the main points, it gives me the flexibility to increase or reduce the content, and even modify it a little bit here and there, based on the body language of the audience. If the audience is enjoying a particular conversation, I stress on it further. If the audience seems to be drowsy and bored, I can customize some joke or give an exciting example to recapture their attention and interest. So, the secret of memorizing a speech is not to learn it by rote, but to remember only the main points so that you can be flexible in your delivery. Example In the box below, I have taken a sample speech. The title of the speech is “How To Control Pollution”. There are nine points in this speech, so instead of mugging up the speech word for word, we will simply remember the nine main points. SAMPLE SPEECH Q.: How can we control pollution? Ans.: Pollution is a serious cause of concern for our society. Due to pollution, a lot of health-oriented disorders are observed in human beings. We can control pollution in the following ways: (a) Use Tall Chimneys: Using tall chimneys in factories is a simple way to ensure that pollutants are discharged at a higher altitude, thereby ensuring that it is further away from human consumption. (b) Maintain Automobiles: Check your car regularly as regards the amount of poisonous pollutants it emits. (c) Strict Cops: The cops (police) must take strict legal action against defaulters of pollution-control norms. This will deter them from future malpractice. (d) Plant Trees: Trees help in maintaining the ecological balance and are a
must to keep air pollution under check. (e) Clean Garbage: Dustbins must be regularly emptied and waste must be disposed of to keep our environment hygienic. (f) Check Wastewater: Factories must check their effluent and filter it before discharging it into water bodies. (g) Teach Youngsters: Our young generation must be made aware of issues such as high carbon emissions that our planet is facing. (h) Chemical Treatment: The hazards of toxic waste must be reduced by treating the toxic waste chemically before it is safely disposed of. (i) Award Factories: Factories and industries that follow stringent pollution control norms must be awarded for their initiatives, so that they set an example for others to follow. Let us presume this is the speech that I have to deliver and I have only five minutes to prepare, before facing the audience. Then, the first thing I would do is read the whole speech once to get familiar with its content. Next, I would outline the main points and mentally form a story, linking them one after the other. Here are the main points on how to control pollution: Use Tall Chimneys Maintain Automobiles Strict Cops Plant Trees Clean Garbage Check Wastewater Teach Youngsters
Chemical Treatment Award Factories Strategy As seen in the link system, we will simply link the first point to the second, the second point to the third and the third point to the fourth, until we reach the last point. Visualize there is a tall chimney. On top of the tall chimney is a Honda car (automobile). Inside the car, a cop is sitting in the driver’s seat. The cop has a bonsai tree in his hand. The car falls off the chimney and lands on a garbage can, thereby injuring the cop. It suddenly starts raining, and there is wastewater all around. A group of youngsters is walking on the road. They use a magic chemical to heal the injured cop. The cop gives them an award for their good work.
Thus, we have linked the nine main points of the speech as follows: I have tried to make the story as silly and as stupid as I can. Remember, the more outrageous it is, the easier it is to remember it.
On Stage When I am on stage, I do not hold a paper to refer to. As I start my speech, the first word, “chimney” flashes in my mind. So, I start speaking about chimneys and say everything related to this topic that comes to mind. These may not be the exact words that I had learnt. But who cares? As long as the message is conveyed, the task is accomplished. In addition, while I am speaking about chimneys, I start seeing a Honda car on top of the chimney. Therefore, I know that the second point is “automobile” and I start speaking on automobiles. While I am speaking about automobiles, my mind suddenly sees a “cop” in the automobile and I am automatically reminded of the third point. The cop reminds me of a “tree” in his hand. Then the car in which he is sitting falls on the “garbage” and then it starts “raining”. Then a group of “youngsters” come to help the cop. They have a “chemical” for healing and the grateful cop gives them an “award”. So, while I am delivering the speech, my mind is triggering one point after another at the same time. I am delivering the speech in my own words, and yet, ensuring that I do not forget the points. Conclusion Whenever you have to remember a speech, write it perfectly on a piece of paper, clearly highlighting the main points. Once the speech is ready, read it a couple of times until you are familiar with the content. Next, link the main points in a storyline as explained earlier. You are now set! As you deliver the speech to the audience, the points will automatically be triggered in your mind one after another, until you have spoken on the last point. Super Tip Suppose you are giving a speech on modes of transportation. You very well know that there are four modes of transportation:
Railways Roadways Waterways Airways However, assume that while delivering the speech, perchance you remembered the first three points and forgot the last one. What would you do in that case? Obviously, you cannot afford to just stand on the stage with a blank expression. So, you must simply throw the question to the audience. You should say something like this: All right, we have seen the three modes of transportation – railways, roadways and waterways…. can any of you tell me the fourth one? (Look around at the audience with a sense of expectation.) Come on, any intelligent person out there who can tell me the fourth one? (Most certainly, someone will shout “airways”. You have got your answer now, but do not show your relief. Instead, continue the speech as though you always knew it.) That’s the perfect answer. Can we have a round of applause for the lady who gave the correct answer? What’s your name, Ma ’am? (She will excitedly tell you her name.) All right, Ms XYZ…I owe you an autograph at the end of the session! (The audience will naturally clap once again.) You have just killed two birds with one stone. You were able to recall the point you had forgotten; and the audience did not realize it. Moreover, it acted as a good opportunity to interact with the audience and trigger their interest. In the world of memory, as in real life, some presence of mind always helps!
Chapter 7 The Substitution System We will now study a very powerful system called the substitution system. This technique is used to remember any word, term or name that is difficult to comprehend at first sight. Simply put, we substitute a difficult word with a simple word (which can be easily understood) and then go ahead with the memory technique. Our study will be divided into nine sub-sections: Remembering Places (Geography) Remembering Spelling Remembering Vocabulary Remembering Foreign Languages Remembering Scientific Terms Remembering Books and Authors Remembering Case Laws Remembering Names and Faces Remembering the Periodic Table (Chemical Names) Thus, you can see we have covered a wide field of study.
Ranging from places to spelling and faces to chemicals, we will see how the substitution system helps us to remember a variety of things that we encounter in daily life. However, the underlying logic in all the examples is the same. We will substitute the incomprehensible words with something that we can comprehend and then commence the learning process. Remembering Places (Geography) Owing to increased globalization, we now live in a world where traveling is an inevitable part of our life. As a professional speaker, my travel calendar involves going to places whose names and their pronunciations are absolutely unknown to me. It is in such times that the substitution system comes to my aid. In this discussion, we will take some states and capitals of the USA and I will show you how you can use the substitution system to remember them. In the first column are the states of the USA and in the second column are their respective capitals. State Capital Arizona Phoenix Connecticut Hartford Idaho Boise Maine Augusta Ohio Columbus Texas Austin Washington Olympia Wisconsin Madison There are exactly 50 states in the USA. I have randomly selected eight of them. The capital of Arizona is Phoenix; the capital of Connecticut is Hartford, etc. We will now substitute the main words with our own words, so that they mean
something, and thus, become easier to remember. Have a look at the list given below: State Arizona Capital Phoenix Memory Key A phoenix bird flies in an airy zone. The above-mentioned sentence that “A phoenix bird flies in an airy zone ” will instantly help you remember that Phoenix is the capital of Arizona. Next, we know that the capital of Connecticut is Hartford. So we use the words connect and heart as shown below: State Connecticut Capital Hartford Memory Key The secret to connect with someone is to touch their heart. We know the capital of Idaho is Boise. However, we will substitute the word Boise with the word boys (similar sound) and remember it as shown below: State Idaho Capital Boise Memory Key The state of Idaho has handsome boys. Next, we have the state as Maine and the capital as Augusta. This one is quite easy: State Main(e) Capital August(a) Memory Key August is the main month of the year. The capital of Ohio is Columbus. Now, we all know that whenever we meet our friends, we address them with expressions such as “Oh”, “Hi” and “How are you?” We will use something quite similar here: State Ohio Columbus
Capital Columbus Memory Key You get down from a bus and wish your friends, “O Hi”! The capital of Texas is Austin. We will use two different memory keys to remember it. State Texas Capital Austin Memory Key People in Texas drive Austin Martin cars. OR People in Austin pay a lot of taxes. You can see that we have used two different memory keys here. In the second one, we substituted the word Texas with the word taxes, because they are very similar. Often, we can use multiple memory keys, so that if one is forgotten, the other can come to our aid. Next, we know the capital of Washington is Olympia. State Washington Capital Olympia Memory Key During the Olympics, people were washing tons of clothes.
We just substituted the word Olympia with Olympics so that the whole sentence made perfect sense and was funny too! We will now see how to substitute Madison, which is the capital of Wisconsin: State Wisconsin Capital Mad(i)son Memory Key My friend in Wisconsin has a mad son. Here, we split the word Madison into the words mad and son. Additionally, the humour element in this sentence makes it easier to remember it. Thus, we see how we can remember states and capitals using the substitution system. Next, we will see how we can use the substitution system to remember spelling in English language. Examples from India In continuation with the examples of American states and capitals, I have given below a few examples of how we can learn the names of Indian states and capitals. I have used a combination of English and Hindi (the national language of India). Readers who do not understand Hindi may please skip this part.
State Capital Gujarat Gandhinagar Uttar Pradesh Lucknow Punjab Chandigarh Karnataka Bengaluru Chhatisgarh Raipur As can be seen from the list, the capital of Gujarat is Gandhinagar. I break the word Gujarat into two Hindi words: gujar and raat. Next, I break the word Gandhinagar as Gandhi and nagar. Now, I simply make a sentence: Gandhi(ji) raat (ko) gujar (gaye) (Gandhiji passed away at night.) By remembering this simple sentence (Gandhiji actually passed away at night!) I can easily recollect that Gandhinagar is the capital of Gujarat. Similarly, you can easily remember the capital of Uttar Pradesh is Lucknow by the following sentence: The people of Uttar Pradesh are very luck(y) now (a days). The capital of Punjab is Chandigarh. Simply visualize the following: Punjab ke log chandi ke ghar mein rehte hain. (The people of Punjab stay in houses made of silver.) Next, we know Bengaluru is the capital of Karnataka. Here, we simply
break the word Karnataka as kar and natak. Also, the word Bengaluru sounds as bangle-uru. Our sentence now becomes as follows: Bangles waali ladkiyan bahut natak kar(ti) hain. (Girls who wear bangles are very melodramatic.) Finally, we have Raipur is the capital of Chhatisgarh. From Raipur, I get the word Rai, which reminds me of Bollywood Actress Aishwarya Rai. I simply frame a sentence as follows: Aishwarya Rai ke paas chhatis ghar hain. (Aishwarya Rai has thirty-six houses.) In this manner, you can remember all the states and capitals of India. Please share this with other school or college students in your family who will find it helpful. Remembering Spelling There can be nothing more embarrassing than spelling a word incorrectly in a letter or an email. Especially if you are writing a letter to a prominent person, wrong spelling can create a very bad impression. There is a memory technique to remember the spelling of confusing words. Let me give you a few examples. (a) Stalactite or Stalagmite? Stalactites and stalagmites are mineral formations in caves. Stalactites are shaped like icicles and hang from the ceilings of caves, whereas stalagmites look like they are emerging from the ground and stand like a traffic cone. Because both
names are similar, people get confused between the two. However, there is an easy technique to remember the difference. The word stalactite has the letter C in it; so, we know it hangs from the ceiling. The word stalagmite has the letter G in it; therefore, we know it appears on the ground. (b) Principal or Principle? Principal and principle are two confusing words. The former refers to the head (or the main person) of a school and the latter refers to a rule or a theory. Again, there is an easy way to remember. The word principal has the letter A in the spelling, and therefore, refers to the mAin person of a school; whereas the word principle has the letter E in it, and therefore, it refers to a rulE. (c) Desert or dessert? If it is less sweet and dry, then it is desert. However, if it has more sweetness (more s), then it is dessert. (d) Grammar or Grammer? The correct word is grammar. Visualize that you always love to get an A grade in the English Grammar exam. Therefore, the spelling also has the letter A. (e) Comittee or Committee? The correct word is committee. Because a committee has more than one person (at least two), the letter M also appears twice.
(f) Recieve or receive? The correct word is receive. You receive parcels from the central post office; therefore, the letters CE are always together. So, you see that these small juggleries with words can help us remember spelling with ease, especially for pairs of confusing words. Next, we will see how to remember complex words of the English language. Remembering English Vocabulary A research paper published in the UK highlighted that the vocabulary of an average human being is not much better than that of an eighth grader. I know many people who try to improve their vocabulary by learning a new word every day. However, the problem is that after a few months, they remember the words but forget what they mean. Students preparing for the GRE exam have to remember an entire word list, which has over 4,000 words. Many students use flash cards to memorize the words and their meaning. Their intention is praiseworthy, but because they do not have a scientific system in place, they do not remember the meaning of these words for long. In this discussion, we will see how we can use the substitution system to remember words of the English language. Take a look at our list, where we have randomly selected eight words with their meaning: Word Meaning Sacrilegious Violation or misuse of what is sacred Unbridled Uncontrolled Vanguard Front row of soldiers, revolutionaries or change-makers Ostracize Banish from society Rail To complain loudly
Rail To complain loudly Dogmatic Inflexible, rigid Blighted Destroy or damage Exculpate Remove from or absolve of blame Facetious Treating serious issues in a humorous or funny manner Let us now apply the substitution method to remember the meaning of these words. Sacrilegious: Violation or misuse of what is sacred If you look carefully at the word sacrilegious, it has two small words, sack and religious. Just visualize a man wearing a sack and entering a religious place. He is violating the sacredness of the religious place. Therefore, the word sacrilegious (sack-religious) means violation or misuse of what is sacred. Unbridled: Uncontrolled The word unbridled has the word bride hidden in it. Thus, if a man has a bride, he is under control. However, a man who is unbridled (without a bride), is uncontrolled. Vanguard: Front row of soldiers, revolutionaries or change-makers A row of soldiers and revolutionaries is guarding a van from the front. Ostracize: Banish from society Substitute the word ostracize with the words ostriches. Now, we simply visualize that all ostriches are banished from society. Rail: To complain loudly The railways are not working and you are complaining loudly. Dogmatic: Inflexible, rigid From dogmatic, extract the word dog. Next, simply visualize a dog that is very rigid, inflexible and does not move, however hard you try to shake its feet or tail! Blighted: Destroy or damage The word blighted has the word light in it. Simply visualize that you are taking a tube-light or a light-bulb and
destroying it completely. Exculpate: Remove from or absolve of blame Visualize the word exculpate as ex-culprit. The word ex-culprit means a person who was a culprit, but is not a culprit anymore. Therefore, this person is absolved of all blame. Facetious: Treating serious issues in a humorous or funny manner The word facetious has the word face in it. Just imagine that your boss is discussing a serious issue in office and all the employees are making funny faces at him! Simple, isn’t it? Apart from the substitution system, another good strategy is to crack words based on the suffix/ prefix method. Let me give you an example. The term ambi is a Latin word, which means both. There are quite a few words in the English language which use the word ambias a prefix to mean both. The word ambivalent is used for a person with mixed/dual feelings or two contradictory ideas. The word ambiguous is used for words which have two or more meanings or interpretations. Similarly, even without knowing the exact meaning, we can reasonably infer that the word ambivert refers to a person whose personality may feature qualities of both an introvert and an extrovert and the term ambipolar would probably refer to something to do with two poles. Thus, once you know the meaning of commonly used Roman and Latin prefixes and suffixes, you can reasonably infer the meaning of words on your own. Here is a list of prefixes with their meaning and examples:
The following is a list of suffixes with their meaning and examples:
Here is a list of the roots from which several commonly used words are derived:
We now have a reference chart of prefixes, suffixes and roots. There are many words in the English language which use all three – prefixes, suffixes and roots. We will break them and derive the complete meaning. Take a look at the following examples: Roots often come from interesting historical sources. The word juggernaut in English refers to a large, heavy vehicle. The word is derived from the Indian God Jagannath, in whose worship a chariot ride is organized every year as part of the Rath Yatra festival in Puri, Odisha. In the last two sections, we have seen how to remember spelling and English
vocabulary. We will now expand the substitution system and see how it can help us remember words of foreign languages. However, before we go ahead, let us take a small test to see how much you remember from this section. Exercise (a) Vanguard: (b) Sacrilegious: (c) Unbridled: (d) Ostracize: (e) Facetious: (f) Blighted: (g) Rail: (h) Dogmatic: (i) Exculpate: Remembering Foreign Languages Psychology says that a child born in Japan will not struggle to learn the Japanese language, but an outsider like you and me will have a tough time learning it. Why is that so? Psychologists assert that a child born in Japan learns Japanese subconsciously. He starts learning from the day he is born (in fact, even before birth, as the child often learns subconsciously in its mother’s womb). It is easy for him to pick up letters and words as he interacts with everybody around him. However, a European businessman going on a week-long trip to Japan will have to make a conscious effort to learn even a few words of the Japanese language.
I often use the substitution system to learn words of a foreign language, when I travel abroad. Suppose I am going to Spain for a conference. I do not need to learn the Spanish language in its entirety, but I try to utilize my flight travel time to learn 50-100 words that are used in daily life, so that it helps me communicate better with the local people. It does not take a lot of time – in just a couple of hours at the airport lobby, with my iPad connected to the internet, I can search and memorize all the words that I need. Take a look at this list of ten randomly selected Spanish words with their English meaning. Spanish Word English Meaning Marido Husband Carpeta Files Hermano/airmono Brother Iglesia Church Manana Tomorrow Ropa Clothes Dinero money Don Gift/talent Dolor Pain Mirar To watch Piel Skin We will now see how to use the substitution system to remember the words: The word marido means husband. Think of the word marido as “marry a door”. Visualize that a husband is marrying a door! The word carpeta means files. Visualize many files lying on the carpet in your office.
The word hermano means brother. However, it is pronounced as airmano. We must always focus on the pronunciation, and hence, try to link “airmano” with “brother”. The picture I can think of is that my brother is an air man. I visualize him as a pilot who is commanding an aircraft. Iglesia means church. By itself, the word looks difficult to substitute. However, on second thoughts, iglesia sounds like a-glacier. Visualize a church in Spain situated inside a glacier. The word manana means tomorrow. Instead of manana, take the word banana. Next, simply tell yourself three times that you are going to eat a banana tomorrow. The word ropa means clothes. Visualize you are wearing clothes made of ropes. Dinero is money. How about visualizing that you are having money for dinner? Don means a sort of gift or talent bestowed on someone. This one is so simple that you can do the substitution on your own. Simply visualize an underworld don (black glasses, black suit, scary face, gun in hand) whose talent is shooting multiple people at the same time.
Dolor is pain. Visualize that people who do not have dollars have to face a lot of pain and hardships in life. Mirar is to watch. Visualize that you are watching yourself in a mirror. Piel is skin. Visualize you are peeling the skin off your body. Here, it is not necessary to always substitute foreign-language words with English-language words. You may use any language that you like. In fact, the more languages you know, the better it is. Let me give you an example. The Spanish word pagar is means to pay. In Hindi, the word pagar means salary : Pagar (Spanish) : to pay Pagar (Hindi) : salary Now, I simply visualize the word pagar means to pay a salary; therefore, the word is easily understood. Substitution, undoubtedly, is a very effective technique. However, the problem is that most people only visualize the words, using only the eye among all of the sense organs. If you want your substitution to be more effective, you must try to use as many senses as possible. This includes adding the sensations of sound, speech, taste and touch to the image, so all of the senses (seeing, hearing, speaking, tasting and touching) are involved in the process of remembering. For example, the Japanese word for cat is necko. You may simple visualize a Japanese cat with a very big neck. However, this is one-dimensional visualization, because as only seeing is
involved. We can make this visualization multi-dimensional by involving more senses. Visualize (seeing) a Japanese cat which has a very big neck. And when you caress (touching) her long neck, she says “meow” (hearing). The more the senses involved in the remembering process, the easier it is to remember. We will now take a small test to check how many words you have remembered from this chapter. Please revise the list once before we go ahead. Exercise Write the English meanings of the following Spanish words: (a) Manana: (b) Hermano: (c) Dinero: (d) Carpeta: (e) Iglesia: (f) Piel: (g) Mirar: (h) Don: (i) Ropa: (j) Dolor: Remembering Scientific Terms A young child does not learn how to ride a bicycle without first learning how to ride a tricycle. A tricycle inherently gives him support and balance. Once he learns to ride a tricycle, he can slowly move on and start riding a bicycle. He
may fall down a few times, but that is the only way he can learn. The point I am trying to make is that we cannot learn any skill without first taking support. We cannot learn swimming the very first time we dive into a pool. We need a ring or a float. We cannot learn to walk without first taking the help of a walker. In every activity in life, we need support and guidance in the initial stages. However, once we outgrow the support mechanism, we can naturally carry on the activity by ourselves. This is also the case with the substitution system. Initially, we may use some word twisting to help us remember. After a while, however, we will naturally remember the meaning of words and will not need word twisting any more. In this section, we will see how to remember scientific terms along with their meaning. Have a look at our list: Scientific Term Meaning Sacrum A trianglular bone in the human body Acoustics The science of sound Galvanometer An instrument that measures electric current Dermatology The science of skin Ichthyology The study of fish Paleobotany The study of ancient plants Scientific words are often incomprehensible because they do not sound like the English-language words that we use in daily life. So, we will substitute them with other, simpler words that we know. In addition, you may also substitute them with words from your native language (Arabic, Hindi, French, Malayalam, etc.). Strategy As before, we will rely on the substitution system to help us. You may choose to use the images that I have given or make your own. Do whatever you are comfortable with.
Sacrum: A triangular bone in the human body Visualize a triangular sack in your body filled with rum bottles. Acoustics: The science of sound Think of the word acoustic as a-cow-stick. So, you hit a cow with a stick whenever it makes a sound. Galvanometer: An instrument that measures electric current The word galvanometer is made up of three small words – gal (girl), van, and meter. Visualize a young gal driving a van. She suddenly gets a high voltage electric current from the meter of the van. Dermatology: The science of skin This one is not so easy at first sight. However, remember that there is no word in the world that cannot be cracked using the substitution system. It only requires a few seconds of keen observation and a hint that will trigger the meaning of the word in your mind. People with some knowledge of science will know that the word “derma” refers to skin, and therefore, dermatology is the science of skin. However, a layman who has no scientific background whatsoever can form a picture as follows. Visualize the term dermat as doormat. Now, you simply form a picture that the doormat of your house is made of skin. Thus, dermatology is the science of skin. Ichthyology: The study of fish You can make a very relevant picture here. Substitute the words as ich (itch) and thy (thigh). A fish is having an itchy sensation on its thigh and is, therefore, scratching its thigh. Whenever you are asked the meaning of ichthyology, your brain will remember the fish scratching
its thigh. Thus, you will know that the word refers to the study of fish. Paleobotany: The study of ancient plants The word paleobotany has the word pale in it. Visualize plants that have become very ancient and are looking pale and dull. Take a quick glance at the words and their substitutions. Once you are ready, take the test below. Test A word is given to you on the left; write its meaning or usage on the right. Ichthyology Sacrum Paleobotany Dermatology Galvanometer Acoustics Remembering Books and Authors Now that you have been practicing the substitution system, let me give you a small exercise. Try this section on your own. We have seen how the substitution system can be used to logically link and remember any two separate lists, such as: States and their capitals Words of a foreign language and their meaning Scientific terms and their meaning
Using the same strategy, I want to remember the names of the following books and authors. This is your personal exercise, where you will have to make the pictures on your own, without any help from me. Read the list two or three times, until you are familiar with it. Then, go to the next page and fill in the missing details. Book Author Hollywood Dreams Oscar Young My Beautiful House Angel Gray Journey to Africa Carmen Hunter A Night in the Forest Hugh Fox Pyramids of Egypt Richard King The Japanese Scientist Dean Armstrong Floral Designs Rosa Gardener For example, Hollywood Dreams is written by Oscar Young. So, you can visualize young people dreaming of going to Hollywood and winning an Oscar. My Beautiful House is written by Angel Gray. For this, you can simply visualize an angel with grey-coloured wings blessing your house.
Try to memorize the remaining examples. Then, take the test that follows. Test Write the names of the authors beside the names of their respective books. Book Author Journey to Africa The Japanese Scientist Hollywood Dreams Floral Designs A Night in the Forest My Beautiful House Pyramids of Egypt Remembering Case Laws One of the toughest challenges in the life of a lawyer, or a prospective law student is to remember case laws. What is a case law? Let me explain this briefly. A case law concisely describes the parties involved in the litigation and the details of the dispute. To remember a case law, one has to remember the names of the two parties and the topic of dispute. I have listed some famous case laws here (these are real-life court cases) and how a lawyer or law student can use the substitution system to remember them. Selected Case Laws Names of Parties Topic of Dispute Super Engineering Corp. v/s SV Pant Printing Machine Case Carstairs v/s Taylor Rat Nuisance Case
Carstairs v/s Taylor Rat Nuisance Case Davis v/s Mann Donkey Case Brown v/s Kendal Dog Fighting Case Burger v/s Grey Draining Case Cooks v/s Birt Sheriff Housebreak Case Vaux v/s Newmann Six Carpenter Case Moon v/s Durden Betting and Gambling Case As can be seen from our list, the first case was fought between Super Engineering Corporation and a gentleman called Mr SV Pant and it relates to a printing machine. The second case was fought between Mr Carstairs versus Mr Taylor and is due to a certain rat causing some nuisance, and so on for the rest of the cases. To remember these eight case laws that we have shortlisted, we will use the substitution system in the same way as earlier. The first case law was fought between Super Engineering Corporation and SV Pant. It relates to a printing machine. We have italicized three words – super, pant and printing machine. Take a look at this sentence: Superman is wearing pants with the photo of a printing machine. This single sentence will help you remember all the three details perfectly.
The second case law involves Mr Carstairs versus Mr Taylor and is related to the rat nuisance. Here is our sentence: ‘A rat is causing a lot of nuisance in a tailor’s car.’ We now have to remember that Davis versus Mann is a case pertaining to a donkey. So, we try to remember that a Davis Cup tennis match is being played between a man and a donkey. The next case law, Brown versus Kendal is a dog fighting case. So, try to imagine a dog holding a brown candle in his hand. Burger versus Grey is a drainage case. Now that you have got a hang of the, you know how simple it is to remember. Simply visualize a grey-coloured burger inside a drainage pipe. Cooks versus Birt is a sheriff’s housebreak case. We remember it by simply visualizing that a sheriff is cooking a bird in his house. Vaux versus Newmann is a case related to six carpenters. Here, instead
of the word Vaux, we will take the word wax. In addition, we will substitute new man for Newmann. Then, simply remember that six carpenters are making a wax statue of a new man. Finally, we have Moon versus Durden, which is a case of betting and gambling. It is easy to remember this one. Visualize a moon. Somewhere on the moon, there is a den (this will remind us of Durden). Inside the den, people are betting and gambling. This visualization will help us easily remember that Moon versus Durden is a case of betting and gambling. I suggest you read all the examples once again, before we proceed to a simple test. Your task is to mentally fill in the missing details in the following case laws: (a) Printing Machine Case: S_______ Engineering Corp v/s SV _______ (b) Rat Nuisance Case: C____________ v/s T________ (c) Donkey Case: D________ v/s M______ (d) Dog Fighting Case: B__________ v/s K________ (e) Drainage Case: B___________ v/s G________ (f) Sheriff’s Housebreak Case: C________ v/s B______ (g) Six Carpenter Case: V______ v/s N_________ (h) Betting and Gambling Case: M_____ v/s D_______ I am sure you must have performed well in this mental test of remembering case laws. Next, we will see how the substitution system can help us remember people’s names and faces. Remembering Names and Faces
In his international bestseller, How to Win Friends and Influence People, author Dale Carnegie says that every individual has a special fondness for his name. The sound of his name is the sweetest sound in the universe for each person. Remembering people’s names is important, not only from a memory perspective, but also from the perspective of business networking and public relations. Imagine the embarrassment when you accidentally come across an important business client; you recognize his face, but cannot recollect his name. If, during the conversation, he discovers that you have indeed forgotten his name, it is highly likely that he would feel offended by this oversight. In this chapter, we will study a technique by which you can easily remember people’s names. However, before we begin discussing the technique, a few prerequisites need to be highlighted. First Requirement: Attention The biggest reason why people forget names is they have not heard it properly in the first place. When a person introduces himself, instead of paying attention to him, we are busy in our own world of thoughts. Like a cloud passing by, his name appears and disappears from our consciousness. So, the first and foremost rule for remembering a person’s name is to hear it with full attention. Second Requirement: Intention The second and very crucial factor of memory is intention. Suppose a member of your family is suffering from a rare disease, which can be cured by only two specialist doctors in your city. Will you ever forget their names? No, that is impossible. You know you have to remember their names and addresses in case of an emergency. Therefore, the criticality of the situation compels you to remember their names. Third Requirement: Passion
People who are introverted have a general tendency to forget names. Extroverts, on the other hand, are very good at remembering names and faces because of their inherent liking for people. To put in brief, attention, intention and passion are the three prerequisites for remembering people’s names. Smart Tips Before we discuss the actual memory strategy, I will give you some smart PR tips. Suppose you meet a person at a party and cannot recollect his name. If he finds out you have forgotten his name, he may not like it. You do not want to ask him for his name again, because it will only expose your ignorance. What would you do in such a case? In such a scenario, you can try one of the following strategies: Greet the person as though you know him. Do not give any sign of having forgotten his name. During the conversation, ask him for his visiting card, which is bound to have his name. Quickly read the visiting card, place it safely in your wallet and continue the conversation! If the person does not have a visiting card, ask him for his cell phone number. While saving his number on your phone, tell him that you know his first name, but would like his full name to store in your contacts list. When he gives you his full name, you know you have got the information that you needed. Often, an application like WhatsApp Messenger on your cell phone will automatically fetch a person’s name and photo when you enter his number in your contacts list. Use such applications as a face-saver. If a person does not have a visiting card, you could also ask him for his email ID. Ninety-five per cent of people have an email ID with their own name. That should do the trick.
Invite a third, known person to your conversation. Ask your friend, whose name you have forgotten, and the third person to introduce themselves to each other. Listen to their mutual introductions and you will know your friend’s forgotten name. Memory Technique Whenever an important person introduces himself to you, listen to his name very carefully. Next, shut your eyes and see an image of the person’s face with his name written above it in big, black, bold letters. Write his name the way it is spelt (not on a piece of paper, but by moving your fingers in the air). When you are doing this, visualize his photo and also say his name at the same time. This is called the multi-sensory approach. You are using touch (writing his name), sight (visualizing his face), speech (uttering the name) and hearing (your own voice), all at the same time. This multi-sensory approach conveys the message through multiple channels in your brain; therefore, the chances of retention are very high. Let us now consider an example of a birthday party to illustrate the memory strategy for remembering names. Example: Birthday Party Today is a very special day. You are invited to a birthday party organized by your friend Nancy. You reach the venue at the scheduled time and as you walk into the party hall, you see many new people whom you have never met before. After wishing Nancy and exchanging pleasantries, you ask her to introduce you to her guests. So, Nancy takes you around the party hall and you meet many people one by one. The first person you meet is Bruce. Bruce is a karate expert with a lean but fit and agile body. The second person you meet is Michelle, who is elegant and dressed like a queen.
You meet Charlie, who is holding the keys of a Harley Davidson motorbike. You meet Jerry, who has a very innocent look with bright, sparkling eyes. You meet Ahida, a woman in a hijab (veil). You meet Sachin, who has stitches on his chin. You meet Fatima, who is slightly overweight. You meet Fred Baker, who has wrinkled skin. You meet Sandra, who is wearing a T-shirt that has the picture of a beach. Finally, you meet Ted, who is very hairy. Phew! You have just met ten new people. Your task is to remember each one of them by their first name and their peculiar characteristic. Let us see how to do this. Solution The secret is to associate the intended person with another person of the same name or with any of his peculiar characteristics. Let us reconsider the examples one by one: The first person is Bruce, who is a karate expert. Try to link Bruce with the Hollywood star, Bruce Lee, who was also a karate expert with a lean, agile body. The next person is Michelle, who is dressed like a queen. Think of Michelle Obama (wife of US President Barack Obama) who also dresses elegantly, like a queen.
Imagine the next person, Charlie, riding a Harley Davidson motorbike with the famous comedian, Charlie Chaplin. Visualize both of them sitting on the bike together. Jerry is an innocent-looking man with bright, sparkling eyes. Try to connect him with another Jerry (from the cartoon series, Tom and Jerry) who also has bright, sparkling eyes and an innocent face. Ahida has the word hid in her name; therefore, you know her face is hidden in a hijab and is not visible. Next, from Sachin, just extract the word chin, and you will instantly remember that he has stitches on his chin. Next, you met Fatima, who is slightly overweight. If you observe her name, you will find the word fat in it. Therefore, you know the overweight girl is Fatima. Fred Baker has wrinkled skin. Imagine he fr(i)ed his skin in the bakery when he was making hot cakes in the oven. Sandra is wearing a T-shirt that has the picture of a beach. Here, you can extract the word sand from Sandra and visualize Sandra sitting on the sands of a beach. Finally, we have Ted with a lot of hair on his body. We can simply extend the word Ted to give us the word Teddy. Imagine a cute Teddy Bear with curly hair on his body.
Now that we have made all the associations, I urge you to quickly read through the explanation once again. In addition, please note that your ability to remember these associations relies a lot on how well you have observed a new person and how intently you have heard his name in the first place. Many of us take this prerequisite for granted and later find the name difficult to recollect. Keep your eyes and ears open and try to grasp the name and face of the person with a genuine intention to remember. You will now take a small test to see how many names you remember. I promise that if you revised the whole list given above with due sincerity, you will get a full score in the test below. Test (a) Name the gentleman who is a karate expert:______________ (b) Name the innocent – looking man with bright, sparkling eyes:____________ (c) Name the lady who is relaxing on the beach:________________ (d) Name the person who has stitches on his chin:__________________ (e) Name the lady wearing an elegant, royal dress:______________ (f) Name the man on the Harley Davidson bike:_________________ (g) Name the girl who is slightly overweight:___________________ (h) Name the gentleman who has wrinkled skin:________________ (i) Name the man with a hairy body: ____________ (j) Name the girl who is in a hijab: Did you get all the names correctly? Wow! You definitely need to compliment yourself if you have been able to get all
the answers correct. You see, the secret is to simply link the word with some person you already know or a unique physical characteristic of the person (a scar, a mole, a French beard, a tattoo or a pierced ear). This uniquely visible mark on his face or body will trigger his name in your mind, whenever you meet him. If you meet a person called Sunny, visualize him sitting on a beach and tanning himself under the sun. If you meet a person called Steve, visualize him listening to an iPod, which is also designed by Steve (Jobs). Or a person called Donald, who is eating a burger at McDonalds. The basic thing to remember is that any name in the world can be cracked. If English language is not sufficient, you can use your native language to crack a name. In my native language (I am from India) the word Vidya means knowledge. So, if I meet a girl called Vidya, I instantly associate her with an image where she is reading a thick encyclopaedia. In my native language, the word Suraj refers to the sun and the word Talwar refers to a sword. So, if I want to remember a certain Mr Suraj Talwar, I simply visualize him sitting in the sun with a sword in his hand. Thus, if English language does not work, you can try your native language or a combination of English as well as your native language. However, always remember that any name or any word, howsoever complicated it might appear at first glance, can be cracked. What is required is a little bit of creativity and a little bit of patience! Remembering the Periodic Table Every high-school student is familiar with the periodic table. It is nothing but a tabular arrangement of the chemical elements, arranged on the basis of their atomic numbers, electronic configuration and recurring chemical properties. Here is a diagram of the standard periodic table:
As can be seen from the table, there are two elements in the first row: Hydrogen (H) and Helium (He). In the second row, we have Lithium (Li), Beryllium (Be), Boron (B) and so on. The periodic table has over 100 elements arranged in multiple rows. However, most students do not have to memorize the entire table. It is sufficient for them to be well versed with elements in the first two or three rows. In this section, we will study a wonderful technique by which we can memorize all the elements in the first three rows of the periodic table with the help of a simple and funny story. Before we begin, however, let us get acquainted with the elements in the first three rows. Here they are: 1. Hydrogen 2. Helium 3. Lithium 4. Beryllium 5. Boron 6. Carbon
7. Nitrogen 8. Oxygen 9. Fluorine 10. Neon 11. Sodium 12. Magnesium 13. Aluminium 14. Silicon 15. Phosphorous 16. Sulphur/sulfur 17. Chlorine 18. Argon As can be seen, we have 18 elements to remember. We will now form a story with a code word on every line. This code word will help us remember the element associated with it. Let us have a look at this small story: ‘Once upon a time, there was a doctor named Mr Hydrogen. One day, he went up a hill and stayed in Hotel Lithium, where he ate a lot of strawberries. Feeling bored, he took out his car and boosted the nitro speed. Unfortunately, he banged an ox walking on the road. The ox fell on the floor and hurt its knee. The doctor consoled him with a bottle of soda and gifted him a magnetic leg made of aluminium rods. The ox looked very silly. He remembered the days when he was prosperous, but he was now destined to suffer. Even cloning was not possible. To avenge his suffering, he shot the doctor with his R-gun. ’
I strongly recommend that you read the story once again. Now, let us analyze the story in sequence, with the name of the elements in parentheses. Here we go: 1. One upon a time, a doctor named Mr Hydrogen (Hydrogen) 2. Went up a hill (Helium) 3. He stayed in Hotel Lithium (Lithium) 4. Where he ate straw-berry (Beryllium) 5. But after some time he got bored (Boron) 6. So he took out his car (Carbon) 7. And boosted the nitro speed (Nitrogen) 8. But banged an ox walking on the road (Oxygen) 9. The ox fell on the floor (Fluorine) 10. And hurt its knee (Neon) 11. The doctor gave it a bottle of soda (Sodium) 12. And gifted it a magnetic knee (Magnesium) 13. With aluminium rods (Aluminium) 14. The ox looked very silly (Silicon) 15. He remembered the days when he was prosperous (Phosphorous) 16. But now he was destined to suffer (Sulphur) 17. Even cloning was not possible (Chlorine) 18. To avenge his suffering, he shot the doctor with his R-gun (Argon)
A quick glance at the technique and you will see the simplicity with which we memorized all the elements. We shall now take a small test to check how much you have remembered. Test (a) One day a doctor named Mr H____________(H___________N) (b) Went up a H________ (H______M) (c) He stayed in Hotel L___________ (L__________M) (d) Where he ate S_____________ (B____________M) (e) But after some time he got B_______ (B_______N) (f) So he took out his C____ (C__________N) (g) And boosted the N_____ speed (N___________N) (h) But banged an O____ walking on the road (O________N) (i) The ox fell on the F_____ (F_________E) (j) And hurt its K_____ (N_______N) (k) The doctor gave it a bottle of S______ (S________M) (l) And gifted it a M_________ knee (M___________M) (m) With A___________ rods (A__________M) (n) The ox looked very S_____ (S________N) (o) He remembered the days when he was P_________(P___________S) (p) But now he was destined to S_________ (S________R) (q) Even C_______ was not possible (C__________E)
(r) To avenge his suffering, he shot the doctor with his R-____ (A______N) Three cheers to you if you remembered all the elements correctly! On the Internet, you will find many different techniques of remembering the periodic table. However, to be brutally honest, I was not satisfied with any of them; therefore, I decided to make my own technique. I sincerely hope you have liked it. Although I have discussed how to remember only the first three rows, you can go ahead and extend this story for the other rows too. Make sure your story is relevant as well as funny at the same time. With this, we have completed our study of the substitution system. We will now move on to techniques for remembering numbers.
Chapter 8 The Conversion System One of the toughest challenges for a student is to remember numerical data. The human mind is designed in such a way that we can easily remember pictures, sentences, paragraphs and entire songs from our favourite albums, but find it difficult to remember numbers. If you meet a certain Mr John on the road whose telephone number is 9841752163, you will instantly remember his name as Mr John, but will take some time to remember his phone number. Further, if you do meet Mr John after one year, there is a high chance that you will still remember his name, but very little chance that you will remember his phone number. So, the obvious question is – How do we tackle this basic human inability to remember numbers? To address this concern, we have devised the Conversion System of memory. In this system, we convert each of the ten numerals from 0 to 9 into a picture or a photo. Number Photo/image 1. nose, tie 2. shoes, hands 3. tripod, stumps, watch 4. car, animals 5. fingers, starfish 6. cricketer hitting a six, hexagon 7. rainbow 8. octopus, spider 9. planets
9. planets 0. egg For 1, we have taken the words nose and tie because there is one nose in the human body and we wear one tie. For 2, we have taken shoes and hands each of which represents the number 2. Similarly, for 3, we have taken tripod (three legs/pods), stumps (three stumps behind a batsman in cricket) and a watch (three hands). Next, all of us know that a car has four wheels and animals have four legs. For 5, we have the five fingers or a starfish which has five arms, and for 6, we have a cricketer hitting a six (or we can take the six sides of a hexagon). For 7, we have the seven colours of a rainbow. For 8, we have the eight tentacles of an octopus or spider. For 9, we have the nine planets, and for 0, we have taken an egg because it looks like a zero. We will see more applications of the conversion system in the section, ‘Remembering Dates in History’. For the time being, just keep in mind that whenever you see a number, try to remember it with its corresponding image. For example when you see 1, think of a nose and when you see 3, think of a tripod or a watch. Thus, if you have to remember the number 84, just think of an octopus driving a car (number 8 reminds us of octopus and 4 reminds us of a car). Given below is a simple quiz that will help you remember the objects associated with each number. Try to fill in the blanks mentally with the words corresponding to each number. 1 – Nose, tie 2 – H_______, S_______ 3 – S________, T_________, W______ 4 – C_______, A____________ 5 – F__________, S ______ 6 – H__________, _____________ hitting a six 7 – R____________ 8 – O___________, S_______
9 – P__________ 0 – E_____ Now that you are ready, let us proceed to learning an amazing system of remembering historical dates and other numerical data. Remembering Dates in History Let us play a small game. First, I will give you something really long to remember and you will be able to remember it easily. Next, I will give you something relatively small; yet, you will simply not be able to recollect it. Are you ready for the challenge? Here we go! Try to remember this sentence: I work in Manhattan which is in New York which is in the USA which is in North America which is in this world. Read the sentence once again. Now close your eyes and try to recollect the sentence. You will be surprised that you got it correctly! Next, try to remember the following: 248729083587314806 Now, close your eyes and try to recollect the exact sequence of numbers. It is virtually impossible, isn’t it? This small game leads us to the definite conclusion that remembering words is easy, but remembering numbers can be complicated. During my high-school days, I often had to remember dozens of dates in history. I am going to share with you the secret that I used to crack these history dates. Take a look at the examples in the table below. A globally significant event took place in each of these five years, and these five events are completely unrelated to each other. I will now teach you how to remember the whole list.
1933 – Hitler becomes the Vice-Chancellor of Germany. 1947 – India attains independence. 1918 – Nelson Mandela is born in South Africa. 1944 – The US Army arrives in the Marshall Islands. 1959 – The Dalai Lama and Tibetans flee China. We have five different dates and events. If you observe carefully, the number 19 is common to all the dates – 1933, 1947, 1918, 1944 and 1959. Therefore, we will ignore the number 19 and focus on only the last two digits of each date. Thus, instead of 1933, we will take only 33. Our table now looks as follows: 33 – Hitler becomes the Vice-Chancellor of Germany. 47 – India attains independence 18 – Nelson Mandela is born in South Africa. 44 – The US Army arrives in the Marshall Islands. 59 – The Dalai Lama and Tibetans flee China. Let us now take these dates one by one and apply the conversion system to remember them.
In 33, Hitler became the Vice-Chancellor of Germany. According to the Conversion System, we know that the number 3 is visualized as a tripod and as a watch (Refer to the beginning of this chapter, titled ‘The Conversion System’, if you have not read it; else, you will not be able to understand this method). So, the words are tripod and watch. We now form a simple picture in our mind – when Hitler became the Vice-Chancellor of Germany, he was sitting on a tripod and wearing a watch. See the picture, right now, in your mind. Hitler is sitting on a tripod wearing a watch when he is being made the Vice-Chancellor of Germany. These two words, tripod and watch, will help you recollect that the numbers are 3 and 3; and therefore, the year is (19)33. Next, India attained independence in the year 47. According to our Conversion System, 4 is visualized as a car and 7 as a rainbow. Visualize that when India became independent, the Indians were so happy that they took their cars and started flying on a rainbow. In 18, Nelson Mandela was born in South Africa. We know that 1 is visualized as a tie and 8 as an octopus. Form a picture in your mind that when Nelson Mandela was born, his family members tied an octopus in the house. In 44, the US Army arrived in the Marshall Islands. The number 4 reminds us of a car and of animals. Visualize that when the US Army arrives in the Marshall Islands, it is driving a fleet of expensive cars