A Few Simple Tips and Tricks to Help You Remember Names
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It is a fairly common problem amongst many middle-aged and older adults to encounter some difficulties when it comes to their memory, such as remembering important dates, recent events, where they put things, and even the names of the people they have just met.
For our members who are having the same problems – you're not alone, folks!
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto.
It's completely normal and natural for aging adults to have a decline in memory, especially short-term memory. As you age, recall becomes slower because your brain takes more time to process information.
After all, your brain is not wired like a computer – it is an organ composed of billions of neurons that perform many jobs besides remembering things. And as you age and your memory starts to function less well than before, names are most likely among the first things to escape you.
Luckily, people are not completely helpless against being more forgetful.
While a huge part of our memory is dependent on genetics and the biological makeup of our brain, the rest are parts that are completely malleable – meaning, we can train our brain to improve and get better at remembering.
As Jim Kwik, one of the world's leading brain coaches, once said: "There is no such thing as a good or bad memory, there is just a trained memory and an untrained memory."
"Memory is not something that you have, it’s something that you do."
So without further ado, here are some simple tips and tricks to help you better remember the names of people you have met.
Credit: A Place for Mom.
Build your confidence.
One of the first things that stop people from learning names is having low self-confidence.
When it comes to remembering names (or learning any new skills in general), saying you can't do something before even starting to do it can already set your mind up for failure.
Don't worry, you can do this!
Focus and pay attention.
When a person introduces their name to you, it won't help you in remembering their name if your mind is somewhere else.
Take the time to pay attention to the person you have just met or are talking to. If you're distracted, the information you want to recall later will never get into your brain's memory storage ‘file cabinets’.
Repeat and say their name back to them.
As soon as you hear someone introduce their name to you, shake their hand, smile, and say it back to them with a thoughtful intention.
Repeating their name right after you heard it does not only help you remember a person's name better, but it also makes them feel important, heard, and excited to meet you too!
If the person you're talking to has a rather unique or unusual name, it's also better to ask about the correct pronunciation and spelling, rather than trying to guess it yourself.
Associate the person's name with something or someone you know.
Another way to better remember a person's name early on in the conversation is to relate it to something particular or someone else you know. Try to make as many associations with this person's name in your head as you can.
For example, you meet someone named John, which is similar to words like Johnny or Johnny Farnham, the iconic singer. To easily remember your new friend, you can associate him with the singer's biggest hit of all time: You're the Voice.
Now, every time you hear that song, you can quickly relate it to the name of the person you have just met! From the song "You're the Voice" to its singer "Johnny Farnham" to the person's name "John".
However, we must advise that you do this discreetly. Most people do not respond well to these 'associations', and you don't want the conversation to become awkward, do you?
Credit: SixtyandMe.
Connect the name to the person's face.
Experts also say that connecting the person's name to their face (or at least a prominent feature on their face) can help you better retain the information by anchoring the name to a visual trait.
You can try picking out a facial feature from the person that may be easy to remember.
Do they have a pair of large ears? A small nose? A pair of bushy brows? Maybe a mole on their cheek? Oftentimes, the first outstanding feature you can notice on a person is the easiest to recall later.
Repeat the name during your conversation.
Of course, every skill needs enough practice so you can master it – the same goes for remembering names. Throughout your conversation with the person, repeating their name will help you get used to it faster.
Repeat the person's name when you say your goodbyes.
Aside from repeating the name during your conversations, making sure to say goodbye to the people you've met using their names can go a long way toward cementing their name in your memory.
This will not only make them feel more special and appreciated, it can also help you remember their names much better the next time you see them.
Say the name to yourself as you walk away.
Now that your conversation with the person is over, you can try saying their name to yourself over and over again to help you recall and retain not only the actual name but also the associations and images you made with it.
If you do forget, you can always just ask.
Forgetting a person's name is not the end of the world, nor is it an unforgivable fault.
We all make mistakes, we just have to admit and own up to them. You might feel bad asking a person to repeat their name a second or third time, but it certainly is much better than blurting out the wrong name and hurting the person in the process.
Credit: Dreamstime.
When you get older, remembering people's names may seem like a lot of work (and it really is!), but I assure you that your efforts are worth it.
Nothing beats the warm feeling you get when someone remembers and says your name, so you can imagine how great it will also make other people feel when you can say theirs.
Unfortunately, there are no secret life hacks or easy shortcuts to getting particularly good at remembering names. Like any other skill, it's all about effort and practice over time.
We hope these tips will help you, folks!
For our members who are having the same problems – you're not alone, folks!
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto.
It's completely normal and natural for aging adults to have a decline in memory, especially short-term memory. As you age, recall becomes slower because your brain takes more time to process information.
After all, your brain is not wired like a computer – it is an organ composed of billions of neurons that perform many jobs besides remembering things. And as you age and your memory starts to function less well than before, names are most likely among the first things to escape you.
Luckily, people are not completely helpless against being more forgetful.
While a huge part of our memory is dependent on genetics and the biological makeup of our brain, the rest are parts that are completely malleable – meaning, we can train our brain to improve and get better at remembering.
As Jim Kwik, one of the world's leading brain coaches, once said: "There is no such thing as a good or bad memory, there is just a trained memory and an untrained memory."
"Memory is not something that you have, it’s something that you do."
So without further ado, here are some simple tips and tricks to help you better remember the names of people you have met.
Credit: A Place for Mom.
Build your confidence.
One of the first things that stop people from learning names is having low self-confidence.
When it comes to remembering names (or learning any new skills in general), saying you can't do something before even starting to do it can already set your mind up for failure.
Don't worry, you can do this!
Focus and pay attention.
When a person introduces their name to you, it won't help you in remembering their name if your mind is somewhere else.
Take the time to pay attention to the person you have just met or are talking to. If you're distracted, the information you want to recall later will never get into your brain's memory storage ‘file cabinets’.
Repeat and say their name back to them.
As soon as you hear someone introduce their name to you, shake their hand, smile, and say it back to them with a thoughtful intention.
Repeating their name right after you heard it does not only help you remember a person's name better, but it also makes them feel important, heard, and excited to meet you too!
If the person you're talking to has a rather unique or unusual name, it's also better to ask about the correct pronunciation and spelling, rather than trying to guess it yourself.
Associate the person's name with something or someone you know.
Another way to better remember a person's name early on in the conversation is to relate it to something particular or someone else you know. Try to make as many associations with this person's name in your head as you can.
For example, you meet someone named John, which is similar to words like Johnny or Johnny Farnham, the iconic singer. To easily remember your new friend, you can associate him with the singer's biggest hit of all time: You're the Voice.
Now, every time you hear that song, you can quickly relate it to the name of the person you have just met! From the song "You're the Voice" to its singer "Johnny Farnham" to the person's name "John".
However, we must advise that you do this discreetly. Most people do not respond well to these 'associations', and you don't want the conversation to become awkward, do you?
Credit: SixtyandMe.
Connect the name to the person's face.
Experts also say that connecting the person's name to their face (or at least a prominent feature on their face) can help you better retain the information by anchoring the name to a visual trait.
You can try picking out a facial feature from the person that may be easy to remember.
Do they have a pair of large ears? A small nose? A pair of bushy brows? Maybe a mole on their cheek? Oftentimes, the first outstanding feature you can notice on a person is the easiest to recall later.
Repeat the name during your conversation.
Of course, every skill needs enough practice so you can master it – the same goes for remembering names. Throughout your conversation with the person, repeating their name will help you get used to it faster.
Repeat the person's name when you say your goodbyes.
Aside from repeating the name during your conversations, making sure to say goodbye to the people you've met using their names can go a long way toward cementing their name in your memory.
This will not only make them feel more special and appreciated, it can also help you remember their names much better the next time you see them.
Say the name to yourself as you walk away.
Now that your conversation with the person is over, you can try saying their name to yourself over and over again to help you recall and retain not only the actual name but also the associations and images you made with it.
If you do forget, you can always just ask.
Forgetting a person's name is not the end of the world, nor is it an unforgivable fault.
We all make mistakes, we just have to admit and own up to them. You might feel bad asking a person to repeat their name a second or third time, but it certainly is much better than blurting out the wrong name and hurting the person in the process.
Credit: Dreamstime.
When you get older, remembering people's names may seem like a lot of work (and it really is!), but I assure you that your efforts are worth it.
Nothing beats the warm feeling you get when someone remembers and says your name, so you can imagine how great it will also make other people feel when you can say theirs.
Unfortunately, there are no secret life hacks or easy shortcuts to getting particularly good at remembering names. Like any other skill, it's all about effort and practice over time.
We hope these tips will help you, folks!
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