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How to Remember People's Names

Almost everyone has been in a situation where someone's name slips your mind. You have been introduced to them in the past but trying to remember their name is futile. Instead you fumble along, looking for them to hand you a clue. This is an embarrassing situation for not only the person whose memory seems to have taken a mini-vacation, but it's also difficult for the person whose name you forgot. It might make them feel slighted or unimportant.

There are tricks that the average person can employ that will help will boosting the memory and aiding in remembering important things including names. One technique that many people swear by is saying the name out loud once the person has introduced themselves to you. By repeating it you are hearing it again and the name becomes associated in your memory with the person's face. You might also try asking them pointed questions while using their names. For instance, looking directly at them while saying, "What do you do for a living, Lisa?" Or "Do you have any children, Paul?" Again the idea is to use the name in a way that you are hearing it giving your memory an additional opportunity to absorb it.

Studying the person's face and hair when you are first introduced to them can work as well. Most people have something different about them, be it a mole or perhaps a tooth that is slightly askew. If you concentrate on that aspect and then associate it with their name, your memory will bind the two together. For instance, if you are introduced to a woman named Anne who has a mole above her left eye it would be wise to focus on that as you repeat her name silently. Your memory will connect the two and then if you happen to see Anne again the mole above her eye will be the catalyst that jogs you into remembering her name.

If you are faced with a large group of people whose names are all new to you, both of these techniques might prove handy. Most people will not expect someone to recall their names if they are part of a huge crowd. All we need to do is remember back to grade school when the teacher would place the students in rows according to a seating plan. It is almost impossible for any teacher to memorize twenty-five or thirty names within the first few days of school, so having the seating plan affords the teacher the ability to glance at the name that's noted on the plan and associate it with the child's face.

As adults we don't have the luxury of a seating plan when we meet people in a business or social setting so it's important to find a technique that gives your memory a boost. If you do that, the next time you come face-to-face with someone you've already been introduced to, you'll remember their name.