Sep 27 2011
How to Memorize a Talk
When I memorize a piece of music or a talk, it doesn’t take long before I see the pages in my head. I flip through them mentally as I go along. I know this happens after repeated exposure to a written document. In fact, I seem to remember all of my notes and scribbling, too. I understand this as pattern memorization of a sort, which is why I was so excited to discover a pattern memorization tool that I can teach others.
About ten years ago, I came upon the “memory palace.” This is an ancient technique for memorization used by orators in ancient Greece, and rediscovered by Mateo Ricci in the late 17th century. Ricci used the technique to make Catholicism memorable to the Chinese. While you could argue that it didn’t work out so well for Ricci, still it’s a great tool and one that I find very helpful. The basic approach is to create a mental picture of a familiar setting. You “place” reminders of what you are trying to remember throughout the mental picture. To recall your piece, you simply “walk” through your setting and what you need to remember is all there.
It’s a great technique, and its usefulness is probably related to why it seems to be easier to remember what you have to say if you create movements to go along with a talk, or blocking as in a dramatic piece. Do that, by the way, if you have trouble memorizing your talks. Block your part so that you move on specific words or ideas. That will help your memorization significantly.
Recently, I found a wonderful description of the Memory Palace technique and instructions for its use on the blog, Litemind, written by Luciano Passuello. This blog, by the way, is one of my new favs and I highly recommend it.. I used the technique and memorized the grocery list of 9 items that he gives as a practice piece in one attempt. Check it out.
What do you do to memorize? Please share your tips.
Here are some other articles for learning memorization techniques:
How to memorize anything, on the blog JohnPlace Online
Brain Imaging Identifies Best Memorization Strategies, on Science Daily
Using Memory Effectively, on the website Study Guides and Strategies
They deal with change management, which is another area that requires practice and perseverance. They stress that “To succeed on the path to change, you have to eliminate ambiguity.” AHA! This may be exactly why speakers don’t practice. People who don’t know what they are trying to accomplish, or who don’t know what to do to change, or for whom the end result is too vague will be more reluctant to practice because they are more reluctant to change. They may want to be better speakers, but the ambiguity creates a barrier to success. But the not-so-secret secret is that you have to practice to improve. Remember? You play like you practice.
