The WordSmith - Thanks for the Memories

The WordSmith

by Darin M. Bush

Thanks for the Memories

“Do not lose eye contact with your audience.” “Do not read your notes.” We have all heard this before. Now that we know what not to do, how do we fix it? One tool in the Wordsmith’s toolbox is the mnemonic, pronounced nehm-on-ick. A mnemonic is a trick for remembering something complicated, especially a list. During a speech, a mnemonic can help you stay focused and organized. Unfortunately, there is no mnemonic for the spelling of mnemonic. Let me know if you find one.

Speaking of finding, what are the four points of the compass? N-E-W-S The Great Lakes are north of here, but what are their names? H-O-M-E-S These are excellent examples of mnemonics. Not all mnemonics are anagrams. Which way is starboard and which way is port? Port has four letters, and so does left. Hmmm…

How do these tricks help a Toastmaster give a better speech? Let us say you are giving a speech on Central America during the Reagan era. To dramatically conclude, you mention each country, north to south, by name; Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama. The dramatic impact is lost if you stop to count countries. You do not have to memorize this list; use a mnemonic. Create a sentence using the initial consonants of the things in the list. The more ridiculous the sentence, the easier it is to remember.

I will help you out with this one. Borrow the real one I came up with in 9th grade geography: But Girls Have ESpecially Nice CRew-cuts, Pam. The proof is in the pudding; two decades later, I still remember not only the names of the countries, but their relative order. Not convinced? Catch me some time at a meeting, and see if I can remember this list under pressure.

Questions? Suggestions? Remember, my email address is the Tourette Tiger

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