I just posted a new article to my blog:

I used to teach marketing and selling at a local college here in Ottawa. And one of the things I used to teach with (I also use them all the time when I want to learn and remember new things, too) are mnemonics.
Mnemonics are tools or devices that aid retention. My best form of mnemonic [...]

Click here to read the entire article...

That's a good technique, though still fairly textual in nature.

I tend to use more associated visualization, like transforming lists like:
1) swan
2) bomb
3) ice
4) picnic
5) van

into a visual story like a swan flying into the sky transformed into a bomb which hit the ground exploding in shower of ice shards which pelted a picnic. the people were so incensed they got into a van and drove off.

triggers more visual associative functions and the elements swan-bomb-ice-picnic-van flow together intuitively.