^Introduction - Substitute Words and Phrases\

You've now learned two of the basic building blocks of all Memory Training
systems - Association Of Ideas and the Link System.  Using these techniques
you should now understand how to memorise any list of items in sequence, and
be able to recall that list both forwards and backwards.

That's fine when you're trying to memorise items which can easily be
pictured in your mind.  But what if you want to remember something which
|cannot\ easily be pictured, such as the name of a person, thing or place ?
Most names are intangible, which is why they're so difficult to remember.

This problem is easily overcome by using the Substitute Word system.  When
you hear a word or phrase that seems abstract to you, think of something, -
anything - that sounds like, or reminds you of, the abstract material and
<can be pictured\ in your mind.

For example, it would seem impossible to 'picture' (or associate) the place
name $Hereford\.  You might, however, easily picture a $'Hairy Ford'\ - a
Ford car with masses of hair sprouting out of it.#

To take another example, how would you picture the surname >Harrington\ ?
Unless you know someone with that name, in which case it might remind you of
that person, the name is virtually impossible to picture.

Using the Substitute Word system however, you might easily picture >Herring
Ton\ - a ton of herrings.  This can easily be visualised, and would be an
easy picture to associate to something else.

Of course, not all names are so easy to conjure up Substitute Words for.
Take the place name |Massachusetts\.  There is no obvious Substitute Word
there.  But if you split the name into three parts you could use |mass -
chew - sit\ and picture a |mass\ of people who |chew\ and |sit\ around.  It
does take a little time to come up with that mental picture, but the more
practice you get, the easier it becomes.  After a surprisingly short time
you will find that you can come up with a Substitute Word or Phrase for most
names almost instantly.

Tutorial 3 takes you through a detailed example of how the Substitute Word
system works.~