used to be a gun at remembering names when I was a teacher. I had this awesome method with new classes where Iβd get them to sit in a circle and the kids would take it in turns to tell me their name, plus something they liked that started with the first letter of their name. Sarah likes stars, Liam likes lollies, John likes jumping, etc. I donβt teach anymore and Iβve learned rather quickly in the entrepreneurial world that this method does not work at conferences with adults. If you start asking every Tom if he likes trucks people start to think youβre a bit weird. Here are 5 tips to help you remember names without looking like a weirdo.
1. Repeat itΒ
If someone introduces themselves, repeat their name immediately and try to use it as often as you can while talking to them. Never underestimate the power of repetition. Why do you think you still have Spice Girls song lyrics stuck in your head? Because you listened to Wannabe four thousand times when you were 12 years old. It’s just logical.
2. Add to itΒ
When you meet a person called John for the first time and they tell you their name, add a silent fact about John in your head. You might like to say βJohn the accountantβ or βJohn, Naomiβs husbandβ. It will give you an extra anchor to remember their name next time you see them.
3. Associate it with something weirdΒ
If you meet someone called John and you want to remember his name try imaginingΒ someone famous with the same name (if possible) like John Travolta coming up to him and asking him for a croissant. You’d never forget someone who’s pastry besties with John Travolta.
4. Outsource itΒ
When you meet someone whoβs name you really have to remember, introduce them to someone else immediately or text a friend and say βSteveβs business partner is called Alan.β so you always have somewhere to go back to if you happen to forget it.
5. Care about remembering itΒ
If you donβt actively care about remembering a person’s name, youβre not going to. You need to concentrate and store the memory of hearing their name. Itβs all in the attitude.
[divider type=”standard” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”]
Are you good at remembering names? Or Do you forget them as soon as you hear them?
[divider type=”standard” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”]
P.SΒ β If youβre keen to read something interesting, funny or just plain weird every day donβt forget to follow Smaggle around the interwebsΒ β Β Facebook,Β Twitter,Β Bloglovin,Β Instagram,Β YouTubeΒ and theΒ Smaggle weekly newsletter. Just a warning though sometimes I swearβ¦ butt face.
30 Comments
-
I teach international students and have to learn anything from 20-30 new (and foreign sounding) names every month. If it’s an English sounding name, I try to associate it with a famous person like your John Travolta trick, if it’s nothing like an English name, I try to think of a similar sounding word or a word that it rhymes with in English. It works every time but repetition is my best friend. I always try to use their names as much as I can, I hate it when they call me teacher “teacher” so I like to lead by example and call them by their name (even if my pronunciation is a bit dodge!) I don’t have such a good success rate with my colleagues though. I often call them some random name that I’m sure is their name but really isn’t. I once got really offended when this guy kept ignoring me and then I realise I’d been calling him Bruno, when his name was Mario. Doh!
-
Author
Do you happen to work for IELTS? I use to work with international students too and it’s really hard to remember names that don’t sound familiar to you. I was okay with Chinese names because they often gave themselves Western names too (often flowers like Rose or Daisy so it was pretty easy to remember!) but I really struggled with middle eastern names because my mouth wasn’t used to forming those sounds and also Indian names were difficult because many of them had the same surname (Singh for example) and their first names would rhyme! That was the biggest test of my name knowledge!
-
Ha ha! Sam’s also called our colleague Julian ‘Ray’ the entire time he’s worked at the school, Smags. He ignored her for the first little while too! Now Sam’s embraced it completely and just calls everyone in the staffroom different names. Very amusing!
When I was still teaching, I’d test myself for the whole first lesson, matching everyone up to their names on the register while they worked. Then I’d keep going round the room saying their names in my head until I didn’t need the roll any longer. It’d only take me about 15 minutes to remember all 18 students’ names – even the hard-to-pronounce ones.
If I don’t see someone’s name written down though, I have real trouble remembering it.-
I’m exactly the same! I need to see it written… the girl I worked with spoke Chinese so I even knew the correct pronunciation!
-
-
Jim! You weren’t meant to tell everyone all my secrets! Anyway, I think Ray kind of suits him! I actually have a new colleague called Irene, who I called Pamela or something equally left field for a few weeks, she was very sweet about it and never said anything. I only found out because I heard someone call her the right name! I find the Korean names the hardest, because they always have two syllables and they can kind of be interchanged. I guess it’s an occupational hazard!
-
You guys are hilarious! I totally forgot that you guys work together! π
-
Heh heh! Sorry, Sammie! Couldn’t resist. Didn’t know that about Irene. That’s superb! Yes, we’ve worked together for ages, Smags. Small world, isn’t it?
I struggle with Vietnamese names so much. I’m pretty sure I’ve never got one even remotely close to the correct pronunciation. It fills my heart with joy when I see they’ve written their Anglicised nickname next to their real name. That’s bad, isn’t it? *hangs head in shame – then looks up for a cheeky grin!*
-
-
-
-
-
I’m good at remembering names and really good at remembering faces. Terrible at numbers though.
thanks for putting wannabe in my head! ????
XX-
I’m so sucky with dates as well! I’m the actually worst. I don’t even know what date it is today…
-
-
good to get trained up in my 60’s! … up for it hun!
I’m pretty good at it!;0 … not when I first meet someone though! so these are good logical points!
mr m is hopeless … does not remember anything useless! … what is that!
cheers m:)X-
I think it just sticks for some people and not others! I even forget important names like nieces brother! π
-
-
These are great tips. I’m going to try some out! I’m a very visual learner. If you tell me your name, it goes in one ear and out the other…but if you’re wearing a name tag (say, at a conference) I’ll remember it forever. (plus I remember faces, just not the names to go with them.) So, now, when someone says their name I try to visualise it written. It makes for some blank moments while I’m conjuring up my mental image of their name, especially if it’s a really long one…but it works better for me than just hearing it.
-
Yes! Totally! Name tags are godsend. I also suck if I meet or know two people who are always together I’ll never remember which one is which. Like all comedian duos. Penn and Teller, Merrick and Rosso. I once saw Merrick or Rosso in the street and I was like ‘Hey it’s Merrick or Rosso!’ What a dickhead.
-
-
I remember reading something years ago that said when you first meet someone you need to use their name a couple of times (can’t remember the exact number… oops!) in the first 10 minutes of conversation with them so that it is cemented in your memory. I seem to do alright with names and faces, I’m a gun at song lyrics and can remember random stories people have told me in the past. Maybe that’s what we should do from now on when we introduce ourselves – either sing it to people to the tune of Wannabe or state a random fact about ourselves, like: “hi, I’m Sonia and I can rap the Jay-Z part in the Pharrell song Frontin’. Nice to meet you!”
-
That is actually a really excellent idea. I’d be like ‘I’m Carly and I can tie a jelly snake in a knot with my tongue!’.
-
-
I’m terrible with names…. so I try the method that Sonia ^^^ uses too..they probably wonder why I am saying their name so much….I’m really not creepy…..
-
Exactly! You just have to keep repeating it. It’s like when you’re teacher you learn the naughty kids names first because you say their name all day!
-
-
I’m good at remembering names usually but since I had Phoebe my brain has gone to mush. Repeating the name in conversation helps. I was always good at remembering clients kids and pets names. It makes a client feel important when you remember their name and their kid’s.
-
Whoa… I have a weird flash back of drunkenly slurring at you in the bathroom at Problogger that Phoebe was my almost name… that happened didn’t it? I actually have an insanely good memory of the first time I meet people… which is why I remember meeting you in the bathroom at Problogger… π
-
-
Love this. As soon as I’m introduced to someone, all I can hear in my head is “remember this. remember this. remember this”. Until I meet someone named “remember” I’m doomed!
-
HA! Hilarious! I’m kind of hit and miss… so I need to have these tips to keep me in line!
-
-
I’m much better at remembering faces than names but I have a secret trick at work: because I’m a journalist I always ask people how to spell their name. Sometimes they look at you funny and say, “It’s John Smith” but I just explain that you never know, they could be “Jon Smythe” and I’d hate to get it wrong.
-
Ah that’s a brilliant one! I should use that more often!
-
-
My tip is to really look at their face while you say their name either aloud or in your head. You need to make the face-name connection.
When I’m meeting a group of people, I’ll look at them all individually in turn and repeat their names. If I don’t do this, I’ll forget their names. This is how I used to learn the names of four classes of 20-30 kids by the end of day 1 of school.
-
It’s really teacher skill kind of thing isn’t it? You become very used to it. I’d always make kids feel bad if they couldn’t remember my name. I’d be all ‘I’ve learned 30 names today and you haven’t even tried to learn mine?’ – they’d never forget it after that. π
-
-
I am brilliant at remembering faces and intricate details of the conversations I have with people but always struggle with names. I think a big part of this is that people rarely say their own names clearly. The name just rolls off their tongue and they move on.
I am a visual learner so sometimes I ask people to spell their name if it is an unusual one- it is a little weird but it really helps me (not always appropriate though π-
Oh totally! I’m also guilty of correcting people on their names. I once met a girl called ‘Trays’ and when I met her I said ‘Terese?’ and she was like no ‘Trays’. Like she doesn’t know her name is! *facepalm*
-
-
I’m just imagining Mr Smags getting a text ‘Tahlia likes tacos and has two cats’ and being all ummm, wtf?! π great tips though, I actually especially love the sneaky text to remember details.
-
I think it was ‘Tahlia has a cat called Shitten.’ π
-
-
I will be writing these down Carly, exactly what I needed! I teach group fitness classes and I am terrible at remembering names. Especially when it comes to the newbies! Did you know that people who work in a group are far more likely to stick to it those who exercise along. If I can use these tips to make the newbies feel just as welcome then I am also working to achieve my goal of encouraging people to lead more active lifestyles. Thank you! Kate, Wondrous
