Memorization

Techniques

Created by Mrs. Pam Myers

Crosby Middle School

Connect & Link (The Link
Method)
– Create associations between words to form a list.
– Find a partner and do this with the monologue examples provided
– Ex: Viola’s monologue – Ring, eyes, man, dream, frailty, master, woman, knot
– Ex: Claudio’s monologue – obstruction, clod, floods, ice, winds, world, howling, paradise
Make a Story (The Story
Method)
– Like the Link method, but creates a big picture rather
than smaller images.
– You would take your list of words and spin them…
– This may not be ideal for most monologues, but can possibly
be used if your brain works that way.
Associate Objects with Familiar
Locations (The Loci Method)
– Based on mental images intentionally associated with familiar places.
– Ring, churlish messenger, waxen hearts, love, knot.
– Pick a place that you're very familiar with, like your house.
– Imagine that you walk into your front yard, and find a ring sitting on top of a gnomish
messenger who looks quite angry.
– As you enter the house and into the kitchen, a huge heart made of wax, beating slowly.
– Aghast, you run out of the kitchen into the living room, only to find that there are giant signs
with the word “love” tied in knots.

– Make these images as absurd, comical, sensory (e.g. can incorporate sounds,
smells, tastes), and vivid as possible for best results.
Peg Objects to a Number
(The Peg System)
– Memorize words that are easy to associate with numbers.
1. Sun
2. Boo
3. See
4. More
5. Alive
Peg Objects to a Number
(The Peg System) Cont.
– Five successive sections of the monologue.
1. “Cold obstruction” must mean there is no sun to warm them.
2. The “delighted spirit” says boo.
3. “Viewless winds” cannot see Claudio’s pain.
4. The “howling” is “too horrible” and is more than I can bear!
5. “What we fear of death” is that we are not alive.
Draw a Mind Map

– Create an imaginary map in your head.

– Lay out the structure and making the flow of information
clearer.
– Create structure and logic in the path over the map.
The Roman Room (Memory
Palace)
– Put 1-5 together.
– 10 different words or phrases to get through the monologue.
– Bring to mind a room that you are very familiar with and can recall in detail.
– Number the parts of the room.
The Roman Room Cont.

– Find some sort of symbol that represents each word you’ve chosen.
– You may need to return to your monologue to pick out words that can be easily given
a shape.
– Assign a symbol to each of the number and then visualize each item at that
number.
– If you have physical access to your chosen room, make each numbered location a
physical cue as well as an imagined visual cue.
– Work through your monologue using the symbols and images in your mind in an
order that makes sense with the text.
Chunking/Flash Cards

– Put things into categories so it’s easier for your brain to handle.
– Divide your monologue into 6-10 sections.
– Choose logical places, like the end of a sentence.
– Don’t divide in the middle of a thought.
– Number each section in chronological order.
– Write section 1 of your monologue on a slip of paper.
– Read over it multiple times. You might want to read it out loud or try writing it as well.
– Once you have it memorized, put that slip of paper aside and move on to section 2 of your
monologue.
– Write section 2 on one a slip of paper.
– Continue, conquering the rest of your monologue.
– You can also write lines and sections on index cards and cycle through them like flash cards.
Kinesthetic/Physical

– For each line, stand in a different place or a different position.

– Make your changes big.
– Go through the monologue with your different places and/or positions as many
times as you can.
– You may say the monologue out loud or to yourself as you do this.
– Try yoga arms and Tai Chi moves.
Oral/Musical

– Monologue will be the lyrics to a song.

– Happy Birthday
– Mary Had a Little Lamb
– Call Me Maybe (I already know most of you know it!)
– The Star-Spangled Banner
– Thriller
– Ring Around the Rosy
– Sing the song to yourself, using your monologue as the new lyrics.
Aural/Listening

– Record your own voice reading your monologue with proper inflections, proper
speech patterns, and proper speed.
– Listen to this recording over and over again until you can repeat the lines along
with the recording.
– You should be able to remove the recording and complete the monologue by
memory.
Visual/Pictorial

– Fold a sheet of paper lengthwise (hotdog style).

– On the right, write the monologue line by line in order.
– On the left, draw a picture to complement each sentence
of the monologue.
– Stick figures are fine!!
Intrapersonal/Quiet Study

– Quietly read over your monologue to yourself.

– Quietly write out a copy.
– You may listen to music if you’d like, as long as it is quiet enough
that no one else can hear it.
Blue Pen Memorization

– Based in psychological studies.

– Write the monologue over and over again in blue ink on
white paper.
– Also creates a muscle memory connection with your brain to
reinforce those words.
Sleep On It

– Extremely simple.
– Get COMPLETELY ready for bed.
– Read monologue 15-25 times.
– Turn the light off and go straight to sleep.
– Sleep converts short-term repetition into long-term retention.
Line by Line

– Start with the first line and repeat it until you don’t have to look at the words.
– Add the second line, repeating both the first line and second line until you know
it.
– Add the third line and recite all three lines over and over until it’s firmly set in
your brain.
– Keep going until you finish.
– Gradually adding lines makes the monologue have more cohesion and flow because
there are not separate parts, only the whole.
Scent and Taste Association

– Scent: choose a smell and spray it on paper/clothes/neck

while memorizing.
– Use same scent during performance.
– Taste: chew or eat something with a specific flavor while
rehearsing.
– Consume the same taste immediately before performing.
Additional Techniques

– Pay attention to get information right the first time.

– Make certain that you understand a concept.
– Use chunking. Cluster ideas around a heading or category. One item may serve
as a cue to another during the exam.
– Be selective - condense and summarize.
– Mnemonic devices can serve as organizers for new information, either classic
acronyms, or individualized ones that you design for yourself.
Additional Techniques Cont.

– Eliminate distractions:
– Use a "cue"
– Remove visual or auditory obstacles.
– Have all of your equipment available before you begin.
– Record stray thoughts on a note pad, but don't act upon them.
– Check your concentration as you go.
– Use all of your senses.
– Erase to remember.
HAPPY MEMORIZING!!

– Break a leg!!
Credit Where It’s Due

– Drama Dreams and English Themes via Teachers Pay Teachers

– Scott Hagwood (2006), Memory Power, New York: Free Press
– Willamette University Study Strategies