Put simply, the mnemonics method for memorizing numbers is when you substitute each number from zero to nine for a different letter of the alphabet, and then putting these letter together to make a word, phrase or even a story. To make it easier to form words from a random group of numbers, I would advise that you substitute the numbers whith concenants instead of vowels. Alternatively, a rhyming system can be used in which you substitute each number for an object which rhymes with that number. I will be discussing both methods in this article.

 

To come up with a mnemonic system, you could just randomly assign letters to the numbers zero through nine, but that would not be so memorable. One technique I use, as highlighted in Derren Brown's highly entertaining book 'Tricks of the Mind', is to substitute each number for a letter within the word of the numbe itself, or a letter which can easily be associated with the number. For example, the number 1 could be substituted for an 'L' or an 'I', since it is preferrable to use concenants, I would choos 'L'. The number two could be substituted for 'n' because of the two downward strokes of the letter 'n'. 3 could be 'm' because of the three downward strokes, the number 4 could be substituted for the letter 'r', because of the dominating 'r' sound. For 5 you could have 'f' for five, or 'v' (it can be useful to have two to choose from). The number 6 could be associated with the letter 'b' because they look similar, 7 with 't' for the same reason. If you didn't use 'b' for six, then 8 could be substituted for 'B' also because they look similar. Alternatively you could use the sound 'ch' or 'sh' because of the 'gh' in the word eight, another option would be simply to use the letter 'g' because of the silent 'g' in eight. Finally, 9 would be 'q' or, if you are not using 'g' for 8, then 'g' because 9 looks similar to the letter 'g'.

Now we have the mnemonic system, how are we going to put it to use? Well say you want to remember a friend's birthday for example, the 31st of March. 3 would translate into 'm' and 1 into 'L'. Add a couple of vowels and you've got the word 'mile'. When you want to remember that friend's birthday you could picture them marching, for a mile. This is the basic concept, come up with a word or phrase for the number/date which can easily be pictured, and associate it with what you are trying to remember in some way. It's always best to exaggerate something in these images to make them even more memorable.

The second method for memorizing numbers which I'm going to talk about is the rhyming system. This involves associating each number from zero through nine with an object that rhymes with that number. This is particularly useful for remembering single digit numbers ie, the numbers zero through nine, but can also be used to some extent for longer numbers. Here is the complete system that I use:

0 - 'hero'
1 - 'bun'
2 - 'shoe'
3 - 'tree'
4 - 'door'
5 - 'bee hive'
6 - 'sticks'
7 - 'heaven'
8 - 'gate'
9 - 'wine'

Think of something that workse best for you, images that you can vividly picture and recall when you need to.  When it comes to longer numbers, sometimes it is easier to make a word which rhymes with it rather than use multiple objects for each digit. For example, it's easier to remember the number 10 as 'hen' rather than a 'bun' and a 'hero', while with the number 305 it's easier to picture a 'tree', a 'hero', and a 'bee hive', than it is to come up with a word or phrase that rhymes with 305.

To put the rhyming method into use, we use what is called the peg system. In this technique, you peg each word you have associated with each number, to an item you are trying to remember, in a shopping list for example, or a list in which you need to know which number corresponds to which item. For example, if you were trying to remember this list 1) peanut butter 2) toaster 3) chocolate; you would take an image of each number and associate it with the object you are trying to remember. For example, 1 rhymes with bun, so you could imageine a bun covered in peanut butter. 2 rhymes with shoe, so you could imagine trying to force your shoe into a toster. The more bizzarre and funny the image is the more memorable it is. For number 3, tree, you could imageine a tree which is growing chocolate. This simple method of associating the image of what you are trying to remember with an image which helps you remember the number, is a very effective memory technique for memorizing long lists in which each objects number is important.

That's it for numbers, it is usually best to modify these techniques to suit your liking so that they are as memorable as possible. Memorizing long numbers can be tricky, but with a bit of practice, it becomes instinctive.