Did you know you have a left and right brain? Here is a fun article to test whether you are right or left brain dominant or in the middle.
Memory magic happens when the LEFT BRAIN (linear and structured) works together with the RIGHT BRAIN (creative and artistic).
Memory Championships: A Sport
The World Memory Championships is a competition of memory sports. The competitors have to memorise as much information as possible within a certain time period.
Can anyone do this?
My husband, Daren Denholm, sometimes referred to as “the memory guy”, is often labelled as gifted. This is simply not true. He embarked on the whole memory journey because he really struggled at University! I competed in the World Memory Championships in China in 2011 and I was 6 months pregnant! Anyone gifted with a whole, intact brain has a limitless amount of storage space.
To learn more about long-term memory, I recommend reading the following article: The mechanisms behind learning and long-term memory in the brain: https://neurosciencenews.com/learning-memory-mechanisms-15020/.
Long-term memory in children:
The earlier a child is taught to utilise both his left and right brain, the better.
Core ingredients for a sound long-term memory
According to Dominic O’Brien, six times world memory champion, the following six ingredients are essential for remembering information long term:
1. Imagination: Children are born with an imagination. However, their imagination needs to be nurtured and encouraged. I once taught a class of seven-year-olds. I asked them to imagine an elephant. They immediately shouted out ‘big and grey’. I told them this was too boring. Elephants are big and grey! Imagine something outrageous and funny. This command lead to wonderful imaginations; ones that their brains remembered weeks later.
2. Association: this is a mental link between two very different kinds of information. Children need to be taught the art of association.
3. Location: the locus method was used by the Greeks and Romans many years ago. According to Dominic O’Brien, location was the key to his success!
4. Concentration: children are exposed to so much information these days. As a result, concentration has to be nurtured and taught more than ever before.
5. Observation: the Greeks in times of old considered sight to be the most important sense in relation to memory. Once again, because of advancement in technology and information overload, observation skills are dwindling.
6. Revision and Repetition: revision plays a vital role in long-term memory.
Three techniques used by top world memory gurus
As with anything of value, these techniques take time and effort to master.
1. The Journey Technique: it is a powerful memory system that is based on the idea of remembering locations on a well-known personal journey.
2. The Roman Room Technique: this system was used by the Romans many centuries ago. Similar to the journey technique, it is based on placing information in locations around a familiar room.
3. Key Image Technique: information is placed systematically around a Key Image.
The above techniques can be used in isolation or one could combine them, depending on the content needing to be stored.
Kath Denholm is a speech therapist who has worked in London, private practices in Cape Town and KZN and taught at Livingstone Remedial School for three years. She is the owner and founder of Little Genius Puppets, an online educational programme teaching young children to identify key information and take it to long-term memory.
Visit her website for more information: www.geniusseries.com/memory-training-3.