Increase your vocabulary by attaching a mental image to the words

When meeting new people, you can remember their names with less difficulty if you actually meet them face to face, rather than when you talk to them over the phone or through email.

This is because there is a face attached to the name that you want to remember.
In the same way, your brain will remember a word better if there is a mental image associated with it. You can try creating your own mental pictures to correspond to new words that you are trying to learn.

How does imagery help to increase my vocabulary?

Imagery or creating mental pictures of otherwise unseen words is a great way to increase your vocabulary faster, especially if you are a visual person.

A person's brain is naturally more inclined to remember things with a visual representation, rather than abstract concepts. This is the reason why there are always pictures involved when teaching children new words, so they can remember the words better and increase their vocabulary faster.

What if imagery does not work for some words?

For abstract words, that is, words that correspond to intangible concepts, such as fortitude or resolution, there are other more appropriate methods you can use so you can remember them. Your best bet for these words would be elaboration, relevance or repetition.

Another option is to recite the word aloud and clearly. This will make the word feel more tangible, even if it denotes an abstract meaning.

How does computer software help with imagery?

Our choice of software,  Ultimate Vocabulary, presents you with several examples of how a word is used. It also offers lists of related words. These features can help you develop your own mental picture of the word you want to learn, and will help improve your word retention by as much as 670%.

Ultimate Vocabulary can also help you in your word recitation. There is an audio module included in the course that teaches you how to pronounce words accurately.