Do I Know You? Remembering Names

Has this ever happened to you?
Im sorry, I know weve met before, but I forgot who you are.
Remembering names can be quite a challenge; Jhemon Lee shares a few tricks to handling the name game...

Has this ever happened to you?

Im sorry, I know weve met before, but I forgot who you are.

If you meet a lot of people in your day to day affairs (or even if you dont), its often hard to remember people, and somewhat embarrassing.

For most people, remembering names is the hard part. You know youve met that person before, but who is he/she? Here are some ways of making those names stick from now on:

Pay attention

Sometimes the reason you dont remember peoples names is that you never got it in the first place. You may hear them, but are you actively listening to what theyre saying?

Use all of your senses

Its well known that the more senses that you use in memorization, the more likely youll remember something. When studying any subject, its good not only to read the words, but to say key words aloud to create vivid mental images of the material. When learning a name, see the name (on the nametag or business card), hear the name and say the name aloud. Id tell you to smell and taste the name too if you could, but I dont think you can J.

Repetition

When trying to remember someones name, it helps to hear the name often. Repeat it to yourself. Feel free to repeat the name by asking the speaker to verify your pronunciation of his or her name. Most people appreciate your effort in trying to get it right. Repeat their name in conversation. Review the names of the people youve met during breaks. Repeat each persons name aloud when you say goodbye to him or her. And review the names and information mentally on the drive back home.

Have a positive attitude

If youve convinced yourself that youre going to forget, you probably will. If you tell yourself that youll remember, you have a fighting chance.

Be interested

Youre more likely to remember someone if theyre interesting to you. Some people are instantly intriguing (e.g. someone famous, strikingly attractive or strikingly weird), but most arent at first. Engage the person in conversation, and if you can learn interesting things about him or her, youll not only enjoy the conversation more, but youll build a better connection AND be more likely to remember the name.

Take notes

If you meet a lot of people on a regular basis, youre bound to lose track of them and get them jumbled in your mind. Jot notes to yourself on that business cardwhere and when you met, what sorts of things you talked about and any interesting factoids or trivia. That might be enough to keep them in your memory.

Pace Yourself

Try to pace yourself and meet the new contacts at a rate that you can handle. Have you ever been introduced to five people at the same time, and didnt remember any of them? Thats because you werent given enough time for any of them to get imprinted into your memory.

Get First and Last Names

It cant hurt to ask for both first AND last name, because sometimes one is significantly more memorable than the other. For example, the first name might be too bland (how many Davids do you know?), or the last name might be too difficult to get. But if you can remember either, you get credit for remembering J.

Recalling the Unknown

OK, lets say you dont remember someones name. What do you do? Depending on the situation and your inclination, you have a few options.

1) Look for the nametag. Duh. Or look for the guest list or event sign in sheet, if its lying around.

2) Bring a buddy over and have that buddy introduce him or herself to the other person while you listen in for the name J.

3) Ask someone else who happens to know both of you (e.g. the event host) for the name.

4) If all else fails, honesty: Im sorry, I dont remember your name. You may feel this is an if all else fails strategy, but honesty really is often the best policy. Since most people arent good with names either, theyre usually forgiving of this.

Now, if youre like me, though, your main problem isnt forgetting names, but forgetting faces, which is a different challenge. And thats the topic for next time.

Next Time: Your Face Rings a Bell