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 is 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 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, James?" Or "Do you have any children, Sandra?" 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 is noted on the plan and associate it with the child's face. As adults we
do not have the luxury of a seating plan when we meet people in a business or
social setting so it is 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 have
already been introduced to, you will remember their name.
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