like a really big flea!

4. Fantasy

This involves creating images of things that are impossible -the most common being inanimate objects coming to life.

5. Personal

The image or peg being created must relate to them. For example, not just a tree, but your tree in your front yard – or not just a car, but you driving the car.

By grasping the concept of these five types of memory, what didn’t work for some can now be customized in a way that everybody gets it. The goal is to create an image that triggers your Memory Personality.

Have you figured out which Memory Personality type you are? It may help in your studies and will be a major boost when you are learning particular study techniques. With the help of these ongoing neuroscience studies, I’m one step closer to helping make the world a smarter place.