Many of us are aware of the importance of identifying the people we meet by their names. Yet, on numberless occasions, we are embarrassed when we come across a face we know we have met recently but just can’t remember the person’s name. The embarrassment grows as we do a quick and frantic memory search with no useful results. Just a few tricks can help you memorize the names of the persons you meet and help you avoid getting into embarrassing encounters. Here are five easy steps to remember names:
1. Pay close attention to the name of a person at the time of introduction, as attention helps you remember. At the same time, study the person, particularly the person’s facial features, the eyes, the nose, the brow etc., so that your memory can store the image of the person along with the name. This will help you establish a bond between the name and face. If you don’t do this, you may remember one but not the other.
2. Ask for the correct spelling and pronunciation, especially if it is an unusual or foreign name. If you are offered the person’s business card, you may take a close look at the spelling. Ask how the person would like to be addressed, if appropriate. You may ask the person to say the name again, in case you could not catch it initially. Generally, people don’t like their names misspelled or mispronounced. Better safe than sorry.
3. Repeat using the name on every possible situation that requires your interaction with that person. For example, you will want to repeat the name back to the person as soon as they say it. Then, use their name when greeting or leaving them. This manner of repetition will help you memorize the name.
4. Associating the name of a person with something more familiar to you is a very good trick used for remembering it. Connecting a name with some hobby, job or profession, or something you find interesting, funny or unforgettable is another method that works for your memory. Establishing links between the unknown and the known things is a way of transforming the unknown into the known and storing it in one’s memory.
5. Use mnemonics or memory clues. You can perhaps remember a person’s long name by shortening it or forming another word from the initials. The shortened version of the name may be easier to remember. Likewise, the new word formed from the initials may stay put in your memory. As acronyms are generally easy to remember, they will help you remember the original names.
If you want to navigate yourself successfully through social or business or professional situations, you must remember the names of the people you meet. Otherwise, expect to be given the cold shoulder. However, if you put these 5 tips into practice, you will begin remembering names and avoiding the embarrassment.