15 Best Tips to Help Remember Names

Do you have trouble recalling the names of those you have met before? Lost for words when faced with a familiar face not seen for ages? My husband and I have a system for remembering the names of new couples we meet. He is to remember the man’s name and I am supposed to be able to come away from our conversation with the woman’s name. Unfortunately, we usually only come away with the man’s name. I get nervous about upholding my end and I am terrible with names so that I forget to listen carefully. Maybe the tips below can help me and you learn to remember the names of those we meet.

- Listen carefully to the name of the person and politely ask to repeat if the name is not clear to you. Repeat the name to yourself several times.

- Ask the person to spell their name. If you are anxious when meeting new people this will slow everything down and lets you get a mental picture of the spelling and pronunciation. Even if the name is a simple one, spelling of names these days has nothing to do with phonetics.

- If handed a name card, read the name to yourself aloud, one or two times. The mind remembers better when the sound heard is familiar, such as one’s voice.  While you are conversing with the person, keep the name card in front of you during the entire conversation, so that you can refer to it from time to time until you can easily recall the name of the person.

- Recall a friend or relative that shares the same name. You can mention how you are familiar with your acquaintance’s name by virtue of a friend or relative that shares the same name.   As you recall your friend or relative with the same name, try to make a mental association between the two. Now this can be done in the beginning of the conversation, when there is something physical or immediately obvious characteristic that is common. Or it can be towards the middle or end of the conversation, where you find out more about your acquaintance, be it their occupation (John the lawyer, same as your lawyer) or a striking characteristic (Ana is as talkative as your niece, also named Ana).

- If you are familiar with the etymology or origin of the name, mention that as well and spend some time elaborating on it. You’ll be surprised at how most people are not familiar with such trivia.

-Do not self sabotage yourself with negative talk. Tell yourself “I can remember names.”