People love hearing their name, and it makes for a great first impression when you can mention it in conversation. But it’s often the case when we meet someone for the first time we forget their name five minutes later. Well, if you follow this advice, you might be able to improve your memory… and make a good impression at the same time.
Dave Farrow is a two-time Guinness World Book of Records holder for memory. Here, he shares his advice on how to memorise names.
LISTEN UP
Our biggest mistake, says Farrow, is that we don’t listen to the name. We are programmed to pay attention to the visual aspects of the person, he says, ‘so we think about what they are wearing and what we think about them as a person before we hear the name.’
As you’re about to meet someone ask yourself what you think his or her name is, suggests Farrow. ‘It sounds weird, but asking your brain something it does not know, makes it pay attention instantly. This trick will improve your name recall by about 30%.’
Even weirder, avoid your instincts. ‘If you want to master name recall, you need to avoid your natural tendency to look first and ask questions later.’ In other words, don’t look at someone’s clothes to guess what their name is and then say to yourself ‘She
looks like a Kelly.’ This will immediately stop you from learning the person’s real name. Get into the habit of thinking about the name first and then thinking about whether or not they look like that name.
‘Familiarity causes the same problem,’ says Farrow. When you hear a name you’re familiar with, don’t associate the person you’ve just met with a person you know who has the same name, he explains. ‘You think you will remember the name, but you won’t.’ There is nothing that connects these two people, Farrow says, therefore familiarity won’t help your memory. However, there is a time when making a connection can work. When you hear a name, advises Farrow, think of an image that will remind you of that name. This technique, he says, can help you remember hundreds of names.
Memorising a name saves a lot of embarrassment and pain and can be great for your career, says Farrow. Below are tips to remembering someone’s name… so you don’t find yourself in a sticky ‘uh-this-is… Kate?’ situation.
| Recall Tip #1 |
Try to visualise the name. This may seem like an extra step and might not apply to every name the world over, but it is the basis of many memory techniques. For example, if a person’s name is Kathy, think of a cat. If a person’s name is Michael, think of a microphone. Then imagine the person with the item. The results speak for themselves. |
| Recall Tip #2 |
| Recall Tip #3 |
| Recall Tip #4 |
| Recall Tip #5 |