MEMORY TECHNIQES

Memory Techniques

Overview
• Conduct Reviews
• Effective Note-Taking Skills
• Take Breaks
• Conclusion

1. Conduct Reviews

Taking reviews is the most common way for people to retain information in their long-term memory.

Research has shown that our memory retention declines with time in an exponential manner. This is illustrated with the Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve.

If we conduct reviews frequently, our memory retention can be maintained at a relatively high level. Each review boosts the memory level up to its peak before the memory level starts to drop again.

You should underline or highlight the main ideas or important details during your first read, so that you can easily see the main ideas on your review and not need to reread every single word.
Alternatively, you can also take notes about the main idea of each paragraph by the side of the page, and read only the notes on the side of the page during your review. This technique of note-taking is known as glossing. Additionally, you should pay attention to the tables or summaries at the end of each chapter during your reviews, as they concisely describe all the main ideas.
In conclusion, reviews are one of the best ways to retain information in your long-term memory, and you should consistently review the text you want to remember.

2. Effective Note-Taking Skills
Note-taking is very important for both your memory and your comprehension. If your notes are clear and concise, you can easily refer to the notes and get a clear ‘overview’ of all the main ideas.

For example, if you’ve just finished reading the articles on reading mechanics and comprehension, and want to take notes, you can try the following format:
Reading Mechanics and Common Reading Problems

1) Reading Mechanics
• Fixations – each ‘pause’ the eyes make along the line.
• Peripheral vision – the vision which you can see outside the focal point of your gaze.
2) Sub-vocalization – the inner vocalization of words in your mind.
3) Regression – rereading of previous words.
4) Word-by-word reading.

Comprehension Skills

1) Main ideas and supporting ideas
• Topic sentences contain the main ideas.
2) Debate with the author
• Ask questions.
• Evaluate the text.
3) Literal and implied meaning
• Literal meaning is the exact meaning of the words.
• Implied meaning is the suggested meaning.
Apart from the format of taking notes above, you can also use mind maps to note down your main ideas in a diagrammatic format.
Such notes are very useful for your reviews – they display the main ideas in a clear and concise manner, so that you need to spend less time on your reviews. Your job of retaining the information in your memory is thus much easier.
3. Take Breaks
During your reading, you should take short and frequent breaks. Although the main purpose for taking breaks is to give your mind a well-needed rest, another reason is that breaks can help your memory tremendously.
Why are breaks beneficial for memory? This is based on the primacy and recency effect, which states that we tend to remember more things from the beginning and the end of a learning period.
If for example, you’re given a long list of about 10 grocery items to remember, and you’re only allowed to look through it once, you’re most likely able to remember the first few items and last few items. The items in the middle of the list are more likely to be forgotten.
This effect is based on research and is a very reliable observation of our memory. If you take short and frequent breaks, you’ll create many beginnings and endings in your learning periods. The result is that you can maintain your memory at a consistently high level.
You should take a break of about 5 to 10 minutes for every 30 to 40 minutes of reading. Simply listen to some music, take a chocolate bar, or watch a bit of TV to relax yourself.
According to Day 1: How To Read ‘Smart’, breaking up your reading into smaller manageable sections has another advantage: your average reading speed is increased. This is due to the fact that frequent breaks are like ‘motivators’ that can speed up your reading. If the finish line for a section is in sight, it’s a natural reaction to speed up your reading to complete it.
4. Conclusion
One of the main objectives of reading is to commit the ideas you read in the book in your long-term memory. The ability to commit the ideas into your memory quickly and effectively is thus an integral part of speed reading. In this article, you have learned that it's important to take breaks and conduct reviews for good memory, and also some effective note-taking skills.

All techniques are taken from our 136pg speed reading course titled, 'The Definitive Speed Reading Course.'
For more information on how to obtain this course, visit:
http://www.mindpower.co.nz/