A well-known top memory technique is to associate information with mental “markers” that help recall. For example, you could build an image in your head of a herd of cows wearing party hats and carrying candles to remind yourself that you need to pick up ice cream and a birthday cake for your child’s party this Saturday. Linking a memorable image to information activates your brain in several areas involved in visual processing and memory storage. The more information you can link to one image, the more efficient this memory storage and recall process is.

If you think about it, words are really “images” in this sense. When you read a word, you’re really visualizing all of the information that this word represents, including any memories you have associated with the word. Reading the word telephone prompts your brain to produce an image of a telephone, or to think about where your cell phone is at the moment, or the last time you talked to your mother, or the fact that you have to call the dentist before the end of the week. All of this information is packed into the single word telephone.

What this means is that when you learn more vocabulary words, you’re also learning more chunks of information that those words have attached to them. It’s an efficient way to store things in your memory, as well. Just like reading the word telephone called up a variety of related thoughts and concepts out of your long-term memory, using vocabulary allows you to remember more things by using fewer markers. By attaching information to words, you’ll be able to use those words to easily remember the associated information.

It’s important to learn as much as you can about each new vocabulary word so that you’re better able to remember and use the word correctly. However, you can combine vocabulary building and memory practice by also adding related information with each new word. If the word pasteurization is on your vocabulary list, why not take a few minutes to learn about the inventor of the process, Louis Pasteur? This 19th-century French scientist made many important discoveries related to microorganisms and bacteria, and invented the pasteurization process for milk, as well as new methods related to sanitation, immunization, and vaccination. Reading a brief summary of important people, inventions, places, or ideas related to one vocabulary word will give you a wide range of information that you’ll find useful to know in the future. You’ll be improving your vocabulary and getting a better memory for facts at the same time.

Cross-posted on the Ultimate Memory blog.