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Valentines Day being a day of love has been blighted in 2006 by generating heartache for those who find it difficult to remember numbers.
I am of course talking about the new Chip and PIN system for verifying your credit and debit cards.
Yes, it's got benefits which we all recognise and I'm not going to analyse those, but I read a report just the other day about 'Chip and PIN Day' - 14th February 2006. This is the day that all retailers are supposed to gain card authorisation purely through the entering of a PIN, the good old signature is being pensioned off.
That's great news if it's going to decrease card fraud but the article I read was commenting on the problem that so many people just cannot remember their PIN number!
We all have so many bloody PIN numbers to remember these days what with debit cards, credit cards, online banking, telephone banking, access codes and so on, don't you think? The addition of another PIN number is bound to cause some stress and embarrassing moments at the checkout!
What's more, our ineptitude for remembering numbers, according to the article could cause something not far off a nuclear holocaust! The headlines read "Shop Chaos as 5m forget PINs" - huge queues will ensue as customers struggle to find an alternative method of payment, tempers will heat up and there's a massive chance of extreme violence?! What?! Yep, just because we can't remember numbers we're quite likely to see an increase in the number of shop assistants verbally and physically attacked - the article reports that Shop Union USDAW comments "A substantial proportion of the 20,000 annual assaults on shop staff result from payment refusal"
So, in my effort to make the world a much more peaceful place and, from a selfish point of view, ensure that there is no queue at the petrol station because someone can't remember their PIN, I'm throwing out this handy tip for remembering your PIN number.
For those of you lucky enough to have attended one of my memory masterclasses then this will of course be no problem for you and I'm glad that you'll be able to briskly tap your PIN numbers in to the keypad at such a speed that no nefarious character can possibly see what you typed in. The same goes for those of you that have seen me demonstrate this technique in my presentation.
So, here goes, a simple technique for remembering your PIN..
The trick is to create a visual story of weird objects right outside your local branch of your bank. I use what is called the 'Number Shape' technique, so I visualise objects that are the same shape as a number. Come up with your own shapes but here's my list...
- 0 - Football
- 1 - Pole
- 2 - Swan
- 3 - Handcuffs
- 4 - Sail
- 5 - Seahorse
- 6 - Elephant Trunk
- 7 - Boomerang
- 8 - Hour Glass
- 9 - Balloon on a string
If your PIN number is 2367 (mine isn't by the way!) then make up a little story where you visualise a swan with it's legs handcuffed then being picked up by the handcuffs by an elephant's trunk while a boomerang flys round it.
Yes, it all does seem like a lot of effort, but in time, with practice you'll remember tons of PIN numbers with it, go wild with your stories, it will make it all the more memorable. "But what about if I recall it all wrong?" I hear you say. Well, your true memory will tell you what's right and by repeating the story in your head as you visualise it you'll always recall it in the right order.
So there you have it - in one email newsletter I can reduce shop violence and eliminate queuing time, just wait till the next issue, I may just tackle world peace! |
March 13th - 17th sees a worldwide Brain Awareness Week taking place and since I'm something of a mentalist this is a great event for me!
