The next time you need to memorize a speech, a toast, facts and stats for a test, try to recite the words to anyone who is willing to listen.
According to a recent study, repeating words to another person can give a bigger memory boost than just plainly saying what you need to remember aloud which was already known to improve recall.
To test this theory, researchers instructed 44 college students to read a series of words that are found in the dictionary under four different surroundings: silently to themselves, then repeating silently by moving their lips, by repeating out loud while facing a screen or a blank wall, and lastly saying the words to someone else. During the four exercises, the students were wearing headphones to cover up their voice and eliminate auditory feedback. After what they call the "distraction test" the participants were given a list of words and were asked to remember which were part of the experiment. Even though the speakers couldn't hear a thing, they found that there was a "clear difference" in memory when the words were read to another person.
Lead researcher Victor Boucher, a professor from the Department of Linguistics at the University of Montreal, said that "moving our mouth and feeling our vocal chords vibrate helps create a sensory and motor reference in our brain." He added that "the effect of talking to someone shows that other than the sensorimotor aspects related to verbal expression, the brain cite the multisensory information associated with the communication episode. The result is that the information is better retained in memory."
In an interview with Yahoo Health, Robert White, a memory expert who speaks at conventions and companies around the globe, pointed out that the more senses you can involve in the process of remembering, the better chances you will have in retaining the information, White told. He also added that this research might also be a great help to those suffering from slight memory loss. "Interaction with others is a proven way to exercise your brain," he added.
