Verbal Techniques

Talking out loud = Engagement

Talk out loud - Talking out loud is a very engaging activity. It engages a part of your brain called the phonological loop, it engages working memory and triggers retention by short term memory. Combined, you will find that speaking out loud is a great way to remember things.

Poems & songs - Are a creative method of remembering information. List what you have to remember and write a song, a poem, or story etc. about it. For example, do you remember singing the song "them bones them bones"? Well, if you are a human biology student, that song can really help you. Instead of singing "the knee bones connected to the thigh bone", instead, sing "the patella is connected to the femur, the femur is connected to the pelvis now hear the word of the lord! Them bones them bones them lots of bones..." You get the idea! Try one yourself.

Acting out - For those that are physical learners, it will aid your memory if you act out what you need to remember. For example, if you are trying to remember all the organs in human body, point to where they are on your body as you say them. If you are trying to remember a collection of countries in geography, act out stereotypical characters from each country. If you have to remember France and Spain you might say "oui oui monsieur" and pretend to twirl a bread stick then you might pretend to be a bull fighter for Spain. It sounds silly but it works!

Acronyms - An acronym is a word where each individual letter means another word, and each letter corresponds to the first letter of the word. For example, SCUBA means - self contained underwater breathing apparatus. DRSABCD means danger, response, send, airway, breathing, CPR, defibrillator in first aid. Acronyms are very powerful, as now, we only have to remember a few letters instead of several words. This falls under the do more with less technique mentioned earlier in this guide. We can make up acronyms to help remember information. Here is a trigonometry example: SOH-CAH-TOA or Sine = Opposite ÷ Hypotenuse, Cosine = Adjacent ÷ Hypotenuse and Tangent = Opposite ÷ Adjacent.

Phrases - A phrase is a short, definitive statement that may mean something in itself, or it may signify something else. For example, "I Played Mary At Tennis". The first letter of each word stands for Interphase, Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase and Telophase which are the 5 stages in cell division. Righty tighty, lefty loosey is a way of remembering which way to twist a water tap or screwdriver to tighten or loosen the bolt/tap etc. Perhaps you have to remember the tropic of Capricorn, the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator for geography and which one is which. A phrase can help e.g. "brain cancer is up top" and so the Tropic of Cancer must be the top one. "The Tropic of Capricorn is low, near the "corns" on your feet.

Activity

Have a go. Try and create a phrase or acronym to help you remember something.