The main difference between modern life is the huge flow of information that a person has to face almost daily. Many of us need to get acquainted with the tasks and plans we have set out, speak to a large number of people, correctly and beautifully express our thoughts to them, engage in training, arouse interest among our wards, etc. However, not every person can quickly and fully store the received data into memory. And very often, in order to remember the necessary information, people use the association method. However, it is not always effective enough. Its disadvantage lies in the fact that this method is suitable only for a small number of objects. But sometimes there is a need for the assimilation of an arbitrary text of medium volume. In this case, the associative technique will not bring the desired result. And then a method that is based on working with images - mnemonics will come to the rescue. The Cicero method is just one of them. It allows you to remember a large amount of information.
Translated from the ancient Greek word "mnemonics" means "the art of remembering." As a result of its development, a person not only develops his memory, but also gets the opportunity to spell out the necessary information in detail and smoothly, that is, to acquire oratory skills.
Appearance story
The Cicero Method is named after the statesman of the Roman Republic. Mark Tullius Cicero went down in history as a famous speaker, who became famous for his ability to reproduce from memory a large number of historical facts, quotes and dates without using the text of his speeches prepared on paper.
However, a similar technique was used before Cicero. It was used by the ancient Greek poet Simonides. Once he participated in a magnificent and plentiful meal, which he left before all the guests. After the poet left, the ceiling collapsed in the room. The guests and the owner of the house died. Simonides came to identify the dead and was able to reproduce in memory the presence of each person in the process of celebration.
But no matter who stood at the origins of this method, the Cicero method is today considered one of the most ancient techniques of memorization.
Causes of Bad Memory
Why is it that far from all people are able to quickly remember a large amount of information? The fact is that the memory of each person has individual characteristics. So, someone with ease, having read only once, can memorize the multiplication table by heart, but at the same time almost immediately forget the name of the one whom he just met. Other people, by contrast, are naturally given good visual memory, but they learn the most elementary rules of the Russian language “with a creak”. What are the causes of memory impairment? There are only five of them. Let's consider them in more detail.
Lack of interest
There is the most popular reason for a person’s poor memory. It is in absent or diminished interest. Indeed, you must admit that it is rather difficult to remember information that does not cause any desire for development in this area. And if a person who does not like poetry is asked to memorize a poem, then the completed task for him will be tantamount to a feat.
Inattention
Another reason for poor memory is the low concentration on the received data. Today, a huge stream of information pours out onto a modern person every day. This simply does not give him the opportunity to delve into the data.Sometimes people, even without understanding the essence, do not seek to put into practice the information they received. And this, unfortunately, is becoming a habit. Also, the simultaneous execution of several tasks negatively affects the productivity of human activities.
Other reasons
It is worth noting that we are not given a good memory by nature. She is a skill that needs to be developed. It affects the level of malnutrition, vitamin deficiency and oxygen starvation of the body. The real scourge of modern man, a depressive state, also negatively affects memory. With this state of health, it is hardly possible not only to remember the newly received information, but also to reproduce the already familiar.
That is why each of us should include healthy food in our diet, constantly take walks in the fresh air, exercise, engage in an active life position and not give free rein to depression.
Hard work
The fame of the statesman and speaker Cicero spread throughout the country and around the world literally at the speed of light. His talent for giving speeches is still set as an example for our contemporaries. So yet, the ability to speak to a huge audience without notes and clues was his gift or painstaking work on developing the skill of memorization? Without a doubt, hard work, the implementation of which is available to everyone.
Having mastered the method of Cicero, anyone can easily keep in memory the phrases, words, numbers, dates and other information. However, in order to achieve such a result, it will require the application of huge daily labor. In other words, Cicero's memorization training should be done every day.
The essence of the method
What is the main meaning of this method? Cicero's memorization involves creating a matrix of images. They subsequently allow you to fix in memory large amounts of data, and not just one of the fragments of text.
Cicero’s memorization consists in highlighting the key units of information, which are then mentally arranged in a certain order in a well-known room, for example, in the room of your own house. During the performance, it is enough to recall in all details the interior created in the imagination and reproduce it to the audience.
Cicero himself did the same. Before each performance, he walked through the numerous rooms of his house, “arranging” important ideas for his future speech in various places of the premises that he knew well. This allowed the speaker to brilliantly remember the text.
Initial stage of work
Cicero's method of memorization is the use of mnemonics. In order to reproduce his speech in strict sequence, the speaker broke the text of the speech into parts, preparing each of them in one of his chambers. Before going to the public, Cicero made a mental walk through the rooms, following a certain route. All this helped him remember exactly that part of the speech that he was preparing in one room or another.
Before you start working with the text, you will need to read it and find out what it is about. Further, all information should be divided into several parts that carry their semantic meaning.
Walk around the premises
Further, according to the Cicero method, it is necessary to remember each of the selected sections of information. Moreover, it is necessary to do this in various rooms of your house or apartment. The order of them should be strictly defined. For example, from the hallway you need to go to the bathroom, from it - go to the toilet, then go to the kitchen, go through the living room, visit the nursery and complete your route in the bedroom. The text in this case should be reproduced taking into account the sequential presentation of all its parts. And for better memorization of specific information, you will need to mentally go around each of the rooms.At the same time, specific data should be placed in its specific places, which subsequently can be easily reproduced. To begin with, just as the author of the technique did it, it is recommended to walk around the room and mentally place all the necessary elements in it. Such training will need only a few. After this, the image of the room, a person easily begins to reproduce in his memory, mentally recalling all those objects that are in it.
The Cicero method is based on the principle of spatial imagination, and for its maximum effective application it is important to maintain a sequence of movements around the room. A route, for example, can be laid clockwise or in the direction from one wall to another. Complicating the task when using the Cicero method is not worth it. To memorize information, you need to choose for yourself the room that is already well studied.
Instead of a house or an apartment, for example, an office can be selected. You can use the road to the nearest store or to work. A system of images can be created on an imaginary path. This will allow you to remember any amount of information, since such a path simply has no end. Another option is to create an imaginary room. Its interior can be chosen in accordance with your own wishes and taste. At the same time, you should not limit your imagination. After all, a room exists only in imagination and in thoughts.
Method demonstration
Applying the Cicero method for remembering for children, you can use fairy tales with them. For example, working with all of us well-known "Kolobok" is as follows:
1. In the breakdown of the text into six semantic parts, each of which should be presented in the form of an image: flour - a bun, rolling along the road - a bunny - a wolf - a furry bear - a fox-sister who eats a bun. In the Cicero method of spatial imagination, such images are auxiliary. They are needed to encode the information that you need to remember. But the image of the place itself, already existing in our memory and familiar to us, in mnemonics is called "reference".
2. In the mental combination of auxiliary images created in the imagination - flour and a bun on the road, a hare, etc. with supporting, which will serve as a kitchen and living room, bathroom and other rooms. So, flour is in the kitchen. On the way to the living room rolls a bun. A hare is sitting in the bathroom, and a wolf is in the toilet. A bear can be found in the nursery, but on the balcony a fox eats a bun.
3. In the repetition of a fairy tale using mental images, which will allow us to recall the plot, supporting images and the sequence of events.
The advantages of the method
The above examples of the Cicero method give an idea of its use. However, it should be borne in mind that this method allows you to solve more complex problems. This can be, for example, memorizing the text of a speech, training material, the sequence of calls made by phone, a plan for the day, etc.
The positive side of the Cicero method based on spatial imagination is that the reproduced material will be a logical linked text, and not just a collection of random words. In this case, there is the possibility of multiple use in the imagination of the same room. Highlights will not mix with each other. It will not be difficult for a person to restore data on a specific topic in his memory.
Another advantage of the Cicero method is the ease of its development. It is enough to conduct just a few workouts and you can use this method anywhere. You don’t have to come up with associations and restore their chain for a long time. It is enough to recall a familiar room or carefully examine the room in which the person is currently.
Basic rules for remembering
For the most effective application of the Cicero method, it is necessary:
- attach selected images in a room with bright lighting;
- change the dimensions of imaginary objects to the opposite, making small large, and reduce large to small;
- make a dynamic and interesting bunch between the images that exist in the room, and new ones.