There's probably something in there about the way in which we learn. We all have 'sensory preferences' for the way in which we take in and give out information, and we give away clues as to how our brain works in this respect. For instance, when the message is 'I understand', one person may say 'I see what you mean' whilst others may say 'I hear what you're saying' or 'I feel like that as well'. We tend to represent our perception of the world in a personal (and usually distorted)way.

Our bodies and minds are part of the same cybernetic system - thoughts go hand-in-hand with feelings and emotion, emotion means movement, at many levels, in the body as well as physical happenings in the brain. Body and mind often act in concert to bring about your intentions.

I sing with my eyes shut. I learn best by use of the kinaesthetic sense and by visually. I have to conjure up a picture, not of the words, but a kind of film of the story of the song which is played on a screen behind my eyes. Others, for instance who may learn best through the auditory sense, may find that in order to access their memory of words they sing with their eyes open but occasionally out of focus slightly left or right of a centre point.

Try it out. Ask somebody to remember something that they have seen, maybe a picture on a wall in a hotel room, and see what they do with their eyes. It may well be that they look up slightly, a bit to their right. Now ask them to imagine seeing something - see what happens. Their gaze may shift to the left. do the same thing with recall of a sound.

The theory is that you can use these techniques in a conscious way to help recall. Have a think about what happens to your eyes naturally when you're remembering the words. Next time you need to use your memory 'assume the position'.

None of which mumbo-jumbo prevents me from often making a complete pratt of myself when I do forget the words. Mind you, at least because my eyes are shut I can't see the audience laughing at me!