The Story Method

Techniques > Memory methods > The Story Method

Usage | Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Usage

Use to remember a set of words or sequence of activities.

Description

Develop a story that includes the items to remember, in sequence (if sequence is important).

Make the story vivid and easy to remember, with silly things happening and with strong sensory content.

Example

I want to remember the following list of words:

HAT, RUN, FAT, BIRD, GREEN, GRANDFATHER

I make up a story as follows: I see a man with very tall hat, I call him and he runs away, but then bumps into a large, fat bird, sitting on the village green. My grandfather appears out of thin air and grabs him for me.

Discussion

We understand much of the world around us through stories and use them to communicate not just what happens but how we think. Stories are thus ideal mechanisms for remembering otherwise disjoint things.