Elaboration is the most basic of all memory techniques. The more meaning you are able to give to the thing-to-be-remembered, the more successful you will be at recalling it later.

Suppose, that you are introduced to Prof. Prlwitzkowski and that you decide you want to remember his name. You stare at his name card and notice that there are very few vowels in the name and that there are strange letter combinations. You concentrate on 'prlw' as an unusual combination and start by trying to remember that one. Then, you proceed with 'tzk' and 'wsk'. These are all examples of low-level processing, concentrating on the surface form of the word (name). Higher-level processing would be to attach meaning to the name. Since the name does not have obvious connotations, we must help a little. Let us break the name up into words that sound similar to the name: Prlwitzkowski = pearl with cow ski.

Now we are in a position to apply higher-level elaboration. One of the best ways to do is by visualizing a bizarre image: A cow skiing down-hill wearing a pearl necklace.

Giving meaning to a word or a name is only half the work, in most cases this meaning must be attached to something. With a face goes a name: they must be associated in memory.

Suppose, that we meet Prof. Prlwitzkowski's at a party and that we want to remember his e-mail address, so that we can mail him later. It is: prlwitzkowski@global.org. We had already elaborated his name to 'pearl with cow ski', visualized by a cow with pearls skiing down-hill. To remember 'global', we have him skiing down a gigantic globe, and to remember 'org' we imagine that all of this happens in a church to the sound of a massive church organ. Imagine how the low pipes will make those pearls tremble!

Crucial for the success of a good association is to have the two words (concepts) interact as much as possible. It is not sufficient to have them merely stand side by side. The more they form a unique relationship, the better.