Memorising a whole speech or essay can be intimidating and stressful. Here are a handful of our tips to help you memorise your next text the best and easiest way possible!
1. Memorise One Paragraph at a time
You don't want to memorise too much at a time because your brain wont have enough time to retain all the information. You should read the first paragraph, memorise it and then continue to the next.
2. Utilise Colours or Objects
If you are finding it tricky to remember the sentence order, a tricky word, a long sentence e.t.c, highlight or associate your problem area to help your brain remember it better. For example, you could highlight with different colours, the first 3 words of every sentence in the same order for each paragraph to help you remember it better, for instance yellow is the first sentence of each paragraph, blue is the second e.t.c. OR another example could be if you can't remember the word "catalyst," you could remember an image of an explosion to connect the image to the word.
3. Read, Say, Write
This technique will address all visual, verbal and physical learners. Read the first sentence about 10 times, then say it aloud another 10 times without looking at the paper, finally write it out 5 times. This technique is more useful for smaller pieces of writing. If you are memorising a longer piece I recommend writing the entire paragraph twice after you have finished memorising it by saying each sentence aloud 10 times. Each time you learn a new sentence, add it to the previous sentence that you just memorised.
4. Record and Listen
Record yourself reading your text aloud and listen to it. This way you can listen to it in the car, eating dinner e.t.c. Don't listen to it so many times in a row to that your not actually listening to it. Make sure when you record it, that you speak clearly and not too fast.
5. Don't Memorise too Much at a Time
Ensure you have enough time to memorise your text. You don't want to rush the process and risk completely forgetting everything. Trying to memorise too much at once is the best way to forget everything! I find that memorising 1 to 2 paragraphs in one day is plenty. Then the following day I will memorise another 1 or 2.
6. Get Plenty of Sleep
Although sleeping itself will not help you memorise anything, it will allow yourself to focus for longer periods of time and this is crucial for memorising. Secondly, a good night's sleep after memorising something will help consolidate your memory which is essential for learning new information. So when you're trying to retain information, make sleep your number 1 priority!
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