How to remember names: 5 proven techniques

Probably many of us are familiar with the unpleasant situation when we meet an acquaintance, but can not remember his name. Or, worse yet, acquainted with someone and within 5 minutes we have no idea how to handle it. This can happen anywhere — as a party other, and on a business dinner or a new working team.

How to learn to remember names? There are several proven ways.

according to material in the journal "Psychology Today» (Psychology Today), ability to remember names is getting worse even with age. It turns out that about 85% of middle-aged and elderly people forget names. However, this does not mean that forgetfulness for names only comes with age, because many young people have also noticed for a such a disadvantage.

Why do we forget names

This phenomenon can be explained. When we meet someone for the first time, our attention is scattered by a number of factors — person, a person's appearance, his voice, manner of speaking, gestures, and the situation around. The overabundance of information and Defocus our attention often lead to the fact that we can not remember the name of a person in front of us.

Name is important to remember

If you want to get the attention of a man, the easiest way to do so, calling him by name. studies showThat the pronunciation of our name activates our brain, even if we are in a noisy environment. That is why many influential leaders attach great importance to names and try to make maximum use of them. The effect of this is easy to check: suppose everyone nice to know that about him remember when he hears his name. Conversely, forgetting other causes negative emotions.

How to remember names

If you are just like many other people, constantly forgetting names, Kristi Hedges, A professional coach, speaker and author of The Power of Presence: Unlock Your Potential to Influence and Engage: Others, offers some proven tips to help you get rid of it once and for lack of forever and ever.

met — repeat

When you hear someone's name, not just a nod in response and continue the conversation, and repeat the name to include it in your conversation or asking about something new acquaintance. For example, if your new acquaintance's name is Mark, you say, "Hi, Mark, nice to meet you" - or ask him a question: "How long do you work in IT, Mark?".

Use a name for the conversation, but do not overdo it and do not repeat it too often. Also include the name and farewell phrase, saying her look in the face of the other party, to fix in the memory of his image and name together.

Record

Dr. Gary Small, a psychiatrist and an expert in the study of memory, offering to ask the person to write his name, especially if it is unusual or rare. This technique is effective if you have a well-developed visual memory. In addition, you can ask the person a card and read his name on it, as long as you communicate with him. So you create a relationship between man and visualization of his name in his memory.

And immediately after the meeting, record the person's name and basic information about it to your contacts. So you save all the most important and the case is easy to think of the interlocutor. Record can be as personal information, and the characteristics of its appearance or theme of the last call.

use Association

Many experts suggest that at the time when you hear a new name, create in your imagination or verbal communications picture for the association. It can be any fact that you know about the man - his hobbies, sphere of activity, place of residence, etc...

Vivian Zhang It gives an example This council, which she learned from the training course of Dale Carnegie:

Imaginary images that sound like a person's name, and compares them with other facts that you know about it. If you meet someone from Brazil named Laura, imagine her in a laurel wreath on his head, floating in the Amazon River.

Create connection

Another way of remembering names - comparison of human with another person with the same name, which you know well. For example, your friend or relative.

Christie Hedge learned this technique at one of the training sessions, in which 15 people participated. She was surprised when the coach after a brief greeting to each of the participants went through the group again and turned to each of them by name without a single mistake. He then used a simple technique - associate each person with a famous person (or a person known to him). For example, Ryan was associated with Ryan Gosling. At first it may seem complicated, but with practice you will learn how to instantly create such links between people and remember their names.

Attend

Most psychologists and experts in the field of memory assert that one of the main reasons for forgetting names is that we do not focus on it, and in a moment our attention is scattered on other things, we surrounded.

The same advice gives in the first place and one of the most sociable people on the planet Keith Ferrazzi:

If you make a conscious decision to remember the name, because it attends to the people you meet, you will immediately start to do it much better.

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I hope these simple tips will help you better remember names and avoid awkward situations in the future. Personally, I am sure to take into service the first ever council with oral repetition of the name. It seems to me that it is easiest to start practicing. Tell us, what do you remember names and experiencing difficulties with this?