Have you ever been in that position where you’re trying to remember something, and you pore over it again and again? Perhaps it’s for a speech you’re going to give? Or, it could even be some revision for an exam you’ll be sitting. Sometimes, no matter how much you revise and read the information, it just doesn’t seem to stick in the memory bank for too long.
So, where are you going wrong, and what can you do to improve your chances of remembering information? Well, some people take to leaving themselves notes as memory joggers, which is not a bad idea. Others like to listen to recordings of the info, which is also a decent idea. But, the best thing to do to help you remember more information is to read it aloud.
It’s proven
This is something that has been common knowledge for some time now, and a recent study from the University of Waterloo in Ontario has corroborated this with their findings. They determined that reading or speaking something aloud makes it much easier to remember than reading it silently or even hearing it read aloud. This is because the impact of speaking and listening at the same time helps to bolster the way in which memory works, making it stronger. So, next time you need to remember and process important pieces of information, you must make sure you read it aloud, as this will help you retain it in your memory better.
Explored in psychology
The nucleus of this theory built on previous work and was expanded upon by Waterloo psychologist Colin McLeod. He compiled a test looking at almost 100 students, and discovered that they retained the memory of particular words, letter, and other information much more after reading it aloud themselves. They even remembered more when reading them aloud than they did listening to recordings of their own voices reading them back. It seems that vocalization is the ultimate way of hearing and assimilating information, and helping your memory work better in terms of recall and response.
Hearing your own voice
Though it has been determined that reading something aloud is better for memory, it is still clear that hearing your own voice does have some kind of impact. In fact, it was proven that when people heard their own voice relaying information they were more likely to remember it than when they heard other people’s voices. This could be because people are seemingly better at remembering things that involve themselves, as well as because people are always shocked about how they sound on recordings.
People often say that reading something aloud can help you to remember it better, but we never realized how true this was. There are so many excellent factors that need to be taken into account when you process and absorb information. Make sure you read anything important out loud, possibly several times if necessary. That way you will increase the likelihood that you remember it, and this will set you in good stead for the future. If you want to make sure you have a better memory, this is definitely the way to go about achieving that.
