Chain-Linking: How to Remember Everything Using Stories
Do you struggle to remember lists, phone numbers, or ordered sequences like the periodic table? Worry no more, because Memory Geek is here to help!
Today, I’ll teach you a fun and super effective technique to change that: Chain-Linking. This method helps you memorize ordered sequences—whether it’s phone numbers, historical dates, mathematical formulas, or even your shopping list!
What’s the trick? Creating a chain of memorable images that tell a story—it’s that simple.
What is Chain-Linking and How Does It Work?
Chain-Linking involves connecting a series of memorable images to form a “narrative chain.” Think of it as a movie in your mind, where each scene (image) is linked to the next.
Key Elements:
The technique is simple, but there are two fundamental principles you need to apply consistently. Trust me, if you can’t recall your sequence, it’s likely because one of these is missing.
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Memorable Images: The images must be epic, striking, emotional, exaggerated—anything that makes them unforgettable. (Want to learn how to create memorable images? Check out my previous article).
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Clear Connections: Each image must be clearly linked to the next. This chain of events gives meaning to the story and makes it easier to remember. If one connection breaks, the rest of the chain will fall apart.
Now that you know the basics, let’s dive into a practical example!
Practical Example
The Story
Imagine this as vividly as if you were watching a movie. The words in bold are the key images to remember. The more effort you put into visualizing it as a story, the better:
A six-pack of beer appears out of nowhere, icy cold and frothy. One can bursts under pressure and sprays beer everywhere as it flies into the air.
It crashes into a chair, which starts wobbling like a spinning top, creating that inevitable sense of suspense before it topples over.
Sure enough, the chair falls and knocks into an inflatable donut, covered in chocolate, which begins rolling downhill, splattering chocolate everywhere.
The donut crashes into a statue of Neptune holding a golden trident, which punctures the donut as it collides.
Suddenly, a giant swan’s foot stomps on the Neptune statue, crushing it completely. The trident gets stuck in the swan’s foot, and every time the swan lifts its leg, you can see bits of the statue dangling, like toilet paper stuck to a shoe. The camera zooms out, showing the majestic swan limping slightly because of its injured foot. Then, out of nowhere, a hand gently grabs the swan’s foot, wrapping it in bandages with care.
The camera pulls back further to reveal the hand belongs to a pregnant woman, cradling her belly tenderly.
Suddenly, she goes into labor! The scene shifts dramatically to a delivery room, where you see the doctor’s gloves helping to deliver the baby. The doctor raises the newborn in both hands, like in The Lion King, lifting it triumphantly as if it were a trophy. The camera zooms out once more, revealing the doctor is none other than Lionel Messi, lifting the baby as if celebrating a World Cup win.
Did you imagine the whole story? Take your time with the details.
Now, have you visualized it clearly? Great!
Time for a Test ;)
Close your eyes and try to recall the story.
If you couldn’t remember everything, identify where you got stuck and why you forgot the next element. Fix it and mentally visualize the story until you can recall it effortlessly.
Once you’ve mastered the sequence, wait five minutes, then grab a blank sheet of paper, recall the story, and write down all the key elements in order.
Your list should look like this:
- six-pack of beer
- chair
- donut
- trident
- swan
- hand
- pregnant woman
- Lionel Messi
Surprise!
If you remembered everything, congratulations! You’ve just memorized a new phone number.
Wait, a phone number?
Yes, you heard that right: the number 640325910, to be exact. Don’t believe me? Let’s break it down using the basic association memory technique.
In that article, we create a reference image for each digit from 1 to 10: the number 6 is a six-pack of beer, the number 4 is a chair (with four legs), and so on. In this story, I also introduced a new image, the donut, to represent zero.
If you can recall the sequence of images, all you need to do is transform them into their corresponding numbers—voilà! You’ve just memorized the phone number you needed.
See how powerful this technique can be? It’s almost like magic!
Tips for Mastering Chain-Linking
You’re probably amazed by the example above, testing yourself to see if you can still recall the sequence—and yes, it’s still there. Amazing!
But don’t get too carried away. Creating memorable image sequences takes practice and time. The good news? The more you practice, the easier it becomes and the less time it takes to craft these sequences. Here are my tips:
- Practice: Did I mention you need to practice to master the technique?
- Start Small: Begin with short lists and gradually increase complexity.
- Remember the Key Elements: Memorable images and strong connections between them.
- Learn from Mistakes: When you forget part of a sequence, analyze what went wrong and fix it so it doesn’t happen again.
- Review the Story: Revisit your sequence after a few minutes and again at the end of the day. This helps consolidate the information in your memory.
Conclusion
Chain-Linking turns memorization into something creative and fun. With this technique, you’ll not only remember ordered lists and numbers but also develop a sharper, more agile mind. Ready to give it a try? Start with something simple and let the magic happen!
On your journey to a better memory, you can count on me, the Memory Geek, to unlock Your Memory Power, One Technique at a Time!