When anyone looks at a group photograph, guess whose picture they look for first? Theirs, of course. Who do most people think about all day long? Themselves! What do they love to hear more than almost anything? Their name!How often have you heard someone say, ``I can't remember names, but I can remember faces''? Every time this statement is made, the memory seems to get worse. One of the reasons people remember faces and not names is that the brain thinks in pictures and not in words.We don't really get the person's name in the first place, but we remember what they looked like. The next time we meet this person we say that we forgot their name. Actually we didn't forget it; we never learned it in the first place.Here are some ideas to help you remember names. Study these ideas and you can become a name-remembering expert. Stop-look-listen!Thinking about yourself:Stop thinking about yourself. Think about the person you are talking to. Pay extra attention to the individual. When someone introduces himself or herself, very often the other person doesn't even hear the name. They tune the name out because they have trained themselves to think they will forget the name anyway.When we meet someone we don't pay enough attention to the other person. We think about where we have been, where we are going, what we just said and what we will say next. Does my hair look OK? Is my tie straight? To be a name remembering expert we must pay attention to others.Key Point: Stop thinking about yourself when you meet someone. Think about the other person.One way is the associating of ideas. Let your mind wander from one idea to the next to explore the memory looking for the right answer. For problem solving or for business purposes we use creative thinking. This is a more organised way of thinking.When we let our thoughts run free we can use the powerful subconscious mind to help find the name that is surely locked in our memory.People remember what they are mostly interested in. Become interested in people, pay attention and stop thinking about yourself when you meet someone.Get the big picture. look for.Appearance: Make a mental note of the person's appearance. Look out for any distinct physical characteristic. Check out things that don't change daily such as a scar, no hair, plenty of hair or anything else that comes to mind.As we stated earlier, you must show an interest in people in order to remember their names. To get a vision you must really think about the individual you are trying to remember. Practice using your imagination. Form mental pictures of the individual doing something.Don't worry, when you meet the individual again, the picture and the name will come back to mind.How to tag a nameThe easy way to remember names is to remember faces. Mentally put a tag on the part of the face that is easiest to remember. Mentally write out the name and put it on the tag. When you see this person again the first thing that you will see is the tag that was attached to the face. It is usually not appropriate to tell the other person how you are tagging their name. To some people it seems silly, but it works. I once worked for a man who said, ``Everything works when I do.'' Name remembering works like that. First you must try to remember then you will.Listen to the other person's namePay close attention. Really listen when you hear the other person's name. Listen for an accent. Listen for anything that will help you remember the name. If you don't hear the name ask the other person to repeat it. If you still don't understand it, ask him/ her to repeat it slowly. If you still don't get it ask them to spell the name.Write it down if you think it is necessary. Most people have no problem repeating or spelling their name. Their name is very important to them.You may be making a friend because you are taking time to remember their name.One article I read recently talks about how in a class there were two students. One named Julius and the other Julio. Both Julius and Julio had strong accents. Julius did not like the instructor calling him Julio. He corrected the instructor. The instructor had to remember his name so he paid special attention to his accent. Julio had a strong Spanish accent and Julius had a European accent. The instructor made a mental note of this European accent and from then on he remembered his name.So pay special attention to accents. If someone has a Spanish accent you can guess he will have a Spanish name. This is just another step to help you hone in on the other person's name.
