There are two main ways to remember people’s names – repetition and face association. Both are simple and are known to work and are practiced widely to help people who meet a lot of other people generally keep track of names and faces.
Repetition
Speaking things like ideas and facts out loud can help you remember them. Top business people use this trick to remember people’s names. When you say the name straight away after hearing it, it appears to move it into a different part of the brain where it’s easier to recall.
So, when you are introduced, you can either:-
- ask for the person to repeat their own name.
- or repeat the name yourself
If you are in a long conversation with them, you can use their name frequently to reinforce the name in your memory (obviously you can overdo this!).
If you are being introduced to several people in a row, its best to repeat the name and look the person directly in the face, so they feel as though you are really making contact with them.
If their name is unusual, you can ask how it is spelled or where it is comes from, and if appropriate, exchange cards. Just bear in mind that the more often you hear and see the name, the more likely it is to sink in.
Face Association
With the Face Association technique, you carefully examine someone’s face when you are first introduced – but try to do it discretely! What you are looking for is a memorable facial feature, such as complexion, hairline, forehead, ears, eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth.
You then try to create an association between that facial feature and the name in your head. The association might be to link the person with someone else you know with the same name. Alternatively, you might try to associate a song or image of the name with the person’s face or defining feature.
Once you have left that person’s company, review the name in your mind several times. If you believe you will come across then again, you might decide to keep a record of their name in your address book so you know where to go to find the name even if you then can’t remember it. This is essentially how lawyers operate with the vast amount of legal knowledge they have to process – they know where to look for the information, even if they can’t remember the specific details.
Conclusion
Remember repetition and review help to build memory.
