Mindtools.com has Tips to Improve Short- and Long-Term Memory

As a student and working professional, my memory and my ability to learn and retain large amounts of information are invaluable. I was intrigued to come across the Web site mindtools.com with its large variety of memory improving techniques. My favorite technique is the use of games to recall information and improve memory.

I was raised by parents who placed great emphasis on education and being the best students we could possibly be. I recognize now that many of the games that we played in our home as children were actually techniques used to improve memory and learning abilities. We use memory games to help very young children learn in their formative years and to help them recognize how enjoyable learning can be.

I use similar memory games to help my own children remember important information such as our address, phone numbers, and what to do in case of an emergency. Using music, rhymes, stories, and associations can help people young and old alike convert pieces of information from their working memory to their committed memory.

Memory games appeal to a wide audience, and many popular game shows are based on memory. Examples of memory games include Jeopardy, Concentration, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and so forth. Participants of these memory games have the potential to win great prizes or even large sums of money.

One of my favorite techniques is the storytelling method. This works well when there are individual pieces of information need to be remembered all at one time, such as studying for a school test. In the story telling method of memory recollection you create a story that utilizes all the information that needs to be remembered. Create a mental image of the story that is being developed in order to even better commit the information to memory. People, by nature, find it easier to remember stories than disassociated pieces of information.

This technique is one of many memory aids referred to as mneumonics. Mneumonics are simply memory aids that especially use vivid imagery and organizational devices. These techniques range from the story-telling method mentioned above to sequential number association and so forth. My mother would use this technique to help us as children memorize our phone number. For example, the number "2650" was committed to memory by learning and repeating the phrase "shoe sticks hive, oh!" where each word was associated with a rhyming number.

Songs and rhymes have long been used to help memorize passages of information. Bible verses have been set to pleasant melodies for many, many years to help little ones (and older ones) memorize important passages. Examples of mneumonics and other memory aiding techniques have been used for centuries and should not be overlooked when seeking ways to improve memory.

I have learned additional memory techniques from mindtools.com that can be used to help retain scholastic education, workplace training, and social information (including names, descriptions, and important dates) to help you achieve your personal and professional goals, and I would highly recommend this site to parents, students, and working professionals.