The Method of Loci is considered among the best mnemonic devices that individuals use in order to help themselves with memory storage and retrieval. Let’s take a practical method of loci example, almost everyone among us faced the problem of speaking in front of our class. 

This generally happens when we have to present something or be put forward for a speech/debate. It doesn’t matter how many times you prepare it before the class, you remain so sure that you are not going to make every part of it, you can’t memorize everything. Everything clocks at impressing your audience, so you don’t want to accidentally leave any of the necessary details. Moreover, you can't rely on your script/note cards for help. So, what possibilities are there for you? 

From the pages of the history book, it has been figured out that Roman orators and Ancient Greek philosophers use the Method of Loci to memorize speeches. The Method of Loci is used as a trick to aid in-memory storage and retrieval. It is also an effective mnemonic device that relies on visualizing perceptive images and then associating them with the real-world materials to be remembered. The stronger the visual perception, the more effective the method.

If you think of using the method of loci, you simply need to imagine a location where you can take an imaginary walk. If you want to remember a theory that you were taught in class, you must imagine a beginning, middle, and end. This way you can focus on different areas of work and can store the important sections from each space you have chosen.

How Does the Method of Loci Work?

The mental strategy behind the method of Loci is to help you imagine yourself placing items at different places with correspondence to other items. Let’s say on the couch, near to the washing machine, about the fridge, next to the lamp, along a structured pathway, or something else in the neighborhood. The word loci are derived from its singular form of locus, meaning location. The items that you imaginarily placed at certain locations are the pieces of information that you are trying to learn. You can also try out some sort of order to remember the sequence of placing the objects/items. 

How Effective Is the Method of Loci?

As far as the effectiveness of the method of loci is concerned, it is one of the most widely accepted methods for learning with demonstrations that leads to a significant improvement in the ability to recall the necessary and important information. In recent years, our study has been conducted across different age groups that include students from schools, engineering colleges, medical facilities, and older adult learners. Then the method of loci has been demonstrated and the results outperformed each group. The method was effective in improving the memory performance in each group.

 It is obvious that the method of loci requires a high level of attention. Interestingly, this is the reason one of the studies brought up a question that if the method of loci would be used by aged people as they were trained in it. The researchers came to the conclusion that nearly 35% of the participants continued to use the method of loci after the training session and their memory performance remained significantly improved.

Another study involved a group of school children and carried out two successful surveys. In the first survey, the students were taken to a new location so that they can physically observe the place. Then a few things were placed at random spots and the students were asked to memorize them. In the second survey, the students were taken to a well-known place and the same thing was repeated. Then after coming back to the facility, the students were asked to recall the same things/items placed at different locations. Without any surprises, the researchers found out that almost all the students could easily remember the items placed in the second phase. Therefore, they concluded that familiar location leads to easier memory power. 

Benefits of Using Loci Method –

One of the well-known methods to memorize things is called the Loci method. This method is used to memorize a list of items, and it was followed by the likes of ancient Greek philosophers, visionaries, mathematics, and other reputations. 

The entire concept behind the introduction of the loci method is to help people associate the things they want by relating them with a physical location that they were close to, in terms of familiarity. For the method of loci example, let’s say your mother told you to do this month’s grocery shopping. Now the thing is how will you remember the products? Here you can take the help of the Loci method. Before leaving through the front door, you can move on to the bedroom, kitchen, etc. and each time you pass through a doorway, you have to simply recall what was in that room and in this way you can easily remember the next thing on your shopping list. 

Some of the key benefits of using the loci method are its powerful technique, easy adaptability, and the mode to revive the information after a long time. 

Examples of Method of Loci –

The method of loci is one of the most important and exclusively used methods to remember long speeches and to highlight/remember the key points that were made during a conference/discussion.  For the method of loci example, let's consider that you are selected for the honorable speech that is to be made during independence Day. 

Now you have to note down all the highlighting points in your speech, for instance, our struggles and battles, famous people/freedom fighters, and important dates. Then you can start imagining and visualizing your house, bedrooms, drawing area, and imagine a calendar that is hanging on the wall near the central clock. It’s time to associate the history and important events with that calendar and imagine that the world has a picture of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation. Now it will be easier for you to associate all the freedom fighters with him. 

After remembering this, you can move towards the trophies and medals that you have in your wardrobe with the famous National movements. To be more specific and informative you can include your toys with the battles fought since independence, be it the battle against Britishers or Indo-Pak war. 

After having a walk through this memory place, you might be able to remember the entire sequence and list in a proper manner. Once this is done, remember not to repeat and recall, this is how you can remember the entire format of your speech. As a student, this technique is highly beneficial to create different visuals for the events/facts, and then associate them with different objects in order to make memorizing more promising, easy, efficient, and effective. 

Tips for Method of Loci –

It is up to you for keeping it simple or make it more complex, as per your convenience we can keep on adding but, make sure not to make it too complex to visualize while recalling again. Don't try to grab everything, you must be aware of the different sizes of the journey as per your requirements. The more and more you have to remember, the longer will be the journey. 

Always try to keep minimalistic visual perception. Don’t overload your information with colours, keep it normal and simple like white/yellow background. Your visibility must be flexible and open to changes. For your memory palace, you can consider both outdoor and indoor journeys. The more and more you practice the better you get. Always make the strategies as per your memory plan. Don’t try to affect your thought processes by combining various strategies. 

Applications of the Method of Loci –

• It can be used to memorize names.

• It can be used to memorize a poem.

• It can be used to memorize strings of numbers.

• It can be used to memorize quotations from people.

• It can be used to memorize a list of items or to-do lists.

• It can be used to memorize paragraphs of a piece of information.

It will not be wrong to say that this method can be used to remember and memorize almost anything. Everything depends upon your creativity. Don’t expect to be an expert on the first go, it may take years of practice to perfect this method of memorization. Once you have gained authority over this memory technique, it is almost certain that you are already a memory export. It is always recommended by experts that you spend time with this memory tool, method of loci example, and commit a large chunk of information to your memory in no time.