Admin's Assistant

How to remember names

Forget a phone number? Check your cell phone. Forget important information? Get the answer online. Forget how to get somewhere? Ask your GPS! There are a lot of ways for people to remember important information with the help of technology. But what about something that technology can't help you remember—names? Here are a few things you can do to help you remember names.

When you meet a person and hear their name, the first step you can take to remember it is to repeat the name back out loud. Then you should casually repeat the name throughout the conversation. If the person is an important client, it's also a good idea to write the name down.  

Another trick is to pair something visual with a person’s name. Many people are visual learners and are usually able to remember faces faster than names. Let's say you meet a man named Chris who has a crocodile on his shirt. To help remember his name you could think to yourself, “Crocodile Chris.” By assigning a visual description to a person's name using their hair color, facial features or a graphic on their shirt, you're more likely to remember their name.

Of course these tricks aren't foolproof. There are just some days when you'd forget your own name if it wasn't written on your name badge. In these instances be honest. Apologize and ask them for their name again. Almost everyone has forgotten a name at some point and most people would be fine with giving their name again.

Don't feel bad if you only met someone once briefly and can't remember their name. Simply walk up to them and reintroduce yourself and give them your name. This saves the other person from the stress of having to remember your name and also gives them the opportunity to give you their name again. If this strategy fails, apologize and ask for their name.

Do you have any tricks that help you to remember people's names?