My PAO Table and PAO Flashcards

PAO table and flashcards: how to use the 00–99 chart

This resource contains the author’s personal Person–Action–Object (PAO) table, assigning a memorable person, action and object to each two-digit number from 00 to 99. Use it as an example, not a universally standardized code.

1. Find the row for each two-digit number and identify its person, action and object.
2. Practice reversing the code: see an image or word and recall the two digits.
3. For six digits, combine three pairs into one scene: person from pair one, action from pair two, object from pair three.
4. Place the scene at a memorable location and decode it without looking.
5. Review any confusing rows with short, spaced practice sessions.

For example, the author’s code 71–39–04 produces Catwoman mopping a sarcophagus. The table below supplies the original associations. For full instructions, read how the PAO system works, then use PAO drills or practice scenes in a memory palace.

Original PAO reference chart

This table was created for the author’s personal training. Some entries reflect older cultural references; choose your own comfortable replacements rather than adopting every association verbatim.

Optional resource: Read Faster Remember More.

Browse the original PAO chart below. For best results, build your own consistent associations wherever the author’s examples are hard to remember.

Related PAO memory guides

Explore the PAO method, PAO practice drills, and PAO scenes in a memory palace.