A few months ago I wrote an article on how to remember phone extensions and had great feedback that it worked for many graduates of the Memory Training Workshop.  However, some of you asked, “Leah, what do I do if the extension is longer?” So in this article I am going to give two examples of three and four digit extensions.

There are two options for longer extensions, one is pretty basic and the other is a bit more advanced. We’ll start easy:

Let’s take extension 714. This is Kerry’s extension, and you call her often but always have to look it up. No longer. Just remember what was taught at the Memory Training Workshop – File. Image. Glue. As we did last month, we will always use the person as the File. The image will be the extension. And the glue will be the action that ties them together. The only difference is that our image is a bit more complex.

714. The image is ‘dice’ (7) and ‘ring’ (14) (taken from The Tree List.) So to remember this extension you are going to picture Kerry picking up dice, that when she rolls, turns into diamond rings.  Would you ever forget that scene? Nope! And you won’t forget Kerry’s extension either.

Let’s try a harder example – John’s phone extension is 7149. This method involves the use of phonetics (you could use your Tree List, but this method works extremely well for longer numbers.)

If you have listened to Tom Weber and Jeffrey Czajka’s Numbers and Playing Cards program, you will have a good handle on this. If not, just pay close attention.

You learned that the phonetic sounds corresponded to numbers at the workshop. Go back to your body files. The name of the file corresponds to the phonetic sound. The number is the number on your body list. For example—the seventh file on your body list was your collar. Therefore, the phonetic sound for 7 is “K.” Now you need a sound for 1—the first file was your toes, so the phonetic sound for 1 is “T.” The fourth file was your rear, so the phonetic sound for 4 is “R.” And the ninth file on your body list was your point, so the phonetic sound for 9 is “P” You need a word with the phonetic sounds KTRP. So insert vowels to make a word, just keep the phonetic sounds in the same order I think of Kite Rope. So…John is handing you Kite Rope and you know his extension is 7149. Try it a few times and this method becomes fast and easy!

If you would like more information on using phonetics for numbers, I highly recommend you check out the Advanced Numbers and Playing Cards program—it’s available on our website. If not, stick to the basic option and you’ll be set!

Use your memory and Be Free!

Leah Simpson
Instructor