Mind Tools E-book
	The key tools on the Mind Tools site, brought together into one easily downloadable, easily printable PDF. More>>

The Number/Shape Mnemonic

Remembering Simple Ordered Lists

The Number/Shape system is very similar to the Number/Rhyme system. It is a very simple and effective way of remembering a list in a specific order. It is another example of a peg system based on oegword images.

How to Use the Tool:

The technique works by helping you to build up pictures in your mind, in which the numbers are represented by images shaped like the number. You can then associate these with the things you want to remember using striking images.

One image scheme is shown below:

1. Candle, spear, stick
2. Swan (beak, curved neck, body)
3. Bifocal glasses, or part of a "love heart"
4. Sail of a yacht
5. A meat hook, a sea-horse facing right
6. A golf club
7. A cliff edge
8. An egg timer
9. A balloon with a string attached, flying freely
10. A hole

If you find that these images do not attract you or stick in your mind, then change them for something more meaningful to you.

As with the Number/Rhyme scheme, link these images to ones representing the things to be remembered.

In some cases these images may be more vivid than those in the number/rhyme scheme, and in other cases you may find the number/rhyme scheme more memorable. There is no reason why you cannot mix the most vivid images of each scheme together into your own compound scheme.

Example:

We can use a list of more modern thinkers to illustrate the number/shape system:

1. Spinoza - a large CANDLE wrapped around with someone's SPINe
   
   
2. Locke - a SWAN trying to pick a LOCK with its wing
   
   
3. Hume - A HUMan child BREAST feeding
   
   
4. Berkeley - A SAIL on top of a large hooked and spiked BURR in the LEE of a cliff
   
   
5. Kant - a CAN of spam hanging from a meat HOOK
   
   
6. Rousseau - a kangaROO SEWing with a GOLF CLUB
   
   
7. Hegel - a crooked trader about to be pushed over a CLIFF, HaGgLing to try to avoid being hurt
   
   
8. Kierkegaard - a large EGG TIMER containing captain KIRK and a GuARD from the starship enterprise, as time runs out
   
   
9. Darwin - a BALLOON floating upwards, being blown fAR by the WINd
   
   
10. Marx - a HOLE with white chalk MARks around it's edge

Key Points:

The Number/Shape technique is a very effective method of remembering lists. It works by linking things to be remembered with the images representing the numbers 0-9. By using it in conjunction with the Number/Rhyme system, you can build potent images that can make very effective mnemonics.

MindTools.com - Join Our Community!

The next technique we look at, the Alphabet Technique, extends this approach, helping you remember longer lists. To read this, click "Next article" below. Other relevant destinations are shown in the "Where to go from here" list underneath.

Where to go from here:		Join Mind Tools		Newsletter
		Download and Print		Next Article

New Articles (Not included in the Mind Tools E-book.)
* Shows articles available in full only to Career Excellence Club Premium members

Acrostics - Memory curiosities

A full list of Mind Tools articles is available here.

return to top

Learn to manage the stress in your life with our sister site, stress.mindtools.com.

Mind Tools Store: Mind Tools Ebook, Make Time for Success
 Stress Management Masterclass, How to Lead, Design Your Life
 Relaxation MP3s

© Mind Tools Ltd, 1995-2008, All Rights Reserved

For requests to reprint or reproduce material from this site, please contact our Permissions Center.

Store · Search · Newsletter · Downloads · Advertisers · Affiliates

MindTools.com is one of the Internet's most-visited career skills resources.
Click here to see analysis.