Repeat aloud to another person to boost your recall

A new study has revealed that repeating aloud to another person can boost your recall.

Repeating aloud boosts verbal memory, especially when you do it while addressing another person, says Victor Boucher of the University of Montreal.

It was known that repeating aloud was good for memory, but this is the first study to show that if it is done in a context of communication, the effect is greater in terms of information recall, Boucher explained.

The results show a clear difference when the exercise was performed aloud in the presence of someone else, even though the participants had heard absolutely nothing. Repeating in one's head without gesturing was the least effective way to recall information.

The simple fact of articulating without making a sound creates a sensorimotor link that increases our ability to remember, but if it is related to the functionality of speech, we remember even more, Boucher said.

The results of the research confirm the importance of motor sensory experiences in memory retention and help to better define sensory episodes associated with verbal expression, Boucher concluded.

The research will be published in the next edition of Consciousness and Cognition.