Podcast Summary: "How to Master Your Memory w/ Tansel Ali"
The Futur with Chris Do | Episode 393 | October 30, 2025
Main Theme / Purpose
This episode explores the practical and powerful world of memory mastery with Tansel Ali, a four-time Australian Memory Champion. Chris Do and Tansel break down the art and science of remembering everything from names to entire phonebooks, showing that a good memory is not an innate gift but a skill anyone can develop. The conversation centers on actionable techniques, mindset adjustments, and the real-life applications of memory in learning, business, and personal growth.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
Memory Is a Learnable Skill
- Tansel emphasizes memory is not an inborn talent but a trainable ability.
"I've just been for the past 20 odd years trying to get this message out there that this is something anyone can do and use as well." — Tansel Ali [00:55]
The Yellow Pages Challenge
- Tansel memorized two full phone books as a PR stunt, recalling over 2,300 business names and 20,000 digits in 24 days.
"They only needed me to memorize it for a particular weekend... So if they said, Tansel, want you to hold it in your memory for a longer period of time... I'd have used a different process altogether." — Tansel Ali [01:49]
Memory for Use: Short-Term vs. Long-Term
- Approach depends on purpose: temporary challenges use different techniques than deeply ingrained knowledge.
Core Techniques for Better Memory
1. Storytelling & Visualization
- Creating vivid, emotion-driven stories with what you want to remember makes the information stick.
"If you can tell a story, you know how to engage the brain with connection... If you can capture emotion while you're trying to remember something... all these emotions can start coming from it." — Tansel Ali [04:34]
2. Association
- Tying new information to known concepts or images is crucial, even for remembering abstract or unfamiliar words and names.
3. Memory Palace (Method of Loci)
- Place information in imagined locations in a familiar setting; retrieve by 'walking through' the palace.
"Essentially, it was created by ancient Greeks... you go around in a sequential order because you want to remember in order. And then whatever you want to memorize, you attach stories onto those locations." — Tansel Ali [15:49]
4. Spaced Repetition
- Review information at increasing intervals to lock it into long-term memory.
"As soon as you learn something or memorize something, you go back to it... So what this process does is that it embeds whatever you've learned... into long term memory." — Tansel Ali [14:09]
Practical Applications & Examples
Remembering Names (Real-world Tips)
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Use rhymes, puns, or visual associations to remember people's names.
"For example, Chris, I can imagine maybe meeting you at a Christmas party... you do Christmas. You're doing Christmas." — Tansel Ali [08:20] "Her name is Angie... as soon as you said Angie, I thought, this lady's a whinger... now I'm visualizing her... she's whinging." — Tansel Ali [10:38]
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A creative, silly, or even unrelated visual makes it memorable. It doesn't matter if it's nonsensical or silly, as long as it's vivid.
Training Memory Encoding Speed
- Over time and with training, the process of coming up with memorable stories or associations speeds up significantly.
Reading & Learning: Not Just for School
Mind Mapping
- Before reading, preview the table of contents, map major chapters/headings, and add keywords during reading for structure and recall.
"I've got a few real cool hacks. Number one is what you can do is you can mind map a whole book..." — Tansel Ali [21:13]
Reading Visually (Speed Reading)
- Don’t focus on speed—focus on forming mental images and immersive experiences from the text.
"Speed reading is actually not about speed... It's about visualizing the content." — Tansel Ali [24:25]
The Smash & Scope Principle
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A mnemonic (from Tony Buzan and Van den North) to turbocharge and encode memories:
- S – Senses: Engage all senses
- M – Movement: Add movement/action
- A – Association: Link to something known
- S – Sexual/Self: Emotional connection, or see yourself in it
- H – Humor: Make it funny
- I – Imagination: Make it creative
- N – Number: Make it stand out with numbers
- S – Symbols: Reduce complexity, use symbols
- C – Color: Add color for memorability
- O – Order: Structure/sequence
- P – Positive: Positive imagery
- E – Exaggeration: Make things large or absurd
"If you can get your friend to just use some of that, he doesn't have to use all of it, even just using some of that... I can guarantee that he's not only going to remember, but he's going to have a newfound appreciation of learning." — Tansel Ali [35:10]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On Overwhelm and Memory Capacity
"The brain is amazing. It acts like a filter. So whatever you don't need, it's not there. It's only when you want to retrieve it... memory is actually, it's a retrieval process."
— Tansel Ali [14:09] -
On Experience vs. Abstract Information
"Everything that you remember, they're all experiences. Whereas names, that's not really an experience. So how do you make that into an experience? Well, just a little story is good enough."
— Tansel Ali [14:09] -
On Memorization vs. Understanding
"It's not so much about memorization. When you're learning something, you need to understand it... The goal isn't to memorize all the smaller branches of information, it's to understand, well, what are the larger branches talking about."
— Tansel Ali [18:52] -
On Memory Training and Championship Mindset
"What makes essentially the champion... you need to be able to do the thing that you need to do and then just work your ass off at that."
— Tansel Ali [48:11] -
On Discovering Memory Techniques
"I was a skeptic. So I started coaching and training people... that's been the most rewarding thing for me, is seeing people that I've trained... because you want the message to grow as much as you can."
— Tansel Ali [42:00 and 44:45]
Memorable Segments (Timestamps)
- [01:49] – Memorizing the Yellow Pages: Process and Mindset
- [04:34] – The Power of Storytelling in Memory
- [08:20] – Remembering Names with Creative Association
- [14:09] – Spaced Repetition and How Memory Works as Retrieval
- [15:49] – Memory Palace Method Explained
- [21:13] – Mind Mapping a Book for Deeper Learning
- [24:25] – Visual Reading as the Heart of Speed Reading
- [35:10] – The Smash & Scope Principle
- [42:00] – How Tansel Discovered Memory Techniques
- [48:11] – Champion Mindset: Preparation and Failure Training
- [52:38] – Three Practical Memory Technique Takeaways
Three Quick Wins for Better Memory
(Tansel’s Action Steps)
[52:38]
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Learn the Memory Palace
- Pick 10 familiar locations (e.g., rooms at home).
- Place list items you want to remember along this path as memorable stories.
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Work on Storytelling (Smash & Scope)
- Use senses, emotion, association, humor, exaggeration, etc., to make information memorable.
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Read Visually
- Guide your reading with a finger; focus on visualizing what you read, not just the words.
Final Thoughts & Ways to Connect
Tansel Ali reaffirms that anyone can master their memory with the right mindset, technique, and practice. The power to remember and learn is not fixed—it's accessible to all.
- Connect with him via tanselali.com or on social media.
This engaging episode delivers both a motivational message and a toolkit for anyone seeking practical techniques to remember more, learn better, and harness the power of their mind.