With practice, you can improve your memory. When you receive new information, pay close attention to what you are hearing, reading, or seeing.
When you meet someone new, concentrate on getting the name right. To reinforce the art of memory, once or twice a day quickly review what you have learned. If possible, speak the new material aloud, visualize it, and write it down; all three expressions reinforce memory in different ways.
Tricks can help. If you have trouble remembering names and faces in a social situation, connect the name with some aspect of the person’s appearance or personality. For example, does Bob bob his head when he talks? Does Rose have rosy cheeks? Is Jean wearing jeans?
Keep a special list of business associates’ names and review it often, imagining the people’s faces. Put important numbers into an interesting context. Think of 653,645 as two times of day: 6:53 A. M. (your wake-up time) and 6:45 P.M. (dinnertime). Or imagine it as the annual salary of your dreams, $653,645. Memorizing long passages Be sure that you thoroughly understand the meaning behind each sentence of a speech or line of a play before you try to remember it. Then work for short, frequent periods rather than long stretches, relaxing your mind when concentration falters. Begin each period by reviewing the material you already know before you go on to something new.