How to remember names of people you just met.
I want to introduce you to a few of my friends. The guy on the far left is Steve, next to him is Brian,then Jason, that’s Clay and then there’s me on the far right. How often have you been introduced to people and then 2 seconds later you can’t remember what their name was? Can you recall my friends names? I’m going to teach you how to remember names and faces of people with ease.
When I was on Brain Games, National Geographic, they had me meet a room full of people then repeat the names back one by one as they reentered the room. I can show you exactly how I did that in five easy steps.
You meet someone and two seconds later you forget their name, it’s not because you have a bad memory, it’s because you weren’t focused. If you’re not focused you’re not gong to remember anyone’s name. So you’re asking “how do I focus?”. When you’re walking towards someone and you know you will be told their name get into the habit of asking yourself “what is their name”. Repeat this to yourself right up to them telling you their name. This simple act will help you focus so that you can remember names.
It’s similar to when you store something on your computer. Your computer has files to be able to retrieve information and your brain is the same way. In this step you will need to select a file on their face that will help you remember their name. These files will be specific spots on their face. Take Jay Leno for example, he has a big chin, it’s a feature that stands out and is easy to remember. Those distinguishing features will become your files that you will go back to later to recall their name.
Next you will need a picture that corresponds to the name. Have you ever said “I’m good with faces but I just can’t remember names”? You remember the face because you saw the face, you didn’t see the name. Your mind remembers what it sees. That means we need to create a picture for the name so that you can SEE the name with the face. Let’s try a common name like Steve, for me when I see the name Steve I think of a stove. Below are my 4 pictures for 4 common names:
Your brain remembers actions and emotion so we need to put that into the pictures. Go back to the picture above and take a look at Steve. Remember Steve, he’s the one on the far left, now apply the steps to Steve.
- Focus – What is his name – Steve
- File – Now pick a distinctive feature – Bald head
- Picture – His name is Steve – Stove
- Action – Now imagine his bald head cooking in a pot on a stove
The final step is to review everything. At the end of every day get in the habit of recalling everyone you’ve met. While doing that also recall what their distinguishing feature was and what was the picture that you saw with that feature. The important thing to remember is once you create a picture for a name that will be the picture associated with that name from now on. So the next time you run into people instead of trying to recall their name ask yourself what stood out the most to you about them and what it was that was on/in that feature.
For additional tips on how to memorize names and faces follow the link below:
