Imagine showing up at a party and meeting new people. Everything is going great, you feel like the soul of the company, but (!), Here you understand that half of the people are not remembered by name. Awful situation, isn't it? Today we will look at 3 proven methods and learn how to memorize people's names.
Don't worry, poor name memorization happens to most people. Research by British scientists published in the journal Experimental Psychology suggests that all people have some problems with remembering names.
Why we don't remember names
But our brain perfectly notices all sorts of little things, subsequently, by which we identify a person and add him to the 'list of friends'. The thing is that the names are very conditional and are not a description of a person, which is why our brain perceives such information as secondary, without storing it in a long-term memory cell from the very beginning. Here's the problem as well.
But, as after any nightmare, a long-awaited awakening follows, and in our case, everything is not as bad as it might seem. Thanks to scientists and everyone who is interested in the issue of human memory, because thanks to such people we have whole 3 effective ways to memorize all the people at the party (and not only), which can be applied today, but what here, right now! So, we will consider each of them so that you choose the most suitable one for yourself.
Method number 1: use an abbreviated name.
People with long names are often confronted with being called differently from what is written in their passport. What should you do if your interlocutor has already told you a couple of stories from his childhood and considers you his friend, and you still do not know how to contact him? There is one simple, but very effective way: break the name into parts and choose only one that is easiest for you to remember. The point is that now, the remembered part of your interlocutor's name will serve as a starting point for his 'full version'. Not difficult, right?
Use an abbreviated name to remember it
For example, let's take the name Svetlana. In Russia, it is very popular, which cannot be said about Europe, for example. Therefore, in European countries, you can often find an abbreviated version of this name 'Lana'. Thus, the Europeans are adapting 'our' names to a more familiar variant. But what is there to go far, remember the last time you called your friend not Sveta, but Svetlana? I think the answer is obvious – almost never. And this is not due to the fact that you are already familiar and the formalism here seems to be out of place, no, no. It's all about laziness, namely, the desire of our brain to optimize its work and reduce energy consumption.
Hence the rule: do you want to remember? Cut down!
Method number 2: use a nickname or nickname.
There are people with names that are almost impossible to shorten or find a memorable part in them. In such cases, the familiar to all of us from computer games 'Nickname' or, translating into Russian, a nickname, comes to the rescue. Come up with a so-called 'klikuha' for your interlocutor. No, no, you don't need to go to extremes, because these are not your yard friends, right? Just look closely at the person and think, what associations does he evoke in you? After that, tie his name to your chosen look and say goodbye to the idea of getting his name out of your head in the next couple of weeks.
Use a nickname or nickname to remember names
The secret of this method lies in the structure of our brain. The fact is that the brain's image system interacts so well with long-term memory that it practically 'engraves' in our minds. Have you ever wondered why people often turn to psychotherapists with the problem of constantly thinking about someone? Yes, that's why. If you have an unloved name, then remember who its bearer is and in 99% of cases, it will turn out to be an unpleasant person for you.
Method number 3: say the name out loud.
Often, in order to remember something, we need to hear it clearly. Remember, as a child, at school we were constantly told to read aloud. This was due not only to the need to develop speech abilities, but also to the ability to better memorize what was read.
Say the name out loud to remember it
As soon as you meet a person and he introduced himself to you, do not forget to say his name out loud, as if clarifying. If you are afraid to seem tactless, then add your clarification to any situation, for example, say that your childhood friend is called the same, and he, by the way, is a very responsible person. Having made a compliment to the interlocutor in this way, as if by chance, you will most likely immediately evoke his disposition towards yourself. And, which is important in our case, at least double your chances of remembering his name, because you will use not only auditory, but also associative memory!
Finally
Here, in fact, is all the advice. They turned out to be as capacious as possible (you remember everything?). These 3 tips are simple enough that you can put them into practice today. Meet, communicate and be attentive to your interlocutor.
Good luck!
