The Memory Palace

In 556 BC the orator Simonides delivered a narrative poem about the gods Castor and Pollux from memory to hundreds of attendees in a Grecian banquet hall.

After the uproarious applause quieted, the host attempted to shortchange Simonides by paying him only half of the agreed-upon price.

“Claim the other half of my debt from the gods!” The host jeered in a mocking display of power.

Before Simonides could object, he was summoned outside the city gates where two mysterious travelers demanded his immediate presence. Defeated and dejected Simonides left the banquet to meet the travelers. From a distance, they looked like twins holding their hands out as if presenting a gift to him. As soon as Simonides reached the gate the twins vanished into thin air!

Just then, a thunderous earthquake erupted shaking the whole village. From the safety outside the city gates Simonides saw the bronze roof of the banquet hall collapse around the marble columns in a plume of smoke and dust. It was later declared that everyone in attendance had been tragically crushed beyond recognition. Everyone that is, except for Simonides, who avoided his death due to those vanishing twins. It occurred to Simonides that the gift they presented was to spare his life. It seemed Castor and Pollux had indeed settled the other half of the debt.

The corner’s task of identifying the victims of the banquet hall was nearly impossible due to the mangled remains. Remarkably, Simonides began accurately listing every person in attendance in the exact location they had sat during his performance. In awe those around him wanted to learn how he was able to remember this. From that day on a new memory technique was born.

Memory Palace – Loci Method (Places)

The Memory Palace is a mnemonic system for memorizing speeches, quotes, and poems by utilizing visualization techniques rather than trying to force memorize words by constant repetition. We all wish we had a better memory so why don’t we? We focus on the wrong things! Our mind recollects emotions, images, feelings – sensory experiences – not words!

Pictures are the language of memories.

Most of us can recall every detail about an insignificant insult someone hurled at us two years ago. We know what shirt they wore, the temperature it was outside, the feeling of the socks on our feet – everything. But its near impossible to remember the dates of WWI or a single line of your acceptance speech you need to deliver. We believe by sheer force we’ll cram the numbers, words, and letters into our memory, but we can’t. We never will. Instead utilize your mind’s creative ability to construct evocative imagery in your imagination. Don’t try to remember your speech word-for-word, instead image a location and emotional situations to associate it with your speech.

Give Me The Steps:

Step 1: Pick a location that you know intimately well. It could be your home, office, or coffee shop – somewhere you know backwards and forwards.

Step 2: Memorize every permanent detail about that place – the chairs, lamp designs, bookshelves – anything and everything in its right place. It isn’t best to not associate specific people or changing items within a location. Focus on what is permanently there.

Step 3: Associate sections of the speech with an action happening there. Add humorous, scary, sensual details to make the image visceral. The more ridiculous, hilarious, or tactile the image is the stronger the connection!

Step 4: Move throughout the room, starting at the entrance, and create a story where all those images interact with items and locations. Write them all out and begin practicing!

That’s it! Simple right?

Do One With Me

**Major Thanks and Photo Credit: Mammoth Memory**

Above is a simple image (provided by Mammoth Memory) of a route you might take through the downstairs of your house. Notice the route starts at the front door and moves in a clockwise path stopping at each location once.

Lets create a memory palace for first four lines of the classic To Be Or Not To Be soliloquy from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

To be or not to be that is the question, whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles.
Hamlet

In this example, we will associate each line with a item and a sensory image. Remember be creative! Sometimes old English words or unusual phrases will require a little creative playfulness.

To be, or not to be: that is the question –#1 Picture:
- Imagine walking into the front door & looking at the picture hanging on the wall. See and hear the buzzing of two fat bees (insects) around a massive question mark.
- This image is strong enough to remind me of the first line “to be…that is the question”
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer – #2 TV:
- In front of the TV a noble king in anguish, suffering from a terrible storm (whether/weather) raining brains on him.
- In this example I am using the homophones weather/whether to correlate storms & mind together. This isn’t a word-for-word reconstruction of the line but the ridiculous situation will remind me of the important content.
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune – #3 Radiator:
- A warrior on the top of the radiator shooting gold, diamonds and money with bows and slings.
- Incorporating many pieces of content into one image will minimize how many imaginary locations you have to go.
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles – #4 Sofa:
- Imagine the sofa as a humanoid figure and has a large body of water at it’s belly (sea), he is the one tormenting and causing trouble for the noble king. In anger, you run up to it and pull of it’s arms!

Ridiculous right?

Maybe your images will be a lot more refined or raunchy, whatever your style, make it memorable for you. This is a rough and quick example. The process will take some getting used to but once you get it, it’s such a blast.

Practice, Practice, and More Practice

The most important piece of the puzzle is to practice. Practice with bible verses, poems, or quotes – bits of pieces that you want to remember. If you are required to give a speech, try out this ancient and effective method. Presenting without notes makes the audience see you as a master of your topic, allowing themselves the opportunity to relax, enjoy, and revel in your speech.