Something I realized fairly recently was the importance of independently associating the PAO elements in a PAO list to their numbers.
I think when people are first starting out with a PAO structure (myself included), it’s common to make the mistake of creating a full image that they associate to the number, like “TeDDy TooTing on a ToaD” to remember their “number 11” PAO items. This is especially the case if using a “traditional PAO” approach where the Person follows a rule like major system but then the action and object are associated directly to that person, like “Tim Tebow / Passing / a Football.”
The problem with making the full image self-associated is that when you go to memorize a string of numbers like 321142, the 11 is in the action position, so it is represented by “TooTing” or “Passing,” but the person and object are something else. If you always associate TooTing being done by TeDDy to a ToaD, or Passing being done by Tim Tebow with a Football, it can cloud and confuse your images on recall and slow things when you’re actually memorizing.
So how do you practice your PAO list effectively to avoid this, especially visualizing the action portion?
Isolate the individual elements. Go through your list and practice recalling only the “People.” Then go through again and only recall the “Actions.” Then again with the “Objects.”
For visualizing the Actions, there are a couple options.
The alternative is to try to imagine actions (and adjectives) in an abstract and “subjectless” way. Try to picture the act of “tooting on” without imagining a specific thing doing the tooting or getting tooted on. Try to picture the state of being “zitty” without overlaying it on a specific subject. It takes some more effort but can be done, maybe by basing it around a faceless mannequin so that there is no specific subject association with it.
Another possibility is to imagine seeing yourself in a mirror performing the action when trying to memorize your list association. Assuming you don’t have yourself as a PAO person, this can help isolate the action so it doesn’t overlap into the other elements for the number. It can also bring some other sense associations into the action. You’d imagine how you’d feel performing the action, what it would sound/smell/taste like.
The “imagine yourself” approach could also be particularly helpful if you want to add adjectives to the mix and go for a PAAO list. Adjectives are tough to visualize on their own. If you use yourself as a placeholder, you can develop the “look” of your adjectives without baking it onto a person or object that needs to stay isolated to keep your P’s and O’s clear.
However you approach it, remember that when you practice your list it should be in the form of “this Number is this Person,” OR “this Number is this Action,” OR “this Number is this Object.” Try not to fall into the trap of practicing “this number is this person doing this action with this object.”