Using Clear Memory Pictures or Recordings to Improve Your Memory

Another way to pay closer attention is to make a sharp mental picture
or recording of the person, place, or event you want to remember.
This process will also help you with the second phase of the
memory retention process, where you encode this information using
visual imagery or sounds. But this first phase is what picks up the
information in the first place, much like using a camera or a cassette.
A major factor in poor remembering is that often we don’t make
this picture or recording very well. As a result, we may think we
remember what we have seen, but we don’t. Courtroom witnesses,
for example, often recall an event inaccurately, although they may
be positive they are correct. Accordingly, before you can recall or recognize
something properly in the retrieval stage of the process, you
first must have a clear impression of it.
One way to do this, once you are paying careful attention, is to
think of yourself as a camera or cassette recorder, taking in completely
accurate pictures or recordings of what you are experiencing.
As you observe and listen, make your impressions like pictures or
tape recordings in your mind.
It takes practice to develop this ability, and the following exercises
are designed to help you do this. At first, use these exercises to
get a sense of how well you already remember what you see. Then,
as you practice, you’ll find you can remember more and more details.
The underlying principle of these exercises is to observe some
object, person, event, or setting to take a picture, or listen to a conversation
or other sounds around you. Then, turn away from what
you are observing or stop listening, and recall what you can. Perhaps
write down what you recall. Finally, look back and ask yourself:
‘‘How much did I remember? What did I forget? What did I recall
that wasn’t there?’’
At first, you may be surprised at how bad an observer or listener
you are. But as you practice, you’ll improve—and your skill at remembering
will carry over into other situations, because you’ll automatically start making more accurate memory pictures or recordings
in your mind.
An ideal way to use these techniques is with a mental awareness
trigger. Whenever you use that trigger, you will immediately imagine
yourself as a camera or recorder and indelibly impress that scene on
your mind for later recall.
The next three exercises are designed to give you some practice
in perceiving like a camera or cassette recorder in a private controlled
setting. The fourth exercise is one you can use in any situation to
perceive more effectively.