Remembering Names And Faces
Why do I forget the names of people I just met?
In making meaningful connections from right at the beginning, the first impression is the most important impression upon your mind. Meaningful impressions is nothing more than taking the information and understanding it and then putting it into your mind in a certain way. It could be visual, auditory and of course your motivation has to come along with it, you have to be motivated to say "I want to learn this information, it's important". Like meeting people, say to yourself "I like people, I want to remember them" right before you even meet them. When you're being introduced and all of the sudden the name comes across, you might meet three, four, five people at one time and you have to be in control from the conscious mind and focus and know how to lock it in right from the beginning.
How can I improve my ability to remember names and faces?
The most important element in remembering names and faces is motivation. I want to remember people. I like people. I want to keep them in my mind. They are important to me. To improve your ability to remember names and faces, there are a few simple steps. Start out with the motivation. You meet the person for the first time. You want to hear their name. You want to understand the name. You want to observe the face. Look for outstanding facial features and characteristics. You want to then make an association to that name and the face together. You are going to bring them together. Then during the conversation you want to use the name two or three times and then, of course, review that name within 24 hours. It's very simple: motivation, observation - which means that you focus on the person, recognize outstanding features, make your association and review. Then during the course of conversation, use the name two or three times.
How can I improve my ability to remember names during brief introductions?
A good way that you can remember six people's names, even if the introduction comes very fast, is to keep in mind you want to repeat the name, and if you are meeting a Teddy and you are looking at him, say to yourself such things as "teddy bear". You want to make it happen fast and again if you meet a James, you should think of something like Jesse James. If they have a defining feature such as a little goatee, then align it with the idea of a little J for Jesse James.
How can I better remember unfamiliar names?
To become better at remembering unfamiliar names, it's important for the first impression, if the name is a difficult name, to ask the person to repeat their name. Ask, "How do you spell your name?" It's very important. Slow the person down and control the situation, because once you get the spelling and once you get the correct pronunciation, you then can make your memory association. Be in control, right from the beginning.
How can I improve my ability to remember names of people I've never met face to face?
If you're looking to improve your memory of names of people you haven't met because you have a roster of people who are going to be at the meeting, or the party, you need to look at the name and make an association just like you would be making the association when you met the person. But names mean something to you, such as reminding you of people that you've known in the past. Or if you are meeting a Mr. Goodman, you say, "oh, I see, he's a good man that I'm going to meet." If you know the name is Mr. Hernandez you can say "I remember Hernandez' hideaway." So you're making something from your past experience and then you soundtrack the name. If the name is Dempsey, you might say "there's a prize fighter that was named Dempsey." Any name that you in the past had an association or a connection to, you just make the little notes in your mind or on a piece of paper, so you can take 2, 3, or 4 names before you get to the meeting or the party and know who you're going to meet, by making the association. It only takes a few moments to do this and the idea is if you actively do it, it's going to work. Then when you get to the party or the meeting, you have a ready made association to program that name to that person, and its very simple. Then you might say, "oh yes, Mr. Goodman has the round face, he's a good man, a good humoured man with the round face."
How can I improve my ability to remember complex or foreign names?
To remember a complex, foreign name, if you hear the name, you're meeting Mr. Giftakis for the first time, what you have to do, it comes across very fast, you have to think very fast, and say, what does it sound like, break it apart Gift-Tack- and a Kiss. And I see Mr. Giftakis holding a huge gift with a big tack in it and he's throwing a kiss. Giftakis. You're taking the abstractness out of the name, putting it together into an image. If it's Mr. Markowitz, he's holding a big pen, a marking pen and he's marking a witch, mark a witch – get the picture? Abstract to concrete to meaningful. If it's unknown, you make it known. You lock those two together, but you might have to have two or three syllables to put it all together. A little practice, you're gonna get perfect.
How can I better remember names of places?
Names are important in all areas of life. In school, the child is learning the name of the states and capitals. Or as an adult, you may not know the state and its capital. So if I said, what is the capital of the state of Delaware? The average person might be thinking, might not know it. It's Dover, D-o-v-e-r. So you want to say Della, a nice young lady, she dove into the Delaware river. Della dove, Della dove a... Got the picture? How about the capital of Maryland? The average person probably wouldn't know it. Annapolis. So the picture that you're going to conjure up is see Anna napping... Anna naps on a merry-go-round. Annapolis or Anna napping merry-go-round from Maryland. Getting pictures.
